{"product_id":"flowers-in-the-mirror","title":"Blumen im Spiegel","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat if a voyage to strange kingdoms makes familiar customs look absurd—and the treatment of women impossible to ignore?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Li Ruzhen's Flowers in the Mirror, a heavenly quarrel opens a world of earthly wonders. Tang Ao loses his scholarly degree through links to people out of favor at court. He leaves official life and sails overseas with the merchant Lin Zhiyang and the seasoned sailor Duo Jiugong.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTheir journey turns familiar habits upside down. In the Land of Gentlemen, bargaining becomes a contest of kindness; in the Land of Women, the roles of the sexes are reversed. Alongside these adventures, gifted young women gather through a new kind of examination, bringing questions of education, ability, and respect to the heart of the story.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eWhat you'll discover\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eKingdoms that unsettle\u003c\/strong\u003e – Explore strange lands where ordinary customs become comic, unsettling tests of what people accept.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWomen at the center\u003c\/strong\u003e – Meet gifted young women whose abilities challenge the limits placed on their education and lives.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA scholar at sea\u003c\/strong\u003e – Follow Tang Ao as he leaves official life to seek wonders and a freer existence.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eHeaven meets earthly power\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enter a fairy story where Wu Zetian's command to flowers sets events in motion.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWit with a purpose\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enjoy puzzles, games, and learned jokes woven into a serious argument for women's equality.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers who love travel fantasy, sharp satire, Chinese fiction before the modern age, and ideas about women and fairness.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page now, and let these strange kingdoms turn familiar assumptions around.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534599946588,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/02241_en_ebook-front_c08.jpg?v=1792174940","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/de\/products\/blumen-im-spiegel","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}