In this epic family history, Xiaobin portrays women across five generations with Yu(feather) as the central character whose life story is weaved through the lives of her grandmother, mother, sisters and niece. After committing two unforgivable sins, Yu is sent away from her parents to live with a woman named Jinwu but is soon abandoned by her as well. Yu hopes to redeem herself from her ‘original sins’ and gain forgiveness from her mother. Her life is a quest for love, fragile but resilient, lonely but determined.

One of the foremost works of Chinese fiction literature of the 20th century,Feathered Serpentsatirizes and criticizes the totalitarian regime of Chinese Communism. To avoid and survive the fierce government censorship that governs all publications in the People’s Republic of China, Xu Xiaobin masterfully created an atmosphere where the distinction between past and present is blurred; memories of previous and present lives are intertwined; and realities and illusions are fused.