{"id":13275,"date":"2020-07-03T08:00:34","date_gmt":"2020-07-03T12:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/?p=13275"},"modified":"2024-01-22T19:30:10","modified_gmt":"2024-01-23T00:30:10","slug":"the-story-of-the-stone-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13275","title":{"rendered":"The Story of the Stone"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Story of the Stone<\/a><\/em> (1988) Barry Hughart<\/a> (The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox)<\/p>\n

\"The<\/a>Year of the Serpent 3,339 (A.D. 650).<\/p>\n

I’ve been re-reading The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox before bed for a really long time now. I’d read a page or two, then switch to something else, then come back to it. <\/p>\n

But after reading two books about the flu before bed, I needed something fun and relaxing to read, so this became my bedtime book in earnest.<\/p>\n

Set in a mythical, medieval China where folklore and history are indistinguishable, a dead monk, an ancientand now missingmanuscript, and a ghostly murderer entice the venerable Master Li and his faithful companion Number Ten Ox into the Valley of Sorrows for a deadly and uproarious confrontation with the long-dead Laughing Prince.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

This story and the characters are ridiculous, and that’s what makes it so lovely.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, he always said he\u2019d return, although he seems to have taken his time about it,\u201d Master Li said calmly. \u201cHow long has the aristocratic son of a sow been in his tomb?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cSeven hundred and fifty years,\u201d the abbot whispered. Master Li poured himself another cup of wine. \u201cPunctuality is not a priority of princes.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I can think of any number of men who would kill to get their hands on the manuscript, but the murder I\u2019ve been handed appears to have been rather gaudy. Can you think of a man who would use methods suitable for the worst excesses of Chinese opera?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cOne,\u201d the toad said promptly. <\/p>\n

\u201cWho?\u201d <\/p>\n

\u201cYou,\u201d said the toad.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

We’ll see how long it takes me to read the third book.<\/p>\n

Publisher: Subterranean Press
\nRating: 8.5\/10<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Story of the Stone (1988) Barry Hughart (The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox) Year of the Serpent 3,339 (A.D. 650). I’ve been re-reading The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox before bed for a really long time now. I’d read a page or two, then switch to something else, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[191,31,2,33,41],"tags":[134,737],"class_list":["post-13275","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-8-5-10","category-asian","category-fantasy","category-historical","category-reread","tag-barry-hughart","tag-ghosts"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/piQkW-3s7","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2607,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2607","url_meta":{"origin":13275,"position":0},"title":"Bridge of Birds","author":"Michelle","date":"October 30, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Bridge of Birds (1984) Barry Hughart A year or so ago I ordered The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, because I'd read Bridge of Birds, loved it, and wanted to read more. Unfortunately for me, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox is a BIG\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Master-Li-Number-Ten-Ox.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13510,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/13510","url_meta":{"origin":13275,"position":1},"title":"Eight Skilled Gentlemen","author":"Michelle","date":"October 19, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Eight Skilled Gentlemen (1990) Barry Hughart (The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox) Year of the Horse 3338 (a.d. 640) This is my least favorite of the three stories. That doesn't mean it's bad, just that I don't like it as much as the first story. A vampire\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "7\/10"","block_context":{"text":"7\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/7-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Master-Li-Number-Ten-Ox-e1510885499371.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2611,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2611","url_meta":{"origin":13275,"position":2},"title":"The Story of the Stone","author":"Michelle","date":"November 8, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"The Story of the Stone (1988) Barry Hughart Master Li has taken Number Ten Ox on as his assistant. The Abbot of the monastery of the Valley of Sorrows comes to Master Li asking for help resolving the unexpected death of his librarian, and the strange dead spots in the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Master-Li-Number-Ten-Ox.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":9668,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/9668","url_meta":{"origin":13275,"position":3},"title":"Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was","author":"Michelle","date":"February 2, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was (1984) Barry Hughart Set in the Middle Kingdom of China, Year of the Tiger 3337 (AD 639) All the children in the village between the ages of eight and thirteen have fall victim to an unknown illness, and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8.5\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8.5\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-5-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Bridge-of-Birds.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2631,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/2631","url_meta":{"origin":13275,"position":4},"title":"Eight Skilled Gentlemen","author":"Michelle","date":"November 14, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Eight Skilled Gentlemen (1991) Barry Hughart This is the third and final book in the Master Li and Number Ten Ox trilogy. I'm a little sad to see it end, but it was quite enjoyable. Oddly, the passages that caught my attention in this book weren't the funny ones, but\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "8\/10"","block_context":{"text":"8\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/8-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/11\/Master-Li-Number-Ten-Ox.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":464,"url":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/464","url_meta":{"origin":13275,"position":5},"title":"Bridge of Birds","author":"Michelle","date":"October 15, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was (1984) Barry Hughart I have a weakness for fantasy novels set in Asia--especially those set in ancient China. So when I saw Bridge of Birds on the shelf I immediately snatched it up. A strange malady has struck\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "9\/10"","block_context":{"text":"9\/10","link":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/archives\/category\/9-10"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/Bridge-of-Birds.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13275","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13275"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13275\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13275"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13275"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/klishis.com\/reading\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13275"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}