Mandarin

Imperial China #3

by Robert S. Elegant

The families of two merchants become caught up in the violent turmoil of the Taiping Rebellion in China during the 1860s

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, China, Asia, Literature

527 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1983

About the author

Robert Sampson Elegant (born March 7, 1928) is a British-American author and journalist born in New York City. He spent many years in Asia as a journalist. The Asian settings of all but one of his novels reflect that experience. He covered both the Korean and the Vietnam Wars, as well as four or five lesser conflicts.

Reviews

[Ron Wroblewski · Rating 5 out of 5]

A saga of China in the 1860s and 1870s. What was happening from the Chinese side and the Europeans who settled and traded in China. It covers China fighting a civil war plus conflicts with the Europeans which lead to a European Army storming into Peking. There are love interests involved. Well written, part of a Trilogy.

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't realise this was the third in a trilogy but I am not sure my interest would have taken me to book three if I had read the first.

This is quite a challenging book unless you have an ear for Chinese names which I don't. I struggled to remember who was who in the Chinese element of the story and to make matters worse the same people often had about three different names which I really began to lose interest in.

One story is the Mandarin/Manchu story where YEenhala the concubine who managed to give the sickly overweight, opium addicted and finally syphilitic emperor a son.

She is a clever, calculating and knows by giving the emperor a son she has ensured her place in the dynasty as the future emperor's mother. Her son becomes emperor and realistically she is the power behind the throne. She is cunning and not beyond killing off enemies to get her way.

Meanwhile the parallel story in set in Shanghai and is based around a Jewish family of merchants who have set up a company called Haleevie and Lee. The company is a partnership between the Jewish Saul Haleevie and one Asik Lee.

When Asik Lee is arrested for supposedly causing his mother's suicide through his partnership with Saul the two families become entwined.

Saul adopts the two sons and despite being Chinese they become Jewish so have two names. Asik's concubine Laylu also comes to live with the Haleevie's.

The Haleevie's one daughter Frona leads an exciting double life enjoying the parties of the gentiles and being the obedient daughter at home.
She is married off to her parent's choice of partner who turns out to be less than a perfect choice but does supply Frona with a son so much of his indiscretion is forgiven.

The two stories become entwined as wars continue between the Taiping rebellion and the Manchus and different foreign nations joining in and changing sides from time to time. It all became very complicated to follow the ins and outs of the politics and who was fighting whom.

I was seriously thinking of giving up about half way through as it really did become a bit laborious and I was not that interested in the battles and intrigues.

I did persevere as I hate giving up on things but I can't say it is a book I would rush to recommend unless you really are interested in Chinese history as a lot of the book is based on that.

Other than the rather deep and to me boring, Chinese history, the story is a love story. You could say two love stories as Yenehala loved the emperor . Frona has several loves in the book, some rather unwise and then it is kind of obvious in a typical way who she ends up with.

Unless Chinese history fascinates you and Chinese culture, names and so are something you can pick up easily I would say don't bother.

It is well written but to me too laborious and wordy. Too much detail about the Opium dens, the intrigue in the Emperor's court and beyond and the geography of China I don't have firmly fixed in my head so I was constantly referring to the map on the inside cover.

Interesting in some way but far too long in my opinion but I am glad I didn't give up. I can't say I am much better informed about the Chinese period of history in question because I began to speed read through those parts.

[Gloria · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel traces the lives of two Shanghai silk merchants and their families, and a concubine who manipulates the corrupt emperor into having his first child by her, during the Taiping Rebellion of the mid-19th century. I've had this book forever, tried reading it twice, found it ponderous, but finally finished and enjoyed it.

[Margaret · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was a looong read but interesting.

[Logan]

I have photocopied the first 25 pages, I hope I like the beginning as much as I've anticipated reading this book. Before purchasing, The Toronto Reference library, has the only available library copy in Stacks as a reference copy that can't be checked out.

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will have to get back to you on it, I honestly lost interest and started reading something else