Chapters 22-23 This week, in two different episodes, both Liu Bei and Cao Cao restrain themselves from killing their enemies. But they have different reasons, which helps contrast their characters. For Liu Bei, he needs to determine what to do with the enemy generals that he has captured. He
Nights 157-174 There’s not much to recommend about the story that ended in the middle of this week. It was a tedious story about two lovers who seemed like they would never get together. They were both prone to fainting, and their friends kept using rosewater to revive
Chapters 20-21 This week, I saw a lot of parallels to Western ideas of power and authority. On p. 332, the Emperor meets Liu Bei. To establish Liu Bei’s pedigree, one of the imperial aides reads off the lineage of Liu Bei: Zhen begat Ang, Ang begat Lu,
Nights 139-156 This is the longest section of Arabian Nights in my schedule. It starts by wrapping up the big story that we’ve been reading for just over 300 pages now. The wrap-up is very disjointed, even briefly introducing some new characters (including a “Fatia,” again making
Chapters 17-19 It was hard to choose what to write about in these chapters. There's a lot of good stuff! My favorite episode features Cao Cao, as he must face down what to do about his troops’ hunger. He orders the Granary Officer Wang Hou to give
Nights 122-138 Two stories end here, and neither have a particularly strong narrative ending. The first is Aziz’s story. It has a lurid ending: a third beautiful woman is introduced just before the end. We are treated to some erotic poetry about them, they marry, Aziz regrets it,
Chapters 15-16 This week's theme of brotherhood over family jumped out at me. Chapter 15 began with Liu Bei telling his "brothers" from the Peach Garden Oath an old saying: "Brothers are like arms and legs; wives and children are merely garments that can
Nights 104-121 The long story nears its climax, only to take a sudden break. The witch finally kills Sharkan! Half-brother Dau swears vengeance! But before he goes to battle, he asks for someone to tell him a story to help him feel better. That brings us to a
Chapters 13-14 The Emperor is so miserable in these chapters that we sympathize with how he turns to Cao Cao. We see the Emperor fleeing from armies and find a town with no room for him at the inn. As his courtiers escape by tying silks together so they
Nights 87-103 The long story of Nights 45-145 feels like it is coming to its end: a “holy war” (p. 420, night 87) where the “Army of Islam” (p. 459, night 101) fights against the heathens (the Christians). The writers enjoy smearing the Christians. Literally! Before battle, the
Chapters 10-12 These three chapters start very strong. Chapter 10 is one of my favorites so far, showcasing the different characters of Cao Cao, Lu Bu, and Liu Bei: after Cao Cao’s father is killed pointlessly, he goes after the wrong person for revenge. Then Liu Bei intervenes
Nights 70-86 It looks like we are nearing a happy ending, but we’re not quite there yet. Prince Dau and Princess Nuzhat are reunited when she recognizes her brother by his poetic laments about how much he misses her. This reunion is followed by a more somber one: