Bridge of Birds
Encyclopedia
Bridge of Birds is a fantasy novel by Barry Hughart
, first published in 1984. It is the first of three novels in the The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
series. The original draft of Bridge of Birds is included in a special slipcased version of the omnibus collection, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
, released by Subterranean Press
in 2008.
Hughart called the novel "a modern version of a classical form of Chinese novel, which was an underground Taoist form designed to fight back against Confucians. Confucians liked to castrate people who fought the establishment. Without mentioning names, the Taoists could use real emperors and real power structure in a fantasy form."
The book begins on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon in the Year of the Dragon
3,337 (A.D. 639
) with the children of the village of Ku-fu falling prey to a strange plague (one that has apparently learned how to count). One of the villagers, Lu Yu (usually called Number Ten Ox
), is sent to Peking
to seek a sage who can discover the nature of the plague and its cure. He finds Li Kao
, an ancient scholar with a "slight flaw in his character", and when Master Li returns with Number Ten Ox to the village he swiftly discerns that the problem is not plague. It is poison.
The children of Ku-Fu will slowly decline toward certain death unless a cure is found. The only hope lies in the healing strength of a legendary ginseng
plant called the Great Root of Power. In all of China only one such plant is known to exist, and thus Master Li and Number Ten Ox begin a journey that will require all of the young man's strength and the old man's wiles (not to mention character flaws). Unbeknownst to them their quest is being interwoven with another one, and wherever they turn they will face murderous mazes, marvels, and monsters, and before they can find the Great Root of Power they must find something that had been stolen more than a thousand years ago, stolen from Heaven itself.
Barry Hughart
Barry Hughart in Peoria, Illinois, is an American author of fantasy novels.- Background :Hughart was born in Peoria, Illinois on March 13, 1934. His father, John Harding Page, served as a naval officer. His mother, Veronica Hughart, was an architect.Hughart was educated at Phillips Academy...
, first published in 1984. It is the first of three novels in the The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, by Barry Hughart, is the omnibus edition of all three of his novels in the series by the same name...
series. The original draft of Bridge of Birds is included in a special slipcased version of the omnibus collection, The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox
The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, by Barry Hughart, is the omnibus edition of all three of his novels in the series by the same name...
, released by Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press
Subterranean Press is a small press publisher in Michigan. Subterranean is best known for publishing genre fiction, primarily horror, suspense and dark mystery, fantasy, and science fiction...
in 2008.
Hughart called the novel "a modern version of a classical form of Chinese novel, which was an underground Taoist form designed to fight back against Confucians. Confucians liked to castrate people who fought the establishment. Without mentioning names, the Taoists could use real emperors and real power structure in a fantasy form."
Plot
The book is set in a fantastical version of imperial China (Hughart subtitled it "A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was"). It draws on and reinvents the traditional tale of Cowherd and Weaver Girl and other myths, poems and incidents from Chinese history. The real story of the Cowherd and Weaver Girl is referenced at the end of the book.The book begins on the fifteenth day of the eighth moon in the Year of the Dragon
Dragon (zodiac)
The Dragon , is one of the 12-year cycle of animals which appear in the Chinese zodiac related to the Chinese calendar, and the only animal that is legendary...
3,337 (A.D. 639
639
Year 639 was a common year starting on Friday of the Julian calendar. The denomination 639 for this year has been used since the early medieval period, when the Anno Domini calendar era became the prevalent method in Europe for naming years.- Europe :* Clovis II succeeds Dagobert I as king of the...
) with the children of the village of Ku-fu falling prey to a strange plague (one that has apparently learned how to count). One of the villagers, Lu Yu (usually called Number Ten Ox
Number Ten Ox
Number Ten Ox is a fictional character from Barry Hughart's series Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox, set in a version of ancient China that never was....
), is sent to Peking
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
to seek a sage who can discover the nature of the plague and its cure. He finds Li Kao
Li Kao
Li Kao is a fictional character in Barry Hughart's novels Bridge of Birds, The Story of the Stone, and Eight Skilled Gentlemen. He is a brilliant scholar, con artist, and detective who lives in China during the seventh century C.E. At the time the novels take place, his age is unknown, but he...
, an ancient scholar with a "slight flaw in his character", and when Master Li returns with Number Ten Ox to the village he swiftly discerns that the problem is not plague. It is poison.
The children of Ku-Fu will slowly decline toward certain death unless a cure is found. The only hope lies in the healing strength of a legendary ginseng
Ginseng
Ginseng is any one of eleven species of slow-growing perennial plants with fleshy roots, belonging to the genus Panax of the family Araliaceae....
plant called the Great Root of Power. In all of China only one such plant is known to exist, and thus Master Li and Number Ten Ox begin a journey that will require all of the young man's strength and the old man's wiles (not to mention character flaws). Unbeknownst to them their quest is being interwoven with another one, and wherever they turn they will face murderous mazes, marvels, and monsters, and before they can find the Great Root of Power they must find something that had been stolen more than a thousand years ago, stolen from Heaven itself.
Awards
- 1985 World Fantasy AwardWorld Fantasy AwardThe World Fantasy Awards are annual, international awards given to authors and artists who have demonstrated outstanding achievement in the field of fantasy...
- Best Novel - 1986 Mythopoeic Award - Best Fantasy.
Foreign language editions
- BulgarianBulgarian languageBulgarian is an Indo-European language, a member of the Slavic linguistic group.Bulgarian, along with the closely related Macedonian language, demonstrates several linguistic characteristics that set it apart from all other Slavic languages such as the elimination of case declension, the...
: Мостът на птиците (s.d. http://sf.bgway.com/autors/h/Barry_Hughart/Bbridge1.htm) - FrenchFrench languageFrench is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
: La magnificence des oiseaux : une aventure de maître Li et boeuf numéro dix (2000; OCLC ) - GermanGerman languageGerman is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
: Die Brücke der Vögel : Roman aus einem alten China, das es nie gegeben hat (1986; OCLC ) - HebrewHebrew languageHebrew is a Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Culturally, is it considered by Jews and other religious groups as the language of the Jewish people, though other Jewish languages had originated among diaspora Jews, and the Hebrew language is also used by non-Jewish groups, such...
: גשר ציפורים / Gesher tsiporim (2002; OCLC ) - JapaneseJapanese languageis a language spoken by over 130 million people in Japan and in Japanese emigrant communities. It is a member of the Japonic language family, which has a number of proposed relationships with other languages, none of which has gained wide acceptance among historical linguists .Japanese is an...
: 鳥姬伝 / Chōkiden (2002; OCLC ) - SpanishSpanish languageSpanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
:Puente de pájaros : una novela de la antigua China que nunca existió (2007; OCLC )