Ripple on Stagnant Water
Ripple on Stagnant Water is a naturalist novel by Li Jieren, originally written in Sichuanese and first published in 1935 in Republican China. It follows Deng Yaogu, a married woman from the town of Tianhui who dreams of moving to Chengdu. She has two affairs: first with her cousin Cambuel Luo, who belongs to a secret group called the Elder Brothers Society, and then with Gu Tiancheng, a Christian from Chengdu whom she marries after divorcing her husband Cai Xingshun. Through Deng Yaogu’s life, the book shows how power shifts among local Christian communities, the Elder Brothers Society, and government officials in the late 19th century.
A revised edition appeared in 1955 with only small changes. The novel has been translated into English several times: a 1990 edition titled Ripples Across Stagnant Water, and a 2013 version by Bret Starling and Yin Chi called Ripple on Stagnant Water: A Novel of Sichuan in the Age of Treaty Ports (University of Hawaii Press). The 2013 edition includes the prologue as an appendix and notes on translating Sichuanese dialects. There have also been adaptations: a 1988 TV version titled A Woman to Three Men, and a 1992 film released as Ripples Across Stagnant Water.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 19:09 (CET).