Ping Lu To the East of the East review and information review and information about the content of the novel by the Taiwanese author. World Editons will publish the English translation of 東方之東 the Ping Lu novel on November 3, 2026. Here you can read information about the content of the book, the author and the publication.

Ping Lu The Long Version reviews and information

Whenever a review of To the East of the East, the novel written by Ping Lu, the Taiwanese author, appears in the media, we’ll highlight it on this page.

• “Ping Lu’s acuity dispels the questioning of dialecticism and the unrestrained attacks of criticism, piercing through numerous hypocricies and falsehoods, stabbing the reader into pain and wakefulness.” (Professor Fan Ming-Ju, Graduate Institute of Taiwanese Literature, National Chengchi University)

The Long Version

• Author: Ping Lu (Taiwan)
• Book type: Taiwanese novel
• Original: 東方之東
• English translation: Jeremy Tiang
• Publisher: World Editions
• To be released: November 3, 2026
• Length: 220 pages
• Format: paperback / ebook
• Prize: $ 19.99
• Buying Options >

Blurb of the novel by Ping Lu the writer from Taiwan

Min-Hui’s travels from Taiwan to Beijing in search of her vanished husband in this multi-layered meditation on marriage and freedom from Taiwan’s most sophisticated contemporary voice.

While chasing business opportunities in China, Min-Hui’s husband disappears without a trace, forcing her to uproot her quiet life as a writer in Taiwan and travel to Beijing, where the chaos of the city leaves her reeling. Does the Chinese government truly have her best interests at heart, and how hard are the authorities looking for her missing husband? Marooned in the ancient capital, Min-Hui encounters the enigmatic Shangjun, a self-proclaimed human rights activist who seeks refuge in her hotel room.

As their relationship blooms, Min-Hui allows him to read her novel in progress: a young Qing emperor confined within the Forbidden City becomes fascinated by pirate merchant Zheng Zhilong’s tales of the Taiwanese seas. All the while, Min-Hui contemplates the discord in the marriage she is desperate to save. Exploring the universal longing for freedom with her signature multi-layered narrative, Ping Lu interweaves Min-Hui’s search for her husband and her Beijing love affair with the historical backstory of her novel and unsent letters from her vanished husband.

To the East of the East offers a profound meditation on liberation, destiny and the contingencies of national histories by one of Taiwan’s most sophisticated contemporary voices.

Ping Lu is the pen name of Taiwanese writer Lu Ping (路平) who is born 1953 in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Ping Lu writes on a wide range of topics, including society, culture, gender, politics, history and human rights. She won Taiwan’s National Award for the Arts in 2021, and has previously also won the 2021 Taiwan Literature Award for 間隙 (The Gaps), the 2018 Golden Tripod Prize for 袒露的心 (Heart Mandala), and the 2016 Wu San-lien Literary Award. Her short story collections and novels, including Love and Revolution, 何日君再來 (When Will My Love Return) and 黑水 (The River Darkens) have been translated into English, French, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Czech and many other languages.

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