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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Translator’s Note on Language(s) and Names
Prologue
Part One: Silent Vortex 1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Part Two: Iridescent Wave 7.
8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
13.
14.
Part Three: Furious Storm 15.
16.
17.
18.
19.
20.
Epilogue
Author’s Acknowledgments
Translator’s Acknowledgments
About the Author and Translator
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.
WASTE TIDE
Copyright © 2013 by Chen Qiufan 陈楸帆
English translation © 2019 by Ken Liu
All rights reserved.
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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Tor® is a registered trademark of Macmillan Publishing Group, LLC.
The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:
Names: Chen, Qiufan, 1981– author.|Liu, Ken, 1976– translator.
Title: Waste tide / Chen Qiufan; translated by Ken Liu.
Other titles: 880-01 Huang chao. English
Description: First edition.|New York: Tom Doherty Associates, 2019.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018050987|ISBN 9780765389312 (hardcover)|ISBN 9780765389329 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Electronic waste—Fiction.|Diseases—Fiction.|Survival—Fiction.|Science fiction, Chinese—21st century—Translations into English.
Classification: LCC PL2933.E526116 H8313 2019|DDC 895.13/6—dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018050987
eISBN 9780765389329
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Originally published as 荒潮 in 2013 by Changjiang Literature Art Publishing House 长江文艺出版社 in Beijing.
First U.S. Edition: April 2019
1 Hia7suan1houn2 (in Mandarin “Xiashanhu,” literally “downhill tiger”) is a traditional house style popular in the Chaoshan (a.k.a. Teochew) region of Guangdong Province. The style is so named because it requires different parts of the house to be situated at different elevations to comply with feng shui principles, and the resulting form resembles a crouching tiger.
2 In China, the higher-ranked, more honored, and important passenger is seated in the backseat of a car.
3 Ce6kêg8cao2 (scientific name: Gnaphalium affine) is a plant used in traditional Chinese medicine and also appears in the cuisine of many East Asian cultures, typically as flavoring in sweet cakes.
4 Gang1hu1 (or gongfu in Mandarin) tea is a technique for preparing tea that originated in the Song dynasty (AD 960–1279) and is especially popular in the Chaoshan region of China. The complicated technique imposes strict requirements on every aspect of tea preparation, such as the type of water, the strength of the fire, the selection of cups and teapot, method of steeping and pouring, etc. “Gongfu” here does not refer to the martial arts technique, but to the skill and care taken in the process.
5 With full tone marks: seng2muk 6zai 2.
6 With full tone marks: loh4sing 7pua5.
7 Siêng1cao2 (Mesona chinensis), a member of the mint family, is best known in the West as the main ingredient of grass jelly.
8 Luo Zixin’s name in the local topolect is read as Lo5 Zi 2 Him 1; Him 1-ri 5 is formed from the last character of the name and a diminutive suffix.
9 A classical folk opera tune that was already popular by the middle of the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).
10 This is a quote from chapter seventy-seven of the Dao De Jing (or Tao Te Ching), a book of philosophy by the sixth-century BC philosopher Lao Tsu.
11 With full tone marks: huêng1kêh4.
12 A traditional Chinese square table capable of seating two per side; the name is a play on the Eight Immortals of Daoist legends.
13 Xianzong’s reign (AD 805–820) was distinguished by his military campaigns against independent regional warlords to reunite the Tang Empire. Han Yu is considered one of the finest and most influential writers in the Chinese literary tradition, in both prose and poetry. He advocated a return to Classical literary styles and cultural orthodoxy for the empire and opposed Buddhist influences (somewhat analogous to the role played by Cato the Elder for the Roman Republic in resisting Hellenization).
14 The story of Han Yu chasing away the crocodiles that plagued the inhabitants of Chaozhou is a complex mélange of folk legends and historical record. Han Yu himself composed a famous essay addressed to the crocodiles—still studied by Classical Chinese students as a fine example of his witty, unornamented style—that perhaps should be better read as political metaphor. Readers unfamiliar with the background may imagine this story as somewhat analogous to the legend of Saint Patrick banishing the snakes from Ireland.
15 With full tone marks: lo7dai7tao5cug 4cui 3, dan5zêg 8bhu7no6.
16 The haiku Suzuki quotes was composed by Matsuo Bashō in 1688 at the age of forty-five. It describes a scene on the road that passes from Hoso-toge/Tonomine (in Nara) through the Ryumon mountain range. English translation by Amy C. Franks © 2014, used with permission.
17 With full tone marks: u1re7, ang7mag 8ling 5, dêg 4gian2he5, go1hoi6, mo7ham1, hiang 6lo5.
18 With full tone marks: Ngên7 Houn2.