110 - DOROSHEVITCH, Vlas. Му-сянь. Китайскій романъ [Mu-Sian. A Chinese Novel].

DOROSHEVITCH, Vlas. Му-сянь. Китайскій романъ [Mu-Sian. A Chinese Novel]. First volume edition of this rare, Eastern-inspired satirical novel; copy inscribed by the author. Moscow, I. D. Sytine, 1901. Small 8vo, fawn half-maroquin Bradel binding edged with a gold fillet, smooth spine with title running lengthwise. 71 pp., 5 black illustrations as inserts. In Russian. Spine browned with a stain along its length; minimal scuffing; paper slightly browned at the margins. First separate edition of this rare, Eastern-inspired satirical novel. Copy enhanced with an autograph dedication signed in English by the author: “To Mistress Story, who knows Russian for 7.” Vlas Dorochevitch (1865–1922), one of the most influential journalists and serial writers of the late imperial era, presents here a work emblematic of the “Chinoiserie” trend in fin-de-siècle Russia, directly inspired by his grand expedition to Asia (China, Japan, India) undertaken in 1897. Through the love affairs of the mandarin Yun-Ho-Zan, the author draws on his travel observations to parody, with biting irony, the imperial bureaucratic apparatus and the early cultural clashes with the West. Rare, in a contemporary binding.