Earnshaw Books

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Earnshaw Books

We publish quality books primarily on China's past, present and future, with occasional forays farth

In 1996, Graham Earnshaw began developing the website talesofoldchina.com as an ever-expanding information portal about Chinese culture and history. As interest in the site grew, it became clear that these largely forgotten stories of China’s fascinating past deserved a chance to connect with larger contemporary audiences. To address this need, Earnshaw Books was founded in 2007 as part of the Sin

omedia Group based out of Hong Kong. First specializing in reprints of old China classics, its focus has expanded to include original works on Chinese history and culture.

19/12/2024

THROWBACK THURSDAY - Have you heard of Anita Mui, the Madonna of the East? 👩🏻‍🎤

Anita Mui won Hong Kong’s very first New Talent Singing Awards competition, organised by local broadcasting network TVB. She had many iconic looks throughout her career, constantly transforming herself and exploring artistic avenues. Mui helped expand Cantopop’s influence on the international stage, holding not only 300 live concerts in Southeast Asia, but also appearing in the West. After having a sold-out show in Hammersmith, London, she was dubbed the Madonna of the East.

18/12/2024

WEDNESDAY WORDS - an excerpt from Alice Poon's The Heavenly Sword ⚔

Set in a world of human conflicts, fantastical martial arts, sorcery and celestial magic, Alice Poon’s debut fantasy, The Heavenly Sword, follows a martial maiden’s heartbreaking adventures in her quest for love and justice.

The Heavenly Sword is the first part of a spellbinding duology weaving Chinese mythical folklore and speculative history into a sweeping tale of family love, fellowship loyalty, loss, sacrifice and kung fu rivalry.

17/12/2024

TOPIC TUESDAY - MONKEY KING 🐵The Monkey King, known as Sun Wukong, is one of the most iconic figures in Chinese mythology. The character consists of a mix of traits including intelligence, strength, mischief, and a rebellious spirit.

In the famous, classic Chinese novel "Journey to the West", Monkey King is pivotal in the success of the pilgrimage of the monk Xuanzang to retrieve sacred Buddhist scriptures from India. He is appointed the monk's protector, along with Pigsy and Sandy. His eventual transformation throughout this journey has made him a symbol of resilience and redemption in Chinese culture.

16/12/2024

MONDAY MEMORIES - Our very own (then) teen authors who won not one but TWO book awards for their book Stuck in Her Head! 🎶

As Sue Ng from South China Morning Post says, "This incredible book should not be limited to teens but recommend to anyone seeking a meaningful life."

15/12/2024

SNEAKPEAK SUNDAY - Snippets from Susan Wan Dolling's first book, Superstars, from the series 'My China in Tang Poetry'

My China in Tang Poetry is a personal celebration of the genius of the Golden Age of Chinese poetry. Susan Wan Dolling, writer, teacher and storyteller provides a feast of new translations and readings of the poetry with consummate knowledge, understanding and an enthusiasm that is infectious. In her telling, these stories and poems are not archaic or hard, but engaging and alive.

14/12/2024

SATURDAY SPECIAL - Susan Wan Dolling compares translation to performance art—and this is a virtuoso performance. Combining fresh translations of China’s greatest poets with vivid context and engaging personal anecdotes, Dolling’s work interprets the Tang dynasty and its literary luminaries for a new generation of readers.

12/12/2024

THROWBACK THURSDAY - The Hong Kong Police was established in 1841 by the British colonial government, the same year that the British had settled in Hong Kong. While certain things have changed, the Hong Kong Police Force (formerly the Royal Hong Kong Police Force) has since been responsible for serving the city.

Due to their dedicated efforts and selfless contributions to to restore order in Hong Kong despite major riots between 1956 and 1967, the Queen granted them the 'Royal' prefix.

11/12/2024

WEDNESDAY WORDS - an excerpt from Friends and Lovers by Susan Wan Dolling✍

Volume Three, Friends and Lovers, offers poets from the mid- to late-Tang periods, including two pairs of exiled poets and close friends, Liu Zongyuan and Liu Yuxi, Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen, and selections from three Late Tang sensations, Li He, Du Mu and Li Shangyin.

10/12/2024

TOPIC TUESDAY - CHINESE POETRY ✒️📜 Did you know that China is the only country in the world that has used the same single language in literature for over 3000 consecutive years?

As explained by "In a Western language such as English, the letters stand for sounds that make up words, so the written language is closely tied to the spoken language. This is not the case in Chinese. The characters in written Chinese stand for words or parts of words on the basis of meaning, not sounds. Thus, people in all parts of the country have been able to read Chinese in spite of gradual changes in pronunciation and the emergence of different regional and local spoken dialects and languages. Because the written characters have tended to keep the language stable, Chinese never developed into distinctly separate written languages as did Latin in southern Europe with the formation of the several Romance languages. Today, there are many different forms of spoken Chinese, but they all share the same written language."

09/12/2024

MONDAY MEMORIES - The fascinating account of an Englishman’s adventures in Hong Kong’s Marine Police 👮

As one of the top books on Hong Kong history that there are out there, this one has to be on your list if you've not read it yet!

08/12/2024

SNEAKPEAK SUNDAY - Snippets from the gorgeous Love Becomes Her by Monk Yun Rou

"This page-turning novel about legendary mystic Lao Tzu brings to life the ancient wisdom of the Tao, and leaves the reader—who is caught up in the mystery, suspense, and exotic settings of this cross-millennial fable—wiser, more optimistic, and a believer in the mystical wonder of the universe.” — Tom Peek, award-winning author of the novels Daughters of Fire and Mauna Kea

07/12/2024

SATURDAY SPECIAL - City of Lost Souls by Martin Petersen is a great detective story evocative of the rich American tradition of noir fiction, forever linked in the popular imagination with Raymond Chandler and Humphrey Bogart. But in this case the setting is 1930s China and the protagonist is Jack Ford, cynical and dogged, and following his own code in a world gone mad. Tapping four decades as a top CIA Sinologist, Petersen draws the reader into the fantastical cruelties and beauties that was interwar Shanghai. Readers will never be able to visit that time and place, now lost forever. But a glimpse is possible through reading this book.

05/12/2024

THROWBACK THURSDAY - Did you know Shanghai was considered to be the "capital of o***m" in modern China? It was said that there were upwards of 700 dens in the city. This is a poster advertising Shanghai in the 1930s on a backdrop of a typical o***m den.

The O***m Wars in the mid-19th century were a critical juncture in modern Chinese history. The first O***m War was fought between China and Great Britain from 1839 to 1842. In the second O***m War, from 1856 to 1860, a weakened China fought both Great Britain and France. China lost both wars. The Chinese government had to stand by as the British increased their o***m sales to people in China. The British did this in the name of free trade and without regard to the consequences for the Chinese government and Chinese people.

***mwars ***mdens

04/12/2024

WEDNESDAY WORDS - an excerpt from City of Lost Souls by Martin Petersen 🔎

It’s January 1932 and Shanghai is about to explode. Private detective Jack Ford doesn’t think things can get much worse, and then a young woman looking for a missing brother walks into his life. The search takes him from swank hotels and clubs through cabarets, back streets, and brothels, to the living hell of an urban battlefield. Rich and the poor, East and West, Chinese patriots and gangsters, Japanese militarists and thugs... A city of lost souls.

03/12/2024

TOPIC TUESDAY - Tortoise Symbolism 🐢

In ancient China, the tortoise was a sacred animal. Followers of the philosopher Confucius considered it one of the Four Spiritually Endowed Creatures, along with the unicorn, phoenix, and dragon. In Taoist (DOW-ist) philosophy, the tortoise symbolizes the universe. Its domed shell represents the heavens, and its flat underside, the earth.

The tortoise is the hero of many Chinese legends. According to one of them, a giant tortoise helped the first emperor tame the flooding waters of the Yellow River. As a reward, the emperor granted the tortoise ten thousand years of life. So the tortoise became an emblem of strength and long life.

Credit: https://new.artsmia.org/programs/teachers-and-students/teaching-the-arts/artwork-in-focus/ink-tablet-in-the-form-of-a-tortoise

02/12/2024

MONDAY MEMORIES - Murder in the Maloo by Paul Bevan ✍

Translated into English and published here for the first time, this historical novel tells of the exploits of Ma Yongzhen, a martial artist and gangster who was ruthlessly murdered by rival gangs in 1879. In addition to translating the novel, Paul Bevan has written an illuminating introduction and an essay that vividly describes the city of Shanghai as Ma Yongzhen would have known it.

01/12/2024

SNEAKPEAK SUNDAY - Snippets from our latest release, City of Lost Souls by the former senior executive with the CIA, Martin Petersen. This is a noir crime fiction with historically accurate details 🔎

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Room 1801, Public Bank Center, 120 Des Voeux Road, Central
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852 2191 2999

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http://earnshawbooks.com/

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