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Taipei People
Hardcover
About the author
Pai Hsien-yung
43 books61 followersChinese name: 白先勇
Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai (Chinese: 白先勇; pinyin: Bái Xiānyǒng; Wade–Giles: Pai Hsien-yung), born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War. Pai's father was the famous Kuomintang (KMT) general Bai Chongxi (Pai Chung-hsi), whom he later described as a "stern, Confucian father" with "some soft spots in his heart." Pai was diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of seven, during which time he would have to live in a separate house from his siblings (of which he would have a total of nine). He lived with his family in Chongqing, Shanghai, and Nanjing before moving to the British-controlled Hong Kong in 1948 as CPC forces turned the tide of the Chinese Civil War. In 1952, Pai and his family resettled in Taiwan, where the KMT had relocated the Republic of China after Japan's defeat in 1945.
(from Wikipedia)
Kenneth Hsien-yung Pai (Chinese: 白先勇; pinyin: Bái Xiānyǒng; Wade–Giles: Pai Hsien-yung), born July 11, 1937) is a writer who has been described as a "melancholy pioneer." He was born in Guilin, Guangxi, China at the cusp of both the Second Sino-Japanese War and subsequent Chinese Civil War. Pai's father was the famous Kuomintang (KMT) general Bai Chongxi (Pai Chung-hsi), whom he later described as a "stern, Confucian father" with "some soft spots in his heart." Pai was diagnosed with tuberculosis at the age of seven, during which time he would have to live in a separate house from his siblings (of which he would have a total of nine). He lived with his family in Chongqing, Shanghai, and Nanjing before moving to the British-controlled Hong Kong in 1948 as CPC forces turned the tide of the Chinese Civil War. In 1952, Pai and his family resettled in Taiwan, where the KMT had relocated the Republic of China after Japan's defeat in 1945.
(from Wikipedia)
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Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
June 25, 2026
A collection of short stories about people in the Taiwanese city of Taipei around the 1950s.
I liked that, being a collection of short stories, we get to see characters from different backgrounds and social statuses, both military and civilian, which, in my opinion, enriches the perspective we get of what life was like for people at the time.
It is nostalgic, sometimes funny, and other times really sad, but not to the point of making you want to pity any of the characters.
I think what I like most is that, although it is an entirely different culture, it shows how life in big cities can be similar, no matter where you are from.
One complaint I may have is that the stories are sometimes too short, making it seem like the writing was cut short abruptly.
I liked that, being a collection of short stories, we get to see characters from different backgrounds and social statuses, both military and civilian, which, in my opinion, enriches the perspective we get of what life was like for people at the time.
It is nostalgic, sometimes funny, and other times really sad, but not to the point of making you want to pity any of the characters.
I think what I like most is that, although it is an entirely different culture, it shows how life in big cities can be similar, no matter where you are from.
One complaint I may have is that the stories are sometimes too short, making it seem like the writing was cut short abruptly.
August 19, 2026
I think the writing is decent. However, I did not care for the one-sided message on display: the fallen glory of everyone after they have been driven from the mainland by the communists. The characters were high society aristocrats, or famous singers/dancers, and a lot of military men and wives. Now they have to live the rest of their rotten lives on this shitty island, which never becomes home. Typical KMT fare.
Not what I was expecting at all. The title to me suggested this would be about people who found a home and a place in Taipei.
Not what I was expecting at all. The title to me suggested this would be about people who found a home and a place in Taipei.
July 3, 2026
A more challenging read than I’d expected tbh, jury’s out on if it was truly worth it. My payoff is coming in the learnings post reading, and so far I’ve learned quite a bit about the Chinese Civil War and current geopolitical tensions between China and Taiwan.
The book was tedious in some stories [wandering in the garden, waking in the dream] - made a bit worse by consistently flipping to the glossary to keep up, which interrupted my typical world building reading flow - and it others were because intuitive, absurdly beautiful, yet sad [a sea of red blood azaleas] which leaves me overall with sort of mixed feelings and my 3 stars
The book was tedious in some stories [wandering in the garden, waking in the dream] - made a bit worse by consistently flipping to the glossary to keep up, which interrupted my typical world building reading flow - and it others were because intuitive, absurdly beautiful, yet sad [a sea of red blood azaleas] which leaves me overall with sort of mixed feelings and my 3 stars
July 8, 2026
Feeling a bit torn on this one.. Not sure if it was because of the translation, but I had a really hard time getting into some of the stories. I loved getting an insight into a part of history that I haven't much explored yet, but sometimes wished a few stories to be a bit longer.
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews