What the Chinese Critics Said of The Emperor’s Bones

Adam Williams with Writers, Critics, Journalists and Publishers  (China Club, 14 May 2013)

Adam Williams with Writers, Critics, Journalists and Publishers (China Club, 14 May 2013)
From left: Cui Manli, Chen Xiaoming, Xie Xizhang, Zhang Yiwu, Li Jianjun, Zhi An, Hong Ying, Adam Williams, Qiu Huadong, Huang Xiaochu, Zhang Lifen, Li Jian, Zhang Xiaobo

Qian Long’s Bones

This book is a classic saga…..
…Works like these are currently very rare in China. We don’t know how to write a story in which the characters’ fates take such twists and turns, with a plot that is this long and intricate, and which is tied to such a weighty historical background.
Zhi An (famous critic and reviewer)

A novel with both great breadth and meticulous detail.
Chen Xiaoming (famous critic, professor and doctoral advisor in Beijing University)

This is a remarkable book.
Zhang Yiwu (famous critic, professor and doctoral advisor in Beijing University)

I have read this novel three times because it’s a book that keeps you interested throughout and you want to read it again and again. Maybe I’ll still be reading it ten years from now.
Zhang Xiaobo (famous publisher, poet)

It has a plot filled with suspense, that is complex and enthralling. It is a novel that is filled with melody, poetry, and a painter’s imagery.
Li Jianjun (famous critic, researcher in Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

It is mysterious and fascinating, and full of excitement, but it may leave your eyes filled with tears at the end of the story because you will have discovered a true history of our own country which has been buried under false representations for many years.
Hong Ying (famous writer)

I think The Emperor’s Bones is a particularly apt title. The author is like a paleontologist, revealing an earlier time that had been buried, finding a bone that is filled with China’s DNA – which itself holds a universal DNA.
Wu Qi (film director)

For me, The Emperor’s Bones is a multifaceted mirror of a book to keep in your collection of treasures
Cui Manli (best-selling writer)

I think it’s really fascinating, the way he sees the modern history of China from a British perspective
Qiu Huadong (famous writer, associate editor of People’s Literature)

Panel discussion at the China Club

Panel discussion at the China Club, 14 May 2013
From right to left: Zhang Yiwu, Cui Manli, Chen Xiaoming, Adam Williams, Zhi An, Li Jianjun, Xie Xizhang