Master of Songs

Translated by Nick Stember, February, 2017

A historical allegory told through the framework of dying funeral singer, in his fourteenth novel, Master of Songs, Jia Pingwa weaves together four tragedies of the 20th century China: revolution, landlord classicide, Great Leap, and economic reform. While each promised new opportunities and a dramatic break with the past, particularly for those on the bottom rung of the social ladder, each ended up victimizing a new group while empowering another.