Other Places, Other Times is a collection of twenty-six historical fictions. Thirteen of the stories are about Chen Hsi-wei, an imaginary peasant/poet of the Sui period, circa 600 C.E. As a boy, Hsi-wei served the emperor on a perilous mission. He turned down the offer of material rewards in favor of an education which made him a poet. Hsi-wei travels the empire making straw sandals and verses. The narratives account...