The march to the throne is littered with the bodies of the great and small in equal measure Born an Imperial Prince, Qu Yuan always knew his options were to strive for the throne or escape. When he’s forced to put his escape plan into action too early, he’s forced out of the imperial palace into the countryside where the war for the throne rages. Walking blood-soaked fields and burnt out villages, Qu Yuan will be forced to ask a simple question. Is his search for immortality more important than the lives of his kingdom?

Winter is a time of reflection and cultivation for the Verdant Green Waters Sect. For Wu Ying, this peaceful interlude is interrupted by a new assignment that pits him against the mortal world’s conventions of class and privilege. A short story in the world of A Thousand Li by Tao Wong.

A martial artist falls from a cliff to his death. A rival stands, triumphant above. The beginning of an all too familiar story. Yet, in the time of recuperation and return, time passes and sometimes, the transformation that occurs is not the one you expect. This is a 4,500 word short story set in the A Thousand Li universe featuring as yet to be seen characters in the universe. Does not need to be read to follow the main series.

Expectation conceals the truth. Noblewoman and cultivator Li Yao is called to a small village to investigate a mysterious illness that has drained residents of their chi. Accompanying her are her suitors Xiang An and Shen Wei, both more trouble than they're worth in Li Yao's eyes. Perhaps not all is as it seems. In the village and her suitors. This is a short story set in the A Thousand Li universe. Does not need to be read to follow the main series.

Take a step. Take a bow. Look around, how far you've come. For an immortal, the mortal world has little to offer them. Except, perhaps, perspective. Descent from the Mountain is a short story set in the A Thousand Li universe. This story can be read as a stand-alone. There are no spoilers for later works and the short story does not include individuals from the main series.

“When living in peace, one must think of danger.” These were the words Protector Chan’s Master had left him. Now, the greedy eye of a king has landed on their sect once more. In the search to reach the Divine Peak, all too many will fall by the wayside, ground under the bitter dust of desire. Between craving and enlightenment, between the heavens and earth, lies a single man. Making a choice, over what, in the end; is most important in the search for immortality.

Brilliant and original, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers introduces a remarkable new writer whose breathtaking stories are set in China and among Chinese Americans in the United States. In this rich, astonishing collection, Yiyun Li illuminates how mythology, politics, history, and culture intersect with personality to create fate. From the bustling heart of Beijing, to a fast-food restaurant in Chicago, to the barren expanse of Inner Mongolia, A Thousand Years of Good Prayers reveals worlds both foreign and familiar, with heartbreaking honesty and in beautiful prose. “Immortality,” winner of The Paris Review’s Plimpton Prize for new writers, tells the story of a young man who bears a striking resemblance to a dictator and so finds a calling to immortality. In “The Princess of Nebraska,” a man and a woman who were both in love with a young actor in China meet again in America and try to reconcile the lost love with their new lives. “After a Life” illuminates the vagaries of marriage, parenthood, and gender, unfolding the story of a couple who keep a daughter hidden from the world. And in “A Thousand Years of Good Prayers,” in which a man visits America for the first time to see his recently divorced daughter, only to discover that all is not as it seems, Li boldly explores the effects of communism on language, faith, and an entire people, underlining transformation in its many meanings and incarnations. These and other daring stories form a mesmerizing tapestry of revelatory fiction by an unforgettable writer.