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Song of the White TowerAuthor: Toyoshima Yoshio
| Original Title | 白塔の歌 |
|---|---|
| Author | 豊島 与志雄 |
| Genre | Fantasy & Sci-Fi |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In 1920s Beijing, merchant magnate Fang Fushan hosts an enigmatic banquet, drawing figures from across the city’s political and cultural spheres. Among the guests are idealistic poet Wang Shaosheng, his languidly charismatic friend Zhuang Yiqing, and their patron Colonel Gao Binru—a military strategist with veiled ambitions. The gathering crackles with unspoken tensions: whispers of General Lü’s opium-fueled decline mingle with rumors of coups, while Fang’s associate Chen Huijun circulates like a shadow, her orphaned protégée Liu Qiuyun trailing silently in her wake. \nLiu, a figure of haunting beauty and uncertain origins, becomes the evening’s unexpected focal point when coerced into performing a sorrowful opera aria. Her performance electrifies the room, particularly General Lü, whose predatory interest masks darker designs. Behind the lacquered screens of Beijing’s elite, Wang and Zhuang navigate a clandestine pact to secure Liu a forbidden “toy”—a pistol symbolizing both rebellion and fragile hope. \nAs political machinations tighten, alliances fracture. The New Humanism movement’s literary salons collide with military intrigues, while Liu’s cryptic allusions to camel rides along the Great Wall hint at destinies spiraling beyond control. When violence erupts in smoke-filled chambers, loyalties are tested, and disappearances ripple through the city’s labyrinthine networks. A haunting song lingers in the aftermath—its lyrics lost, its singer vanished—leaving only echoes of a white tower piercing Beijing’s smoggy skies. |
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