Ink & Blood - by Chun Yu (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

A ruler who became an immortal poet. A poet who rose to rule a nation.

This nonfiction graphic novel epic traces the parallel lives of two Chinese leaders--Southern Tang emperor Li Yu and Chairman Mao Zedong--and explores how poetry can shape the fate of nations.

How did one man's devotion to verse hasten the fall of a dynasty? How did another's poetry help propel him to power? And what do their stories, separated by a thousand years yet profoundly intertwined, reveal about the relationship between art and authority in a civilization as vast, complex, and enduring as China?

Through the intimate lens of poetry, Ink & Blood bridges centuries of Chinese history, illuminating the human cost of leadership and the lasting influence of art on politics. In the process, it provides readers with a greater understanding of one of the world's most influential countries and, most importantly, the generations of people who have called it home.

About the Author

Chun Yu 俞淳, Ph.D., is an award-winning bilingual poet, writer, graphic novelist, and translator. She is the author of Little Green: Growing Up During the Cultural Revolution (Simon & Schuster). Her work has appeared in POETRY, Orion, Poetry Northwest, and Arion Press, among others. A San Francisco Public Library Laureate and co-founder of community culture programs, she creates across languages and media to connect people and worlds. She holds a B.S. and M.S. from Peking University and a Ph.D. from Rutgers University, and was a postdoctoral fellow in a Harvard-MIT joint program.

Sung Yoon Choi is a comic book illustrator and graphic novelist who graduated from the School of Visual Arts with an MFA in Illustration. Her work has been featured in the New York Times, New York Magazine, and other publications. She lives in Los Angeles with her partner and is the creator of the ongoing autobiographical series Korean American Cooking Comics.