''Bridge of Birds '' by Barry Hughart
 http://images.amazon.com/images/P/0345321383.01.MZZZZZZZ.jpg

[ISBN 0345321383] "A novel of an ancient China that never was." A somewhat difficult to describe book. Imagine a Chinese version of ThePrincessBride. 

A small sample: 
"My surname is Li, and my personal name is Kao, and I have a slight flaw in my character."
* This byline probably conveys nothing, out of context. Kind of like the Terminator's "I'll be back" sounds like nothing, if you haven't seen the movies. But '''in''' context it is fun and ironic.

''This is a wonderful, wonderful book; one of a kind. Princess Bride isn't a bad comparison; that had never occurred to me. It's all silly and lightly humorous, there's high adventure, romance, quests, all set in a mythical ancient China of gods and magic.''

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Also see TheStoryOfTheStone and EightSkilledGentlemen, the two sequels. There is also an omnibus containing all three entitled "The Chronicles of Master Li and Number Ten Ox".
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CategoryBook