Sea of Regret

Sea of Regret or The Sea of Regret (Chinese: 恨海; pinyin: hènhǎi; Wade–Giles: Hen-hai) is a 1906 novel in 10 chapters by Wu Jianren (Wu Woyao). Set in the turmoil surrounding the Boxer Uprising of 1900, the plot involves two couples, whose arranged marriages cannot be completed. The husband-to-be of one couple dies from opium addiction, and his brother’s bride-to-be becomes a prostitute.

The novel was one of the best sellers of the decade and is taken to be a response to foreign-inspired attacks on traditional Chinese marriage.

There are two English translations:

• The Sea of Regret translated by Patrick Hanan, published by the University of Hawaiʻi Press in 1995. In a review by Jie Lu, of the University of the Pacific, Hanan was praised for his translation, cultural context, and commitment to remaining true to the original. Hanan later wrote a collection of essays, Chinese Fiction of the Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Century (Columbia University Press, 2004), including an essay in which he reflects on the meaning of the original story, specifically, its cultural significance, and reiterates the techniques used by Wu Jianren in The Sea of Regret to convey that to readers.
• Sea of Regret: China's First Modern Love Story translated by Douglas Lancashire and Edel Lancashire, published in 1998 in the UK