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Jade
"Besser kann man Geschichte nicht erzählen." Nürnberger Nachrichten
Spannend und mit schillernder Anmut erzählt Lisa Huang die Geschichte einer starken Frau vom Ende des chinesischen Kaiserreiches bis zum Sieg Mao Tse-tungs. Das exotische China zu Beginn des Jahrhunderts. Das Mädchen Jade führt als Tochter eines hohen kaiserlichen Beamten ein behütetes Leben. Der Tod des Vaters markiert das jähe Ende ihrer Kindheit. Jade versucht sich in den unruhigen Zeiten in den Schutz einer neuen Familie zu begeben. Sie heiratet, doch stellt sich ihr angeblich wohlhabender Mann als opiumsüchtig und bettelarm heraus. Jade ist auf sich allein gestellt. Inmitten der revolutionären Wirren versucht sie, am Leben zu bleiben - bis sie endlich den Mann kennenlernt, der sie wahrhaft liebt. Doch ausgerechnet er scheint auf der anderen Seite zu stehen. "Lisa Huang bringt diese Welt dem deutschen Leser auf anrührende Weise näher." Die Welt
Spannend und mit schillernder Anmut erzählt Lisa Huang die Geschichte einer starken Frau vom Ende des chinesischen Kaiserreiches bis zum Sieg Mao Tse-tungs. Das exotische China zu Beginn des Jahrhunderts. Das Mädchen Jade führt als Tochter eines hohen kaiserlichen Beamten ein behütetes Leben. Der Tod des Vaters markiert das jähe Ende ihrer Kindheit. Jade versucht sich in den unruhigen Zeiten in den Schutz einer neuen Familie zu begeben. Sie heiratet, doch stellt sich ihr angeblich wohlhabender Mann als opiumsüchtig und bettelarm heraus. Jade ist auf sich allein gestellt. Inmitten der revolutionären Wirren versucht sie, am Leben zu bleiben - bis sie endlich den Mann kennenlernt, der sie wahrhaft liebt. Doch ausgerechnet er scheint auf der anderen Seite zu stehen. "Lisa Huang bringt diese Welt dem deutschen Leser auf anrührende Weise näher." Die Welt
569 pages, Paperback
First published May 1, 1991
9 people are currently reading
1171 people want to read
About the author
Lisa Huang Fleischman
2 books8 followersLisa Huang Fleischman was born in Taiwan, to a Chinese mother and an American father of Italian and German-Jewish descent. Since her father was a relief worker, she grew up in Asia and Africa -- a life of adventure and strange sights that she never really recovered from.
When her family moved to the U.S., she attended the University of California - Berkeley and Columbia University Law School.
After graduating law school, she spent several months in China, taking part in the 1989 student demonstrations in Tienanmen Square, traveling thousands of miles all over the country by "hard sleeper" train, and taking photos. She flew to Hong Kong a few days after the June 4 massacre, where all her photo negatives were stolen.
She later spent time as an officer in the U.S. Army, and went on several human rights missions for international human rights groups.
Lisa wrote 'Dream of the Walled City' as a novel loosely based on the life of her maternal grandmother, a woman of social and political standing in pre-revolutionary Changsha, who ran for office on a secessionist ticket, and knew Mao Zedong. The hardcover edition, published in 2000, was highly praised in the New Yorker and the Chicago Tribune, and the paperback went into three printings. The book was also published in French, German, Dutch, Turkish, Danish and Chinese.
Lisa's forthcoming novel, 'Hidden In The Eye', is a crime thriller with a supernatural twist, set in mid-1990's New York and based on her observations as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn,
When not writing, Lisa practices law. She lives in New York City with her husband and three sons.
When her family moved to the U.S., she attended the University of California - Berkeley and Columbia University Law School.
After graduating law school, she spent several months in China, taking part in the 1989 student demonstrations in Tienanmen Square, traveling thousands of miles all over the country by "hard sleeper" train, and taking photos. She flew to Hong Kong a few days after the June 4 massacre, where all her photo negatives were stolen.
She later spent time as an officer in the U.S. Army, and went on several human rights missions for international human rights groups.
Lisa wrote 'Dream of the Walled City' as a novel loosely based on the life of her maternal grandmother, a woman of social and political standing in pre-revolutionary Changsha, who ran for office on a secessionist ticket, and knew Mao Zedong. The hardcover edition, published in 2000, was highly praised in the New Yorker and the Chicago Tribune, and the paperback went into three printings. The book was also published in French, German, Dutch, Turkish, Danish and Chinese.
Lisa's forthcoming novel, 'Hidden In The Eye', is a crime thriller with a supernatural twist, set in mid-1990's New York and based on her observations as a federal prosecutor in Brooklyn,
When not writing, Lisa practices law. She lives in New York City with her husband and three sons.
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June 15, 2021
“They absolutely identified themselves as feminists… They were only partly interested in sexual freedom—what they really wanted to do was to transform all of society, including economically. Their primary desire was… to transfer control of the means of production to the workers.” — from an interview with the author at the back of the book on her grandmother and her peers.
This was really interesting, an impressive look into the lives of Chinese women through the time period, for those seeking to know whose shoulders they stand on.
This was really interesting, an impressive look into the lives of Chinese women through the time period, for those seeking to know whose shoulders they stand on.
June 1, 2023
The book begins in 1900, when 10-year-old Jade Virtue's father, the city magistrate, has recently died. Her mother has to sell the house, and Jade, her older brother Li Shi, and her younger sister Graceful Virtue have to move to a smaller house.
But the story really begins 8 years later, with her brother's desire for a military commission, for which the family has no money.
Jade Virtue sacrifices her happiness and arranges a marriage into the Pan family, believing that they are rich. She does this in the hope she can get a loan to buy her brother his Commission in the military. Instead, she finds out she's married to a family that has spent all of its money supporting her husband's opium and gambling addictions. She's ruined her life, and her brother was unable to get his commission until one day she finds out different. He took a University exam for one of his friends, who was able to get a position in the National budget office because Li Shi took the exam for him.
" 'Li Shi, what have you done!' I was horrified.
Li Shi's voice was cold. 'what had to be done. You women don't understand. We had undertaken the purchase of the commission. How could I back out? I had to get the rest of the money somehow, so I got it through corruption. And now there is no point in crying about it.'
I was weeping softly. We were hissing at each other so my mother would not hear. 'I feel as if it were my fault,' I sobbed, muffling my voice in my sleeve. 'I married for your sake, but I made a terrible mistake, and I couldn't get the money that way. If you have been corrupt, it is because my failure has forced you.'
Li Shi stood by the window with his arms crossed. I could not read the expression on his face, but I sensed that he was indeed angry, at both himself and at me. I wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my sweater and put my hands on his arm. We were silent a while before he spoke again.
'Well, that is the thing about corruption. It spreads through everyone. Never mind. The world is stuffed full with these kinds of things. Better to be the scissors than the cloth.'
When I look back on that conversation now, I realize that it was the end of my brother's boyhood, the end of his intransigence, and the beginning of that endless flexibility that was to Mark him as a man."
Jade virtue has to go to work to support her husband's parents. Through her friend she gets a job teaching girls at a primary school.
This is where the book gets into the first years of the communist movement. Jade's friend Yin Wu is involved in the political movement, and even introduces her at a party to a young Mao Zedong.
Jade Virtue has a friend and teacher named Teacher Yang. His daughter was the second wife of Mao Zedong. When she failed to keep a girl in school, because her marriage to a rich man fell through, and her farmer father no longer saw the use of further educating her, Jade Virtue was heartbrokenfor the girl. she came to Teacher Yang for condolences. He tells her that even though the girl has left school, she still had an early education which counts for much.
"Teacher Yang leaned back again, Satisfied by what he saw in my face. He stroked his long beard a moment before he spoke again. 'learning might make you rich, or powerful, or admired. But now you know that most of all, above everything else, it makes you free. It makes you free in the one stronghold that can never be taken by force.' he reached and touched my temple gently with his forefinger. 'this is your Fortress. It cannot be conquered.' "
Jade Virtue's husband dies from opium poisoning. She moves out of the Pan's house, and Moves In to a dormitory building where other teachers live. She takes food every day and leaves it outside the Gate of the Pan's house. But the ungrateful sons of bitches lay a trap for her: they eat poison so that it looks as if she poisoned the food she left for them.
Her case goes up before the Magistrate but she is cleared. The magistrator is a kind man named Guai, who she ends up marrying.
When Jade virtue and her husband have a daughter, and then when she's pregnant again, the boy from the set of twins dies, giving them yet again another girl. Now, Jade Virtue's in-laws want to buy a "little wife" for their son, in the hopes that she can produce a son.
As we all know, it's all-important to produce Boys in almost every culture in the world, Even though these boys can turn out to be opium addicts or total losers. Her in-laws send her a letter:
" 'I have begun to look for a small wife for Guai. I'm sure you Understand that since we consider a son unlikely at Your age and State of Health, we must take some sort of action. of course, The girl Will be respectful and subservient to you at all times. You Will Always Be Guai's intellectual companion. we intend to acquire a girl of education, so She can Take over some duties from you and you can Rest. I am sure that you want Guai's happiness as much as we do. I will write Again soon, Dear daughter-In-Law.'
after I read this letter, I Sat Back In My hard chair in despair. I rarely Cried these days, it seemed, but I Had Tears in My Eyes now. I was sure That I could make a concubine subservient to me, but I Had no wish for such an existence, Always being the villainess in the house, oppressing the younger Woman. the servants would Pity The girl and turn Against me. Worse yet, what if Guai came to have feelings for? Guai was coming into his middle years, and men were even more fickle and foolish at that Time than at any other. A lovely young girl - And I knew my mother-in-law would find a girl both lovely and clever - could Well establish herself in Guai's Heart."
but Jade Virtue has the good luck to have a good husband, Who says he Will Do no such thing as to Take another Wife. they decide to fool their In-Laws by adopting a boy, and telling Guai's parents that It's the Child of Guai's Mistress. they find the Boy in Shanghai, the child of a slain mother.
One night when Jade Virtue lived in the teacher's dormitory, before she married for the 2nd time, she had an experience with a ghost. She recounts this story to her student Patience, one of her most promising students.
She had been sleeping when she heard a noise out in the hall. A woman was coming down the stairs dressed elegantly, with her hair piled on top of her head. She went DownsTairs and kneeled in a corner of the yard and was trying to pry up a Tile. Jade Virtue put her out the window and called to her:
" 'Hey,' I calked down softly. What are you doing? The Woman lifted her face to me. Her expression was stunning-i have never before or since seen anyone Whose face was so contorted with with Anger. Her eyes seemed to glitter with her Mad emotion, and She bared her teeth at Me Like a Wolf. She stood up so quickly i drew Back, half expecting her to fly up to the window and Attack me. But she turned and ran into the Shadows at the far end of The Courtyard.
'I searched for her and among the Women of the house The next day, but no One who lived there resembled the Woman I Saw. I spoke to the oldest of the 12 widows who owned the house. I described the Woman's elaborate hairdo.
" 'but, my dear, the old lady exclaimed. no One has worn their hair like that for 80 years or more.' She lowered her voice. 'be careful. This is a malignant Ghost. She is Angry and She is Still here in this Courtyard. did you say you saw her digging Under a tile? we must examine it.'
"I followed the old Woman out into the yard and pointed out the tile. The old lady tapped it powerfully with her cane. it reSounded hollowly. when she jerked her Withered chin at It, i bent down and laboriously pulled at it. it did not come loose.
" 'Take that Hammer the workmen left,' The Old Woman ordered. 'Break the tile-it's only Clay. I give you permission. this is my house.'
"I did as She Told me. I picked up the ball-peen hammer and brought it with a single Great crack down onto the center of the Tile. The tile splintered, its pieces flying out and AWay. From underneath exploded a nest of Scorpions.
"I jerked Back with a Cry. the old lady stood transfixed with horror. I ran to her and picked her up and carried her To The shelter of one of the pilkars at the Far side of the courtyard, gritting my teeth in the fear that the Scorpions would sting me through my Cloth shoes. We both shouted to the others in the house, and soon every window was filled with faces. A few of the more capable women came out of the kitchen with torches of Fire And Ran among the Scorpions, stabbing at them with the torches. The scorpions scuttled about and set fire to one another, Burning themselves and their nest-mates to death. I counted over One hundred of them afterward.
" 'call a Taoist priest,' ordered the redoubtable old widow. 'we need an exorcism.'
"the workmen came Back and dug up the Scorpions' nest, which proved to be a eNormous. They stopped it up with poison and filled it in with cement and Earth, before Laying more Tiles on it. the Taoist priest came and performed a long series of chants, and tied a white scarf around the water tap...."
Cool ghost story.
P.374 hardcover
" ' you know we will lose this war to the communists.'
I sat back down again. 'surely not,' I pleaded.
'we will. In fact, we lost it 10 or 15 years ago, when we first allowed the Triads to help us. They brought a worm of Destruction into our government that ate away at our insides, and the business of government went from being a heroic nationalistic Enterprise to being the building of vast personal fortunes through corruption. You see it yourself.'
I said nothing, but I knew he was right.
'We lost the War years ago,' Guai sighed. 'Only none of us knew it then. The future is actually prepared long in advance - that is why the fortune tellers can sometimes guess at it. It's an odd feeling, really. It as if we had died years ago, but kept on walking around as if we were still alive.' "
This is what we are doing right now in EE.UU.
The ending is very abrupt, I wanted to know what happened to Jade after she went to Taiwan, and if she ever ran into her husband again . Also, what happened with her violent problem-Behavior son, who went to live with Jade's former servant on the farm she gave to her.
The book was Particularly interesting for the history of China leading up to world war II, the invasion of the Japanese, and the Takeover of the Communist Party.
The auther came up with this Story from tales her grandmother recounted to her from her years in China. She is a Federal prosecutor In New York. 🫨
But the story really begins 8 years later, with her brother's desire for a military commission, for which the family has no money.
Jade Virtue sacrifices her happiness and arranges a marriage into the Pan family, believing that they are rich. She does this in the hope she can get a loan to buy her brother his Commission in the military. Instead, she finds out she's married to a family that has spent all of its money supporting her husband's opium and gambling addictions. She's ruined her life, and her brother was unable to get his commission until one day she finds out different. He took a University exam for one of his friends, who was able to get a position in the National budget office because Li Shi took the exam for him.
" 'Li Shi, what have you done!' I was horrified.
Li Shi's voice was cold. 'what had to be done. You women don't understand. We had undertaken the purchase of the commission. How could I back out? I had to get the rest of the money somehow, so I got it through corruption. And now there is no point in crying about it.'
I was weeping softly. We were hissing at each other so my mother would not hear. 'I feel as if it were my fault,' I sobbed, muffling my voice in my sleeve. 'I married for your sake, but I made a terrible mistake, and I couldn't get the money that way. If you have been corrupt, it is because my failure has forced you.'
Li Shi stood by the window with his arms crossed. I could not read the expression on his face, but I sensed that he was indeed angry, at both himself and at me. I wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my sweater and put my hands on his arm. We were silent a while before he spoke again.
'Well, that is the thing about corruption. It spreads through everyone. Never mind. The world is stuffed full with these kinds of things. Better to be the scissors than the cloth.'
When I look back on that conversation now, I realize that it was the end of my brother's boyhood, the end of his intransigence, and the beginning of that endless flexibility that was to Mark him as a man."
Jade virtue has to go to work to support her husband's parents. Through her friend she gets a job teaching girls at a primary school.
This is where the book gets into the first years of the communist movement. Jade's friend Yin Wu is involved in the political movement, and even introduces her at a party to a young Mao Zedong.
Jade Virtue has a friend and teacher named Teacher Yang. His daughter was the second wife of Mao Zedong. When she failed to keep a girl in school, because her marriage to a rich man fell through, and her farmer father no longer saw the use of further educating her, Jade Virtue was heartbrokenfor the girl. she came to Teacher Yang for condolences. He tells her that even though the girl has left school, she still had an early education which counts for much.
"Teacher Yang leaned back again, Satisfied by what he saw in my face. He stroked his long beard a moment before he spoke again. 'learning might make you rich, or powerful, or admired. But now you know that most of all, above everything else, it makes you free. It makes you free in the one stronghold that can never be taken by force.' he reached and touched my temple gently with his forefinger. 'this is your Fortress. It cannot be conquered.' "
Jade Virtue's husband dies from opium poisoning. She moves out of the Pan's house, and Moves In to a dormitory building where other teachers live. She takes food every day and leaves it outside the Gate of the Pan's house. But the ungrateful sons of bitches lay a trap for her: they eat poison so that it looks as if she poisoned the food she left for them.
Her case goes up before the Magistrate but she is cleared. The magistrator is a kind man named Guai, who she ends up marrying.
When Jade virtue and her husband have a daughter, and then when she's pregnant again, the boy from the set of twins dies, giving them yet again another girl. Now, Jade Virtue's in-laws want to buy a "little wife" for their son, in the hopes that she can produce a son.
As we all know, it's all-important to produce Boys in almost every culture in the world, Even though these boys can turn out to be opium addicts or total losers. Her in-laws send her a letter:
" 'I have begun to look for a small wife for Guai. I'm sure you Understand that since we consider a son unlikely at Your age and State of Health, we must take some sort of action. of course, The girl Will be respectful and subservient to you at all times. You Will Always Be Guai's intellectual companion. we intend to acquire a girl of education, so She can Take over some duties from you and you can Rest. I am sure that you want Guai's happiness as much as we do. I will write Again soon, Dear daughter-In-Law.'
after I read this letter, I Sat Back In My hard chair in despair. I rarely Cried these days, it seemed, but I Had Tears in My Eyes now. I was sure That I could make a concubine subservient to me, but I Had no wish for such an existence, Always being the villainess in the house, oppressing the younger Woman. the servants would Pity The girl and turn Against me. Worse yet, what if Guai came to have feelings for? Guai was coming into his middle years, and men were even more fickle and foolish at that Time than at any other. A lovely young girl - And I knew my mother-in-law would find a girl both lovely and clever - could Well establish herself in Guai's Heart."
but Jade Virtue has the good luck to have a good husband, Who says he Will Do no such thing as to Take another Wife. they decide to fool their In-Laws by adopting a boy, and telling Guai's parents that It's the Child of Guai's Mistress. they find the Boy in Shanghai, the child of a slain mother.
One night when Jade Virtue lived in the teacher's dormitory, before she married for the 2nd time, she had an experience with a ghost. She recounts this story to her student Patience, one of her most promising students.
She had been sleeping when she heard a noise out in the hall. A woman was coming down the stairs dressed elegantly, with her hair piled on top of her head. She went DownsTairs and kneeled in a corner of the yard and was trying to pry up a Tile. Jade Virtue put her out the window and called to her:
" 'Hey,' I calked down softly. What are you doing? The Woman lifted her face to me. Her expression was stunning-i have never before or since seen anyone Whose face was so contorted with with Anger. Her eyes seemed to glitter with her Mad emotion, and She bared her teeth at Me Like a Wolf. She stood up so quickly i drew Back, half expecting her to fly up to the window and Attack me. But she turned and ran into the Shadows at the far end of The Courtyard.
'I searched for her and among the Women of the house The next day, but no One who lived there resembled the Woman I Saw. I spoke to the oldest of the 12 widows who owned the house. I described the Woman's elaborate hairdo.
" 'but, my dear, the old lady exclaimed. no One has worn their hair like that for 80 years or more.' She lowered her voice. 'be careful. This is a malignant Ghost. She is Angry and She is Still here in this Courtyard. did you say you saw her digging Under a tile? we must examine it.'
"I followed the old Woman out into the yard and pointed out the tile. The old lady tapped it powerfully with her cane. it reSounded hollowly. when she jerked her Withered chin at It, i bent down and laboriously pulled at it. it did not come loose.
" 'Take that Hammer the workmen left,' The Old Woman ordered. 'Break the tile-it's only Clay. I give you permission. this is my house.'
"I did as She Told me. I picked up the ball-peen hammer and brought it with a single Great crack down onto the center of the Tile. The tile splintered, its pieces flying out and AWay. From underneath exploded a nest of Scorpions.
"I jerked Back with a Cry. the old lady stood transfixed with horror. I ran to her and picked her up and carried her To The shelter of one of the pilkars at the Far side of the courtyard, gritting my teeth in the fear that the Scorpions would sting me through my Cloth shoes. We both shouted to the others in the house, and soon every window was filled with faces. A few of the more capable women came out of the kitchen with torches of Fire And Ran among the Scorpions, stabbing at them with the torches. The scorpions scuttled about and set fire to one another, Burning themselves and their nest-mates to death. I counted over One hundred of them afterward.
" 'call a Taoist priest,' ordered the redoubtable old widow. 'we need an exorcism.'
"the workmen came Back and dug up the Scorpions' nest, which proved to be a eNormous. They stopped it up with poison and filled it in with cement and Earth, before Laying more Tiles on it. the Taoist priest came and performed a long series of chants, and tied a white scarf around the water tap...."
Cool ghost story.
P.374 hardcover
" ' you know we will lose this war to the communists.'
I sat back down again. 'surely not,' I pleaded.
'we will. In fact, we lost it 10 or 15 years ago, when we first allowed the Triads to help us. They brought a worm of Destruction into our government that ate away at our insides, and the business of government went from being a heroic nationalistic Enterprise to being the building of vast personal fortunes through corruption. You see it yourself.'
I said nothing, but I knew he was right.
'We lost the War years ago,' Guai sighed. 'Only none of us knew it then. The future is actually prepared long in advance - that is why the fortune tellers can sometimes guess at it. It's an odd feeling, really. It as if we had died years ago, but kept on walking around as if we were still alive.' "
This is what we are doing right now in EE.UU.
The ending is very abrupt, I wanted to know what happened to Jade after she went to Taiwan, and if she ever ran into her husband again . Also, what happened with her violent problem-Behavior son, who went to live with Jade's former servant on the farm she gave to her.
The book was Particularly interesting for the history of China leading up to world war II, the invasion of the Japanese, and the Takeover of the Communist Party.
The auther came up with this Story from tales her grandmother recounted to her from her years in China. She is a Federal prosecutor In New York. 🫨
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 12, 2019
I re-read this after 20 years and found it just a wonderful as when I first read it but it brought up new perspectives about the balance between the individual and the collective. It was both a compelling story with rich, relatable characters as well as a plunge into early 20th century Chinese history.
November 22, 2011
There are a lot of books written about China during the years leading up to the Communists and Mao, but this book was more about people and how they interact more than just a book about history... husbands and wives, families and friends, friends and foes.
I liked this book a lot.
I liked this book a lot.
October 15, 2012
Wow, what a great story. One of the best books I've read in years.
July 7, 2017
This is a very impressive novel.At least now i can imagine much better what happened in China before and during the world war.A period from which we in the West know not very much.
May 16, 2021
A captivating story, beautifully written.
January 16, 2022
Lisa Huang Fleischmann is in Taiwan geboren als dochter van een Chinese moeder en Amerikaanse vader.
Dit prachtige verhaal is gebaseerd op het leven van haar grootmoeder.
Eind jaren '80 wordt Lisa in China ondergedompeld in de Chinese cultuur en neemt ze zelf aan de protesten op het Tiananmenplein deel, waar de kiem voor deze meeslepende saga gelegd wordt.
Het verhaal begint op een kantelmoment in het leven van Jade Deugd, geboren in 1890 (4588 Chinese tijdrekening) in Changska in de provincie Hunan. Haar broer Li Shi is 13, zij is 10 en haar zus Bevallige Deugd is 7 als haar vader na een mysterieuze ziekte overlijdt. Haar vader was een hoge keizerlijke functionaris, dus leidde zij tot dan een letterlijk beschut leven in een immens groot herenhuis omringd door torenhoge muren.
Haar moeder stuurt de twee concubines en het personeel weg, verkoopt het grote huis en gaat bescheiden wonen. Pas dan maakt Jade kennis met het echte leven in China. De eeuwenoude tradities zoals het inbinden van de voeten beginnen langzaam af te brokkelen. Begin 1912 komt er zelfs een einde aan het keizerrijk: de 3-jarige (!) Puyi geeft de troon op.
Door haar vriendschap met de rijke Xiang Jin Yu waardoor ze ook Meester Yang leert kennen, zien we hoe de politieke veranderingen in China zich voltrekken. Bij Meester Yang zijn er politieke vergaderingen en komt Jade ook in contact met Mao Zedong.
Om de militaire studie van Li Shi te kunnen betalen, trouwt Jade met Wang Mang Pan, erfgenaam van een oud geslacht. Jammer genoeg ontdekt ze te laat dat hij verslaafd is en dat al het geld in rook is opgegaan. Trouwen uit liefde is in die tijd in China nog niet aan de orde. Via Jade maken we de evolutie mee van gearrangeerde huwelijken naar het zelf kiezen van een man/vrouw. Het belang van moeder van een zoon te worden, komt ook enkele keren op schrijnende wijze aan bod.
Via haar broer Li Shi maken we kennis met het leger van Guomindang. We maken zo ook de aanvallen van de Japanners mee en de dreiging van de communisten die zich in de bergen hebben teruggetrokken.
Jade's tweede echtgenoot, de magistraat Wu Guai Er, wantrouwt de communisten, terwijl haar beste vriendin Jin Yu haar leven voor hen waagt. Jade slaagt erin met beide een goede relatie te behouden.
Het boek stopt op het moment dat Jade op de boot naar Taiwan zit, waar Lisa Huang geboren is.
Dit prachtige verhaal is gebaseerd op het leven van haar grootmoeder.
Eind jaren '80 wordt Lisa in China ondergedompeld in de Chinese cultuur en neemt ze zelf aan de protesten op het Tiananmenplein deel, waar de kiem voor deze meeslepende saga gelegd wordt.
Het verhaal begint op een kantelmoment in het leven van Jade Deugd, geboren in 1890 (4588 Chinese tijdrekening) in Changska in de provincie Hunan. Haar broer Li Shi is 13, zij is 10 en haar zus Bevallige Deugd is 7 als haar vader na een mysterieuze ziekte overlijdt. Haar vader was een hoge keizerlijke functionaris, dus leidde zij tot dan een letterlijk beschut leven in een immens groot herenhuis omringd door torenhoge muren.
Haar moeder stuurt de twee concubines en het personeel weg, verkoopt het grote huis en gaat bescheiden wonen. Pas dan maakt Jade kennis met het echte leven in China. De eeuwenoude tradities zoals het inbinden van de voeten beginnen langzaam af te brokkelen. Begin 1912 komt er zelfs een einde aan het keizerrijk: de 3-jarige (!) Puyi geeft de troon op.
Door haar vriendschap met de rijke Xiang Jin Yu waardoor ze ook Meester Yang leert kennen, zien we hoe de politieke veranderingen in China zich voltrekken. Bij Meester Yang zijn er politieke vergaderingen en komt Jade ook in contact met Mao Zedong.
Om de militaire studie van Li Shi te kunnen betalen, trouwt Jade met Wang Mang Pan, erfgenaam van een oud geslacht. Jammer genoeg ontdekt ze te laat dat hij verslaafd is en dat al het geld in rook is opgegaan. Trouwen uit liefde is in die tijd in China nog niet aan de orde. Via Jade maken we de evolutie mee van gearrangeerde huwelijken naar het zelf kiezen van een man/vrouw. Het belang van moeder van een zoon te worden, komt ook enkele keren op schrijnende wijze aan bod.
Via haar broer Li Shi maken we kennis met het leger van Guomindang. We maken zo ook de aanvallen van de Japanners mee en de dreiging van de communisten die zich in de bergen hebben teruggetrokken.
Jade's tweede echtgenoot, de magistraat Wu Guai Er, wantrouwt de communisten, terwijl haar beste vriendin Jin Yu haar leven voor hen waagt. Jade slaagt erin met beide een goede relatie te behouden.
Het boek stopt op het moment dat Jade op de boot naar Taiwan zit, waar Lisa Huang geboren is.
July 9, 2019
This is very reminiscent of a Lisa See book without the concentration being mainly about the relationship between a mother and her daughter. Historically, everything written is done graphically so you can imagine exactly what these people go through. I love that Jade Virtue is humane through this book with the soul of a lost person because she’s not quite sure what she believes in while everyone around her seems to be so sure of what they’re fighting for. I loved her growth in the book, the wisdom she gains and what it eventually leads her to — which in the end comes down to survival. This book is beautifully written. I read a comment a while back that says the politics bog down the storyline and I just don’t see how that’s possible. The political aspect enriched this book because of the time it took place in. Absolutely superb, would recommend it for anyone who loves reading about history with a strong female lead. 👏🏾👌🏾
March 17, 2021
Excellent historical fiction of the first 50 years of the 20th century in Changsha, China. Based on Ms. Fleischman's maternal grandmother's life story. Fascinating purview of China's changing culture and politics during that time period and the cost of those changes to one woman's family and friends.
A fine read.
A fine read.
July 14, 2022
I enjoy reading Historical fiction & this novel was interesting since it was set in China before the revolution. Lots of strong women characters, events & politics. It is loosely based on the authors grandmother’s life, the descriptions are very detailed including the architecture of the houses & other buildings. It also tries to describe the politics if the times during WWII.
February 12, 2019
I really enjoyed reading this book. It wasn't a quick or easy read but kept me captivated the whole time. It follows the life of a girl growing up in China during the early 1900s. Her life was fictional but the events that took place in the book were historically accurate.
January 9, 2023
This book was incredibly interesting. Inspired by the author’s family members and their experiences, it was interesting to see the pre-revolution views of Mao, and the ways the communist movement changed, as did the revolution as a whole.
January 11, 2020
400 pages worth reading as it is beautifully written and gripping throughout. You are there, in China, 1900 to 1945, a girl/ woman in the culture and history of that time.
August 31, 2021
My book of the year 2021
April 30, 2023
Inspired by the life of her maternal grandmother, Lisa Huang Fleischman’s debut novel offers an intimate look at China during the first half of the 20th century. The reader travels with Jade Virtue through the collapse of the Chinese empire, the rise of warlords, and the coming of Mao. Witnessing history through a feminist lens, makes Dream of the Walled City an especially compelling read.
August 26, 2025
Quite moving. Powerful description of turbulent events in China in late 19th century till the Communist takeover.
October 4, 2024
Most favorite combination of themes: history, feminsm and Asia (okay fantasy is missing, but this would have been weird). Never read something like this before and liked every single page of it. Lisa Huang Fleischman tells a story so carefully and magnificent, with so lovable and credible characters and a view for the tiny things that count.
Being a feminst does not always mean to be a powerful women but stand up for the things and persons you love while keeping your personal beliefs and values.
Being a feminst does not always mean to be a powerful women but stand up for the things and persons you love while keeping your personal beliefs and values.
November 24, 2013
ERC Book Club, March 2003 selection
Effective way for me to learn about China from turn of the 19th century to WWII (pre-communist era China). Many people compared this book to Memoirs of a Geisha, but I thought this book was less lyrical and a bit more choppy. Enjoyed the main character and some of the others but felt they could have been developed further. Also, there were a few issues I felt the author didn't resolve completely, eg. Jade Virtue's feelings on her choices in life, Mao's departure from the book. --eps, 03/23/03
Amazon Reviewers say: Great read for those who are interested in Chinese history, but find history books too dry; This book is for anyone that enjoyed 'Memoirs of a Geisha'.
Dream of the Walled City is a lovingly crafted work of historical fiction inspired by the life of the author's grandmother. Fleischman has successfully depicted a fascinating Chinese woman who is trapped but not defeated by the parameters of her life in a tumultuous society.
- (Andrew X. Pham, author of Catfish and Mandala)
The Best Book I Have Read This Year, December 21, 2000
Amazon.com Reviewer: Matthew Kipp from Chicago, Illinois
"Dream of the Walled City" is an emotionally moving account of the life of Jade Virtue, a self-described ordinary woman who chronicles extraordinary times. The writing is fluid, if not poetic (reminiscent, in places, of Virginia Wolff), and the characters are at once dynamic and realistic. The story exquisitely weaves the quotidian events of Jade's life with the seismic political and industrial developments of Twentieth Century China. The story is immediately enrapturing and also provides a unique overview of some of the important events in the history of modern China. "Walled City" tells its story with grace: it is superbly written; it is at times humorous, at others tragic or shocking (or both); and it is at all times engrossing. The New Yorker recently praised the book and I was not surprised to read in that review a favorable comparison to Dickens's "Tale of Two Cities."
January 28, 2013
Before I read this book, I knew very little about China the country or the Chinese culture. Previous to reading Dream Of The Walled City, I read Pearl Buck's The Good Earth. DOTWC is very different from The Good Earth, but there are similarities particularly with the attitudes and thought processes of the poor farmers and the better-off middle class Chinese. Wang Lung from TGE worked hard, and he succeeded in bringing prosperity to his family against all the odds. Jade Virtue from DOTWC comes from a privileged family, but her drive to keep her family well provided for very much mirrors the dedication of Wang Lung despite the fact that she's a female in a culture that doesn't have much use for women other than for childbirth and hard work.
DOTWC is Jade Virtue's story, and one of the things I found disconcerting about the telling of it was how dispassionate it all seemed. In her family, she was considered the emotional one, yet even though her tears may have been frequent, there was still very little passion in her voice as she described the events of her life. She lived in China during one of the most turbulent times in its history, yet she seemed to take all events both large and small as occurrences over which she had little, if any, control. The image she projected to those who knew her was one of a woman capable of handling anything no matter how challenging. When she spoke of herself she did so with a sense of being unworthy and even somewhat helpless. I think this came from the author's cutting short the telling of events so that I felt there were parts of the story either missing or neglected.
For me, this was a very sad story. By the end I felt like Jade Virtue knew exactly what it feels like to keep pounding her head against a brick wall and then finding out how very good it feels to stop. Now that I've finished DOTWC, I will look for other books about China and its people. The history is fascinating as well as heartbreaking when viewed from a personalized point of view. If Lisa Huang Fleischman has written more books, I would certainly be interested in reading them.
DOTWC is Jade Virtue's story, and one of the things I found disconcerting about the telling of it was how dispassionate it all seemed. In her family, she was considered the emotional one, yet even though her tears may have been frequent, there was still very little passion in her voice as she described the events of her life. She lived in China during one of the most turbulent times in its history, yet she seemed to take all events both large and small as occurrences over which she had little, if any, control. The image she projected to those who knew her was one of a woman capable of handling anything no matter how challenging. When she spoke of herself she did so with a sense of being unworthy and even somewhat helpless. I think this came from the author's cutting short the telling of events so that I felt there were parts of the story either missing or neglected.
For me, this was a very sad story. By the end I felt like Jade Virtue knew exactly what it feels like to keep pounding her head against a brick wall and then finding out how very good it feels to stop. Now that I've finished DOTWC, I will look for other books about China and its people. The history is fascinating as well as heartbreaking when viewed from a personalized point of view. If Lisa Huang Fleischman has written more books, I would certainly be interested in reading them.
June 26, 2009
If you love historical fiction that is well researched and believable, you should enjoy this first effort by Lisa Huang Fleischman. Her art reminds me of Barbara Kingsolver’s Poisonwood Bible, in that she is able to capture and recreate a particular time period from several different viewpoints. Unlike Poisonwood, the story is told from one perspective, that of Jade Virtue, a young woman coming of age in the early decades of the 1900s. Jade Virtue comes in contact with characters representing various aspects of Chinese society at this changing time: the sage, the Communist rebel, the in-laws, the government’s commanding officer, and so on. The book reads almost like a first-hand account, as it is largely based on the stories Fleischman gleaned from her grandmother. Here are some of my favorite quotes, as they resonate with me in light of events transpiring today.
Guai (Jade Virtue’s husband/town magistrate): “The problem with democracy is that it’s petty and boring. People’s tastes are constantly jaded by the pleasures of both flesh and intellect. So they always want excitement. And the leaders always want glory, fame and adulation. Democracy is unsatisfactory to them, because its business is very ordinary, and often rather halfway and compromised. People prefer grand schemes, violent revolutions, red banners, marching armies, pure motives. All these things are much more picturesque, more artistic, more thrilling, than dull old democracy. It takes a very strong mind to be a real democrat. You have to resist a desire for perfection which can’t exist in reality. The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
Jade Virtue’s mother: “In the old days . . . we preferred jade to diamonds, because diamonds were too glittery. We thought shiny surfaces were untrustworthy. And so they are, but the entire world is in love with shiny surfaces.”
Guai (Jade Virtue’s husband/town magistrate): “The problem with democracy is that it’s petty and boring. People’s tastes are constantly jaded by the pleasures of both flesh and intellect. So they always want excitement. And the leaders always want glory, fame and adulation. Democracy is unsatisfactory to them, because its business is very ordinary, and often rather halfway and compromised. People prefer grand schemes, violent revolutions, red banners, marching armies, pure motives. All these things are much more picturesque, more artistic, more thrilling, than dull old democracy. It takes a very strong mind to be a real democrat. You have to resist a desire for perfection which can’t exist in reality. The perfect is the enemy of the good.”
Jade Virtue’s mother: “In the old days . . . we preferred jade to diamonds, because diamonds were too glittery. We thought shiny surfaces were untrustworthy. And so they are, but the entire world is in love with shiny surfaces.”
November 6, 2014
Dream of the Walled City by Lisa Huang Fleischman is a beautiful Chinese historical book. This book does a great job teaching Chinese culture along with how life was during the 20th century in China. The book is about Jade Virtue a high class girl and how she dealt with the sudden changes that raced through China. She holds some traditional thoughts as well as modern thoughts like the need of education for everyone including women. My favorite thing about the book is that it has many life lessons and it's realistic. Jade Virtue isn't one to make sacrifices or great things like Mao Zedong but does contribute as that it what makes her the most human character and the most relatable. At the first chance you get you don't normally throw everything away to fight for a great cause, you usually try to help out in your own way but with your loved ones or at home. I recommend this book to anyone who enjoys learning about Chinese Cultures in the 20th century or any cultures. Also if you like coming of age books this is for you. Finally if you would rather learn Chinese history in a fun interesting way this is your book.
November 2, 2014
This book, I'm sure speaks to many people. Unfortunately, one of them was not me.
Spoilers.
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I really liked the beginning, it was all about what I thought it would be by reading the back cover. Once the husband passed away, the book pretty much lost me.
It was just not what I bought the book to read about. Nowhere from reading the cover did I think that there was going to be 300 pages of dry politics and death, and lots more of death. I kept powering through it thinking that eventually the book would move on, back to what I thought the book was supposed to be about.
So. I was lost until the mothers scrolls were empty. That page was one of the last I read before heading to bed one of the nights, and it kept me awake thinking about it. So then I was back in it.
But then I felt like the ending was so abrupt compared to the time period crossed throughout the novel. And plus, the scrolls were explained away in a way that just didn't appeal to me.
I don't know what one thing about this book didn't work for me, it just didn't. There was nothing wrong with the writing. Sorry author =/.
Spoilers.
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I really liked the beginning, it was all about what I thought it would be by reading the back cover. Once the husband passed away, the book pretty much lost me.
It was just not what I bought the book to read about. Nowhere from reading the cover did I think that there was going to be 300 pages of dry politics and death, and lots more of death. I kept powering through it thinking that eventually the book would move on, back to what I thought the book was supposed to be about.
So. I was lost until the mothers scrolls were empty. That page was one of the last I read before heading to bed one of the nights, and it kept me awake thinking about it. So then I was back in it.
But then I felt like the ending was so abrupt compared to the time period crossed throughout the novel. And plus, the scrolls were explained away in a way that just didn't appeal to me.
I don't know what one thing about this book didn't work for me, it just didn't. There was nothing wrong with the writing. Sorry author =/.
January 18, 2010
Born in 1890, the privileged and sheltered daughter of a high-ranking imperial official, Jade Virtue spends her childhood enclosed by the towering walls of her family's sprawling mansion, never glimpsing the desperate struggle of China's ancient society, as the old ways are challenged and the twentieth century?fast, fearsome, and tumultuous?rushes in. But when her father mysteriously dies, young Jade Virtue is suddenly thrust into poverty, and experiences firsthand a traditional culture falling apart under the onslaught of growing rebellion against the Emperor, rapid social changes, and the mounting aggression of Japan and the West.
March 15, 2012
I really wanted to like this, but it fell a little short for me. I think Fleishman described early 20th century China quite well, and it was interesting to see the two friends ending up on different sides of the forces that fought for control of China. Jin Yu . . . did not like her. Found her too angry, too superior. And there were several passages that seemed to be thrown in for . . . I don't know, length? Maybe to make it seem more like real life? But these particular parts had little to do with the story, which was already moving a bit slow for me.
September 19, 2007
This historical novel follows the life of a woman in China during the turn of the (19th-20th) century. It is written by her granddaughter - who is a federal prosecutor in New York. The narrator was a deputy governor's wife prior to the Communist takeover of China. She was a contemporary of Mao and sympathetic to the revolutionaries. This was a fascinating view of a tumultuous era in Chinese history.
August 2, 2010
If I could, I'd give this a three and a half. It was very interesting to see how much China changed over the course of one lifetime. The thing that bothered me was that I couldn't shake the feeling that I'd read it before, which means either I did read it before and it just wasn't that memorable, or it's too much like other things I've read about China. There may have also been some resentment on my part at having to read it quickly to get it back before its due date.
January 6, 2022
This is one of the best historical novels I've read in years. The story occurs between the abdication of the last Ching emperor to the declaration of communist China in 1949. Lisa Huang Fleischman captures the details of this entire period very pursuasively. It made me sympathize with the uncertainty, cruelty and periodic chaos of life in China during the struggle between warlords, the Kuomintang and the communists. Ms. Fleischman is a beautiful and clever writer.
April 29, 2008
A very engaging, very thought provoking book. very similar to a lot of Amy Tan's novels, but with more history. I found myself wanting to look up all sorts of topics on chinese history and the various revolutions that we never learnt about in history class. A long book to read, but worth every minute.
March 20, 2007
A great historical novel about China in the early 20th century when Chairman Mao was a young man. It's quite a colorful and moving book, even though the ultimate outcome of what will happen when the Japanese invade is no mystery.
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