Title: The Call of the Sunset

Author: Gamal al-Ghitani (Egyptian)

Translator: Li Chen

Publisher: Huawen Publishing House

Edition: 1st Edition, March 2018

Format: Soft - bound Hardcover, 16 - mo

Printed Sheets: 16

Word Count: 160,000 words

ISBN: 9787507548679

Price: 38.00 CNY

This is a fantastic masterpiece of mysticism.

It is a mythical story similar to China's Journey to the West or the Arabian One Thousand and One Nights.

The novel tells the story of the protagonist, Ahmed, who follows "the call from the unknown", literally "the call of the setting sun", which stems from the ancient Eastern view of life and death. The west, where the sun sets, symbolizes the end of life. The journey towards the west is actually a journey for humanity to seek its spiritual home.

"There are two types of travel: one is physical and sensory, a roaming in time and space; the other belongs to the soul, an elevation from one attribute to another."

The Call of the Sunset adopts the form of a travelogue. The author writes in a way that combines reality and fiction, with a popular language and a strong storytelling quality. On the surface, it is a physical journey, but in fact, it more often points to a spiritual journey. The descriptions of the desert oasis in Morocco are real, while the various legends and stories within are fictional and mysterious. The author focuses on depicting the "enlightenment" in the process of mystical cultivation. This kind of enlightenment is the wisdom that emerges from gradually pondering the external world and one's inner self in daily life, leading to an understanding of the meaning of life, the true self, and the purpose of the journey.

Gamal al-Ghitani is a renowned contemporary Egyptian writer. He was born in a rural area of Upper Egypt, where there are a large number of Pharaonic cultural heritages. This has made him deeply connected with Pharaonic culture since childhood. He worked as a war correspondent for six years. He is highly skilled at drawing on his country's historical and cultural heritages. The cultural heritages of the Pharaonic period, Islamic culture, and literary heritages, especially Sufi culture, have had a significant impact on his creation. His important works include Jinni Barakat, Strange Cases in the Zaytun District, The Book of Apparitions, The World as Seen by the Clear - Eyed, The Breadth of the City, The Call of the Setting Sun, Above the Pyramids, Enterprise Rumors, Crazy Tibetan Texts, Besieged on Three Sides, etc. Many of his works have been translated into German, Russian, French, etc., and are deeply loved by foreign readers. He has successively won the Egyptian State Encouragement Award, the First - Class Medal of Egyptian Science and Art, and the French Order of Arts and Letters, becoming a highly influential figure in the entire Arab literary world.

Li Chen is an associate researcher of Arabic literature at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Born in 1939, he graduated from the advanced Arabic translation class of the Foreign Affairs College in 1962 and transferred to the Oriental Department of the Institute of Foreign Literature, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in 1977. His main works include Modern Arabic Literature and Mysticism. His translations include Children of Gebelawi, The Call of the Sunset, This is My Territory. He has also edited works such as Selected Classical Arabic Essays, Arabic Women's Literature, Babylonian Myths, etc.

The Call of the Sunset / 001

Mention of the Call / 006

Four Brothers / 017

About the Hadhrami / 025

The Infant on Land / 038

Umm Sawir Oasis / 043

The One Who Talks of Traces / 051

Mention of the Big Tent / 059

Description of the Big Tent / 063

The Beginning of Her Era / 068

Recording Private Matters / 072

Completion / 075

Revealing Secrets / 079

Unexpected / 087

The Kingdom of Birds / 092

The Origin of the Kingdom of Birds / 102

Standing Firm / 109

The Eternal Smile / 116

The Annoying Transformation / 125

Lessons from Appearance / 132

Speaking of the Method / 136

The Hanging Tear / 142

Possibility / 144

Laying the Foundation and Renewing Etiquette / 149

Peeking / 153

New Rules / 156

Getting Off the Sedan Chair / 160

The Exposure of the Hidden / 165

Inducing Revelation / 171

The Intensity of Latent Desires / 175

The Slowness of Movements / 178

The Passing Caravan / 187

The Change of Space / 191

The Man with a Cane / 197

Excerpts from Ahmed's Notes / 207

Shadow / 210

Allah, Be Blessed / 221