Book
Yellow Emperor’s Cure
by Kunal Basu
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In Lisbon in 1898, the celebrated surgeon Antonio Maria learns that his father is dying of syphilis. Convinced that Chinese medicine may possess the cure unavailable in Europe, he travels to Peking and seeks instruction from the guarded physician Dr Xu. Antonio’s confidence in Western science is tested by unfamiliar theories of the body, a demanding cycle of study and his growing attachment to Xu’s assistant Fumi, whose past connects her to the imperial court.
As the Boxer movement gathers strength and hostility toward foreigners intensifies, Antonio’s medical quest becomes entangled with romance, court politics and physical danger. The novel contrasts competing systems of knowledge without reducing either to a simple answer, while placing a privileged European visitor inside the crisis of the late Qing dynasty. Personal desperation and cultural misunderstanding unfold against anti-foreign violence, imperial factionalism and the approaching siege of Peking.
Historical periods
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Historical people
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