Preface

Among the many esteemed Chinese writers of fiction whose works have remained largely untranslated and,therefore,unrecognized is Li Yu（1611—1680）We have long been impressed by the literary merits and the popular appeal of his TWELVE TOWERS.In terms of realism,plot development,characterization and theme,these twelve stories present vivid and realistic pictures of seventeenth—century Chinese society and its social mores.

In re—telling the stories of TWELVE TOWERS,we hope to introduce Li's short stories to two audiences:students of Chinese and general readers.For students of Chinese we have provided a bibliography on the life and works of Li Yu.The notes will clarify obscurities resulting from classical allusions.Except in a few cases,names of persons are transliterated,not translated.Where English equivalents do not exist,Chinese terms have also simply been transliterated.Since Chinese institutional history is not here of prime concern,official titles and honorifics have been freely translated.For the romanization of both Chinese terms and the names of people and places,the standard revised Wade—Giles system has been used.

For general readers,we are excited about introducing them to Li Yu's rich stories.For their reading pleasure,we have taken considerable liberties.For instance,we are re—telling the stories in paragraphs since the original text does not have paragraphs.For readability,some obscure and verbose passages have been omitted.For smooth transition from one paragraph to another we have provided transitional words and sometimes a sentence or two to make the English as vivid and dramatic as the Chinese.The result is,we hope,every reader will find everything that matters in TWELVE TOWERS.

This new bilingual edition was made possible through the generosity of the Foreign Language Teaching and Research Press.This bilingual format allows cross—cultural appreciation.

Nathan Mao

Weiting R.Mao

March 2011