Chen Xuanyou, "Ch'ien-niang" (trans. Wayne Schlepp) (China)

It’s December 20. Welcome back to the 2021 Short Story Advent Calendar—a literary globetrotting adventure featuring 25 stories from 25 different countries.

Our editor, Alberto Manguel, is providing daily commentary on each of the stories he selected for this year’s calendar.

Here he is on Chen Xuanyou’s story, “Ch’ien-niang”:

Historians regard the Tang Dynasty that reigned over China from 618 to 907 as the Golden Age of Chinese culture. Poetry and short stories flourished, many in the fantastic vein. “Ch’ien-niang” is a Chinese version of Sleeping Beauty with a twist. Writers have long wondered what would happen if time ran in separate, parallel courses (as in the Rip Van Winkle legend) and a character could not only lead the life he or she has chosen, but also another on the road less taken.

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