A little girl - Han - is sold, aged four, as a bondmaid or slave into the House of Wu, where she grows up and falls in love with the young heir. But the idyll of childhood attachment turns into a nightmare as Han, beautiful, proud and uncompromisingly loyal, struggles against the forces of tradition and tyranny in a large household where patriarchs and matriarchs wield inexorable power, lustful male relatives watch young bondmaids to claim their rightful share of pleasure, visiting monks devise ingenious schemes to combine holy public duty with unbridled private indulgence, and gods and goddesses smile to see the human drama unfold.

Since the invention of pen and paper, four books have been studied and analyzed more than all others: the Torah, the Gospel, the Qur'an, and Sahih Al-Bukhari. While there have been numerous translations of the first three, there has never been a complete translation of Sahih Al-Bukhari—due to its immense size and utter complexity—until now. After more than ten years of continuous research and translation by multiple layers of linguists, the Arabic Virtual Translation Center is pleased to announce the publication of the first-ever complete English translation of Sahih Al-Bukhari with full sanad and commentary. This is a full and accurate translation of Sahih Al-Bukhari from cover to cover with the addition of explanatory notes, a glossary of every term, and biographies of all characters. Sahih Al-Bukhari is the biggest collection of authentic hadiths. It lays the foundation of Islam and encompasses all the sharia laws. It details the building blocks of the religion and those who constructed them from the Prophet to the Sahabah to the Tabi`un and everyone who influenced them. It is a well-organized labyrinth of Islamic history that describes every precept and explains it thoroughly. Virtually all books about Islam, from those taught in kindergarten to the ones lectured at Azhar University, are interpretations of Sahih Al-Bukhari. Now, with this encyclopedia in hand, we have the opportunity not to rely solely on the works of shady characters, revisionists, or those with ulterior motives. We can retrieve information from its original source in raw format, connect all the dots, and draw our own conclusions. The entire encyclopedia is in full color and is easy to read and understand. It is recommended that it be viewed on a color monitor to easily distinguish between the different features. It is highly advised to peruse the extensive introduction to hadith by the translators before studying Sahih Al-Bukhari. This digital version has links to every entry and similar hadiths to facilitate the comprehension of each story in full. The encyclopedia is under constant review and is continuously revised and updated. Each update is assigned a distinct version number. It is only once in a generation that a must-read encyclopedia of this magnitude comes to life, and all of us can benefit from it. Benefit from it in this life and the life to come.

A story set in 50's Malaya at the height of the communist guerilla activity. This is a backdrop for a story of love, passion, desire and duty as a beautiful married chinese women, Mei Kwei, falls in love with a priest who saves the woman caught with Mei's husband from public embarrassment.