The Cloud Dream of the Nine

In 2019, Heinz Insu Fenkl published a new translation entitled The Nine Cloud Dream including his lengthy introduction with Penguin Classics[2] which was hailed by The New York Times as one of the most anticipated books of 2019.

This is how the story of Yang Shao-yu begins, who forgets his previous life as a Buddhist monk early in childhood.

At the age of 14, Shao-yu says goodbye to his mother to take the civil service examination in the capital.

On the journey to Chang'an he meets Ch'in Ts'ai-feng, the daughter of an official, and is prevented from traveling any further due to war.

In the capital, he disguises himself as a qin player in order to meet the daughter of Minister Cheng, Ch'iung-pei, with whom he eventually becomes engaged.

He is supposed to marry the emperor's sister, Princess Lan-yang, but this is only possible after his fiancée Ch'iung-pei has been adopted by the empress dowager.

After Yang Shao-yu retires after many years and with children and grandchildren, he becomes aware of how quickly the lives of great men pass and he wants to devote himself to Buddhism.