The Last King of Shang is a retelling, in modern Simplified Chinese, of the classic novel Investiture of the Gods. It's a gripping story set in ancient China, weaving together mythology, magic, and heroism. It is a story of the rise and fall of powerful gods and mortals amidst a backdrop of political intrigue and celestial conflict. Seduced by Daji, his beautiful fox demon concubine, the Shang king brings his kingdom to the brink of ruin through cruelty and neglect.
A group of rebels led by the enigmatic Jiang Ziya seeks to restore balance and justice to the kingdom. With the help of nobles, warriors and immortals, they battle the king's forces while the fate of the world hangs in the balance. Alliances shift and destinies intertwine as the line between good and evil blurs. Will the rebels succeed in their quest to overthrow the corrupt tyrant and usher in a new era of peace?
A rich tapestry of adventure and philosophy, The Last King of Shang explores themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and the eternal struggle between light and darkness.
The original novel, Investiture of the Gods, is considered one of the great classical novels of Chinese literature. Written by Xu Zhonglin in the 16th century, it is over a half million Chinese characters long, and a direct English translation runs over 2,000 pages and has a very large vocabulary.
This book is not a literal translation of the original novel. Rather, it's a retelling of the story in easy-to-read Simplified Chinese. Unlike other full-text translations, this is written using a restricted vocabulary, simpler sentence structure, and fewer proper nouns. The authors have made every effort to remain faithful to the original while retelling it in simple language.
The book also contains full Pinyin (phonetic spelling) and English versions, and a complete glossary of all Chinese words used. A high quality audiobook version is available on Audible, and standard-quality versions are available on YouTube and the Imagin8 Press website.
