Bridge of Birds by Barry Hughart
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."
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".