Written by a court poet identified only as “The Gourmand” in the later Zwei dynasty, the Onion Cycle is a series of works perhaps best described as a short story cycle but more often characterized as a novel. Each new section of the work (variously glossed as a “chapter,” “book,” or “stanza”) contains an element of the previous work—a character, setting, or situation—but tells a largely independent story that nevertheless shines light on the previous part of the tale.

For instance, Stanza VII in the Earlham translation is the story of a thief, Lee, attempting to recover a valuable gold chain stolen from him by a rival. Stanza VIII is the story of the kingpin Poe and his struggles with running his criminal enterprise, but readers also learn that he stole the gold chain with the intent to bribe an official with it and pin the blame on Lee.

In this manner, the 108 surviving parts gradually move toward more and more important figures in society and themes. The final story, now lost but repeatedly reconstructed from context clues, reportedly featured the Emperor as its central character, in defiance of social and legal norms of the time.

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