{"product_id":"xie-duo","title":"Xie Duo","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA clever answer can save you from trouble—or show just how foolish you are.\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIn Xie Duo, Shen Qifeng brings together short Chinese tales of wit, morality and human folly. Qing dynasty China provides the setting: markets, teahouses, busy courts and villages shaped by the farming year. Scholars, officials, merchants and families face the small scrapes of daily life, where a quick mind can help—or hurt.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe collection draws on a storytelling tradition that makes people laugh, then makes them think. Clever remarks, foolish choices and sly bargains bring questions of right and wrong close to home. Honesty, kindness and fair dealing sit beside greed, vanity and cruelty. The pleasure lies in seeing how comedy gives a moral question its edge.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ch3\u003eInside this book\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eWit with a sting\u003c\/strong\u003e – Discover how a clever answer can offer escape, while too much cleverness invites trouble.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eThe comedy of ordinary lives\u003c\/strong\u003e – Meet students, clerks, servants and neighbors in stories rooted in everyday scrapes.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eMorals beneath the laughter\u003c\/strong\u003e – Consider honesty and kindness through tales that place human faults beside familiar virtues.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eA world of small encounters\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enter markets, teahouses and villages where daily life provides the ground for humor.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003eShort tales, pointed pleasures\u003c\/strong\u003e – Enjoy brief stories whose clever remarks and foolish choices leave you something to consider.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerfect for readers who enjoy short tales, dry humor and old stories about right and wrong, especially those who relish a story with a point.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOpen the first page of Xie Duo and let a little wit sharpen your view of human folly.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Library of Alexandria Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":59534616330588,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1027\/9442\/8764\/files\/02275_en_ebook-front_c08.jpg?v=1792174962","url":"https:\/\/libraryofalexandria.com\/it\/products\/xie-duo-it","provider":"The Library of Alexandria","version":"1.0","type":"link"}