Chinese stories always have something epic about them. They are full of adventure, unwavering loyalties, and characters (mostly male) who shoulder the fate of an entire nation. For example, in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a classic by the medieval poet Luo Guanzhong (1330-1400), three men, fed up with the corruption of the empire, gather in a peach orchard and swear to rescue the people without fear of losing their lives. “Although we were not born on the same day, may Heaven and Earth grant that we die together,” says one of them. That afternoon, they slaughter an ox and celebrate. Perhaps that is why Chen ... (full story)