Once on a Moonless NightA precious scroll inscribed with a lost Buddhist sutra—once owned by Pu Yi, the last emperor of China—is illicitly sold to an eccentric French linguist, Paul d’Ampere, who is imprisoned as a result. In jail, he devotes himself to studying its ancient text. |
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bamboo beautiful beneath body breath Buddha Buddhabhadra Buddhist camp centimetre China Chinese chooq Cixi clouds colour d'Ampère's DAI SIJIE dark dead Dogon door dream dynasty emperor engraved eventually eyes father felt floor Forbidden City French Frenchman glasses greengrocer's grey hair hand head hear heard heart Hinayana Hu Feng Huizong imperial inside Jatakas knew Kumarajiva language later light Little India Little India Street looked Manchuria Mandalay Marco Polo's memory metres monks morning mother mountain mouth never night once Pagan painting palace paper Paul d'Ampère Peking prisoners Puyi Puyi's rain realised recognised remember River Lu roof round sacred Saint-Paul-de-Fenouillet Sanskrit scroll sentence Seventy-one Sichuan silent silk smell Song dynasty sort sound stupa sumo sutra thought Tibetan tion told took translated tree Tumchooq vegetables voice walls warders wind wooden words xylography