The Topsy-Turvy Emperor of China

by Isaac Bashevis Singer, William Pène du Bois (Illustrator), Elizabeth Shub (Translator)

The mean and monstrously ugly Emperor Cho Cho Shang decrees that everything in China be the opposite of what it was-the just and beautiful becomes unjust and ugly; cruel and hideous is now fair and lovely. The kingdom is hopelessly topsy-turvy until a few brave souls, starting with the Emperor's own son, decide to resist the madness and put things right again.

"Gleefully parodies modern times (or any other rotten times)...This spoof speaks truth."-The New Yorker

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1971

About the author

Isaac Bashevis Singer was a Polish American author of Jewish descent, noted for his short stories. He was one of the leading figures in the Yiddish literary movement, and received the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1978.
His memoir, "A Day Of Pleasure: Stories of a Boy Growing Up in Warsaw", won the U.S. National Book Award in Children's Literature in 1970, while his collection "A Crown of Feathers and Other Stories" won the U.S. National Book Award in Fiction in 1974.

Reviews

[Mariana Orantes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Siempre que voy a Chihuahua me dicen que allá no hay buenos libros; que nada se consigue, que las novedades son muy caras y en los de viejo no hay nada. No sé por qué dicen eso si una de las razones principales por las que voy a Chihuahua es para conseguir libros. En las de viejo he encontrado verdaderos tesoros y en la única Educal de la región siempre encuentro algo. Esta vez no fue la excepción; en la Educal tenían en remate varios libros, entre ellos estas joyas editadas por conaculta e ilustradas por nuestro héroe mexicano, Joel Rendón. La traducción es muy buena, hecha por Becky Rubinstein, y la edición en general está bien cuidada. El cuento aunque es para niños, es un cuento bellísimo, uno de esos cuentos de hadas que no te cansas de escuchar una y otra vez, con tintes humanos que casi me sacan la lagrimita, por ejemplo, cuando habla de escultores, pintores y escritores que se reunían en cuevas para salvar un tipo de arte. Me recordó por supuesto al fascismo, el holocausto, los pogroms que vivió el mismo Bashevis. Todos debemos tener esa lucha contra la falta de memoria en los estados totalitarios, contra la censura, contra el olvido y el revisionismo histórico tanto como el relativismo que tanto daño ha hecho. De verdad, este libro tiene maravillas para los niños y para los adultos.

[Lobstergirl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sadly, this edition is out of print (maybe all editions are). Emperor Ching Ching Shang and the empress have a son, Cho Cho Shang, who sadly is monstrously ugly. He has "a nose like a bulldog, lips like the snout of a pig, a low forehead like an ape, and the long ears of an ass." (William Pene du Bois's illustration of the baby Cho Cho is worth the price of admission.) When Cho Cho becomes emperor, he passes laws to declare ugliness beauty, injustice justice; opera singers must caw like crows and grunt like pigs. Love is banned. His ugly wife has tiny feet, so all women are ordered to bind their feet. "But neither truth nor the feeling for beauty can be annihilated...."

[Petra · Rating 4 out of 5]

Inspiring

[Beverly · Rating 4 out of 5]

The hardcover edition of this book (from the late 90s) looks like a children's book. It was written in 1971. It's about what happens when some petulant, angry, determinedly stupid man gets into high office--in this case The Emperor of China. So, it's long ago and far away...except it isn't.
"Cho Cho Shang had a nose like a bulldog, lips like the snout of a pig, a low forehead like an ape and the long ears of an ass. He had practically no neck, and his head sat on his shoulders like a snowman."
"It was the custom of the Emperor to appoint a new cabinet from among the highest mandarins of the court. For his cabinet, instead of picking the noblest and wisest of these lords, Cho Cho Shang searched for and selected the meanest men in China."
After four days in seclusion with the new crew they issued the orders:
"...from this day forward everything called just and beautiful is declared unjust and ugly and everything that is considered mean and hideous is declared fair and lovely."
"Students were taught that facts were not of value in science," was one example of living in a topsy turvy country. Also, people started dancing at funerals and mourning at weddings, AND the poor gave charity to the rich. A Court of Injustice was established.
Anyway, since it's a children's book eventually the Emperor's own son managed to gain power and turn the world right again.

[Liuba · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very wise and realistic legend story comprises the life customs of several generations of Chinese rulers (Emperor Ching Ching Shang, his son Cho Cho Shang and grandson Prince Ling Ling), their families and citizenship. They are really not comparison and you will not get bored!