Robert E. Hegel’s translation of The Heroic Adventures of Qin Shubao is an outstanding and highly accessible rendition of a significant but often overlooked masterpiece of late-Ming fiction. The 1633 novel Forgotten Tales of the Sui (隋史遺文) by Yuan Yuling (1599–1674), set during the turbulent transition from the Sui dynasty (581–618) to the Tang dynasty (618–907), had fallen into obscurity over time, and we are lucky that Professor Hegel has brought it back to our attention and made it accessible for students. The novel itself is remarkable for its nuanced and sympathetic portrayal of its hero, whose development, as Professor Hegel points out, is far more psychologically complex than that of many archetypal heroes found in earlier works like Romance of the Three Kingdoms or Outlaws of the Marsh. Qin Shubao is profoundly human; his journey is defined as much by his failures and embarrassments as by his martial victories. One reason for the novel’s obscurity is that a later and more famous novel, Romance of the Sui and the Tang (隋唐演義, first printed 1695), borrowed or copied many of the best episodes—including the exploits of Qin Shubao—and ended up ensuring that Forgotten Tales of the Sui would indeed become forgotten. Hegel’s translation revives this truly unique coming-of-age story by presenting the fuller version of Qin Shubao’s tale as originally told in Forgotten Tales of the Sui.

The story follows Shubao from his early struggles to establish himself amidst constant hardship. He is forced to pawn his ancestral gilded truncheons, sell his beloved horse, and endure humiliation at the hands of a petty innkeeper after being stranded without funds. Shubao’s life changes when he becomes enmeshed in the world of “rivers and lakes” (江湖, Jianghu), which offers the fraternity of knights-errant and outlaws, but which is also populated by all manner of middlebrow characters and the working poor—innkeepers, horse-traders, butchers, peddlers, healers, and suchlike. After saving the future founding emperor of the Tang, Li Yuan, from a deadly ambush, Shubao travels to the capital. There, outraged by the abuses of a powerful minister’s son, he and his companions kill the young nobleman during the Lantern Festival, forcing them to flee the authorities. Shubao joins various rebel groups rising against the corrupt Sui dynasty. The narrative explores his shifting loyalties as he navigates personal honor, sworn brotherhood, and political necessity. Ultimately, after serving several masters, he joins the army of the brilliant general Li Shimin (the future Emperor Taizong of Tang). In the service of the Tang, his military genius flourishes, and he plays a pivotal role in defeating rival warlords and earning his place as an ennobled and revered hero of the new dynasty.

The translation and editing are great, and their combination results in a focused, coherent narrative that should work well in literary or history classrooms. By judiciously abridging the original sixty-chapter novel to translate in full only the parts concerning Shubao and his companions, Hegel presents a compelling and fast-paced story that will appeal to modern readers and undergraduate students. The historical sections on court intrigue and large-scale warfare are concisely summarized, providing necessary context without bogging down the personal story. Hegel’s scholarly apparatus is exemplary and makes this edition particularly valuable. The introduction is essential reading, contextualizing the novel within its literary and historical milieu, explaining the concept of the jianghu world, and providing a biography of the author. Hegel includes and translates the author’s chapter commentaries as well, offering a fascinating glimpse into the seventeenth-century reading experience and Yuan Yuling’s attempt to guide his audience’s interpretation. The Appendix of Historical and Legendary Persons referred to in the text is a very helpful tool for navigating the web of names and allusions woven into the text—even after abridgement. My favorite part of the book is that devoted to Professor Hegel’s afterthoughts, at the back of the text, in which he discusses the historical Qin Shubao, possible earlier sources for the fictional hero, and peculiarities of the novel.

This translation is well-suited for university courses on premodern Chinese literature and history. As one volume with a focused narrative, clear prose, and supporting materials, it is more manageable and pedagogically useful than many other classic novels. For courses on premodern Chinese literature, the book is a case study for the seventeenth-century novel. It demonstrates a significant evolution from earlier works toward psychological depth and character development. It introduces students to the characters and codes of the Jianghu and contrasts them with the corrupt urban centers and people in power. As a novel with integrated commentary by its author, Heroic Adventures is an ideal text for teaching the tradition of Chinese fiction commentary. Students can analyze how Yuan Yuling’s comments frame the narrative, interpret characters’ actions, and connect the story to Confucian ethics and historical precedents.

The novel vividly depicts the social disintegration that accompanied the collapse of the Sui dynasty and the rise of the Tang and therefore might be useful in history courses. It serves as an excellent companion to standard historical texts, humanizing the widespread banditry, political chaos, and warfare of the period. Further, as Hegel’s introduction explains, the novel is a product of the late Ming and reflects the anxieties of that era. It can be used as a primary source to discuss the prevalence of corruption and chaos that plagued the final decades of the Ming dynasty, and students can draw parallels between the fictional world of the Sui and the author’s contemporary reality. Taking place largely in the non-elite world of the Jianghu, Heroic Adventures provides a window unto a social space operating with its own rules and codes outside urban life and the formal Confucian bureaucracy. It illustrates the complex interactions among local officials, knights-errant, wealthy patrons, and outlaw gangs, offering a perspective on Chinese social history often absent from official records.

Professor Hegel’s labor of love happily and successfully resurrects a forgotten classic, demonstrating its importance in the evolution of the Chinese novel and offering an exciting, thoughtful, and deeply human story of a hero’s painful path to glory.