{"product_id":"the-sobering-stone","title":"Der ernüchternde Stein","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat happens when the hunger for money, rank, or pleasure grows stronger than the call of duty?\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn The Sobering Stone, ordinary people, officials, and scholars face choices that set desire against duty. This collection of short stories from the last years of Ming China explores greed, lust, ambition, and pride. Writing under the pen name Donglugukuangsheng, the author brings these struggles into tales meant for a wide audience, where appetite has a price and loyalty faces real tests.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe title offers a sharp image: a stone that wakes the drunk. Here, the drunkenness comes from money, desire, and vanity as much as wine. The stories ask what keeps people faithful when temptation pulls them away. Confucian ideas of loyalty and service stand against selfish wants, while moral retribution gives each choice weight—even when no judge is looking.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eInside this book\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA stone that wakes\u003c\/strong\u003e – Discover a vivid image that asks readers to wake from greed and vanity.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe pull of appetite\u003c\/strong\u003e – Follow people whose hunger for money, rank, or pleasure bends their good sense.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eLoyalty under pressure\u003c\/strong\u003e – Explore the claims of duty and faithful service when personal desire pulls harder.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eJustice beyond the judge\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enter a moral world where actions carry consequences, even when justice takes time.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eEveryday choices, clear lessons\u003c\/strong\u003e – Meet ordinary people, scholars, and officials through stories that make moral questions concrete.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers curious about Chinese storytelling, Ming society, and everyday moral life, or anyone who enjoys tales with clear lessons.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page and enter a world where desire tests duty and every choice matters.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534589034844,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/03473_en_ebook-front_c23.jpg?v=1792174927","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/de\/products\/der-ernuechternde-stein","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}