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Dragon's Gate
"Dragon's Gate is a superb book, a fascinating story written from the heart and woven into a complex cultural and historical tapestry - a modern classic in the making." - Robert Macklin, author of Dragon and Kangaroo Shi Ding is seventeen. In an attempt to impress a girl, he joins a local Red Guard unit and succeeds in having a nine-year-old boy arrested and a widowed professor of foreign literature driven to a shameful suicide. But when his father's death is also revealed as suicide, Shi Ding is expelled from the gang. He suspects there was more to the relationship between his father and the professor than friendship and he moves into her empty house. There he discovers a library of translations of forbidden Western classics. Himself a born storyteller, he is transfixed by the stories in these books by the likes of Dostoevsky, Stendhal, Hugo, Dickens, and Dumas … Set in China in the mid-60s, Dragon's Gate is about the power of storytelling. Within its overarching narrative, there are stories of little-known river logging in remote mountains, armed fighting between Red Guard factions, fortune telling on long train journeys, community life in the courtyards of Beijing hutong. Memorable characters abound in this rich and varied tale - characters like Sun Lanfen, the nosy, tough but decent residential compound leader; the blind singer who was struck dumb when he had to sing songs set to Chairman Mao's quotations; and the Buffalo Boy who was reputed to have fathered a hundred children in a Tibetan village. "The unique interweaving of fascinating tales set in exotic places with familiar and much loved western classics makes this book a page turner from beginning to end." - Jane Sydenham-Kwiet, German teacher and translator
- GenresAustralia
Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 2020
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
June 7, 2020
‘Scaffolding the dragons’ gates means telling stories.’
Beijing teenager Shi Ding is a natural storyteller. He is thriving during the Cultural Revolution: his tales of revolutionary heroes attract an appreciative audience. Shi Ding also has a skill for identifying class enemies. When Shi Ding is ostracized after his father’s death, he is determined to find out why his father committed suicide. He is led to the home of a neighbour: a university professor, Ruan Qiling, for whom his father had done a lot of handyman work. After the suicide of Ruan Qiling, Shi Ding has to guard her house. It is during this period that he discovers and reads her library of banned classics.
This is the beginning of a series of journeys for Shi Ding. He is in search of both truth and redemption, and of a way of sharing these banned stories in a way that will not be dangerous. His travels take him to a remote region where he tells stories and listens to them.
‘You have to know these stories. Driver Kong assumed a solemn expression, cleared his throat and started scaffolding his dragon’s gate.’
Shi Ding’s journey is a mixture of Cultural Revolution reality (shortages, danger, drab reality) with the escape provided by storytelling. Shi Ding’s stories bring colour back into a world dyed drab blue as part of the campaign to destroy the ‘Four Olds’ (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits and Old Ideas). Shi Ding remembers the beautiful things his father, once a tailor, had made including outfits for his wife and a vibrant wall hanging depicting the Long March. His father had also been an accomplished cook and an ingenious carpenter.
What does Shi Ding learn on his travels?
‘Shi Ding knew that his guilt lay in his ignorance.’
There are four parts to this novel, reflecting different Western classics and parts of Shi Ding’s journeys. There may be no escape from the reality of the Cultural Revolution, but stories provide possibilities.
What an amazing novel! I picked it up and could hardly bear to put it down. The setting and the role of storytelling (as well as the actual stories) held my attention.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Beijing teenager Shi Ding is a natural storyteller. He is thriving during the Cultural Revolution: his tales of revolutionary heroes attract an appreciative audience. Shi Ding also has a skill for identifying class enemies. When Shi Ding is ostracized after his father’s death, he is determined to find out why his father committed suicide. He is led to the home of a neighbour: a university professor, Ruan Qiling, for whom his father had done a lot of handyman work. After the suicide of Ruan Qiling, Shi Ding has to guard her house. It is during this period that he discovers and reads her library of banned classics.
This is the beginning of a series of journeys for Shi Ding. He is in search of both truth and redemption, and of a way of sharing these banned stories in a way that will not be dangerous. His travels take him to a remote region where he tells stories and listens to them.
‘You have to know these stories. Driver Kong assumed a solemn expression, cleared his throat and started scaffolding his dragon’s gate.’
Shi Ding’s journey is a mixture of Cultural Revolution reality (shortages, danger, drab reality) with the escape provided by storytelling. Shi Ding’s stories bring colour back into a world dyed drab blue as part of the campaign to destroy the ‘Four Olds’ (Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits and Old Ideas). Shi Ding remembers the beautiful things his father, once a tailor, had made including outfits for his wife and a vibrant wall hanging depicting the Long March. His father had also been an accomplished cook and an ingenious carpenter.
What does Shi Ding learn on his travels?
‘Shi Ding knew that his guilt lay in his ignorance.’
There are four parts to this novel, reflecting different Western classics and parts of Shi Ding’s journeys. There may be no escape from the reality of the Cultural Revolution, but stories provide possibilities.
What an amazing novel! I picked it up and could hardly bear to put it down. The setting and the role of storytelling (as well as the actual stories) held my attention.
Highly recommended.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
October 11, 2022
An excellent novel set during the Cultural Revolution. Shi Ding is a young Beijinger, caught up in the madness of the times and having to deal with his father’s suicide and his own denunciations of others. Reading a library of western classics enhances his role as a story-teller when he essentially self-exiles to the provinces and a few enigmatic figures and an old nemesis stir up emotions. It’s the fear of denunciation which marks a novel with finely-detailed characters (particularly Aunt Sun and Old Shi) and powerful images.
March 25, 2020
As I said the other day with my virtual launch of Dragon's Gate this story set during the Cultural Revolution in China, turns out to be surprisingly relevant to the times we are now living in. The central character finds consolation in books, and reading as consolation is helping many people now too.
Vivian Bi was a small child when the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976) began and her experience gives this novel impressive authenticity. Many of us have heard stories of families suffering discrimination because of real or confected breaches of Mao's determination to control thought in China: Vivian Bi experienced this herself because her father was denounced as a ‘Rightist’ (i.e. suspected of harbouring capitalist or traditional sympathies).
Dragon's Gate is a coming-of-age novel in a unique context. The central character is a Beijing teenager called Shi Ding, an enthusiastic participant in Mao's call for young people to lead the denunciation of others even if they are family, friends or neighbours. His interventions lead to some terrible consequences, including the very severe punishment of a nine-year-old boy and the suicide of his own father. When this is followed by the suicide of Ruan Qiling, a university professor who was his father's close friend and the only person who could explain this tragedy, Shi Ding is ordered to guard her house—where he discovers a cache of banned world classics, hidden from detection by his father's ingenious carpentry.
The details of how the Cultural Revolution impacted on everyday life are astonishing. Many of us have seen images of the drab uniformity of men wearing the blue Mao suits that were worn as a symbol of proletarian unity but I had not realised that this drabness extended to the family home. Shi Ding's father Shi Wangcai was a gifted tailor who made beautiful outfits for his wife, and magnificent tapestries and wall-hangings for the home. But colour was condemned as one of the Four Olds: Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas, and Shi Wangcai's wife Lin Guiru is concerned that her husband is not in tune with the times.
Shi Ding comes home one day to find that their Long March wall-hanging is no longer there:
Lin Guiru, thinking that kind of ostentatiousness was bourgeois, had dyed this exquisite quilt into the approved dingy blue...
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/03/25/d...
Vivian Bi was a small child when the Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976) began and her experience gives this novel impressive authenticity. Many of us have heard stories of families suffering discrimination because of real or confected breaches of Mao's determination to control thought in China: Vivian Bi experienced this herself because her father was denounced as a ‘Rightist’ (i.e. suspected of harbouring capitalist or traditional sympathies).Dragon's Gate is a coming-of-age novel in a unique context. The central character is a Beijing teenager called Shi Ding, an enthusiastic participant in Mao's call for young people to lead the denunciation of others even if they are family, friends or neighbours. His interventions lead to some terrible consequences, including the very severe punishment of a nine-year-old boy and the suicide of his own father. When this is followed by the suicide of Ruan Qiling, a university professor who was his father's close friend and the only person who could explain this tragedy, Shi Ding is ordered to guard her house—where he discovers a cache of banned world classics, hidden from detection by his father's ingenious carpentry.
The details of how the Cultural Revolution impacted on everyday life are astonishing. Many of us have seen images of the drab uniformity of men wearing the blue Mao suits that were worn as a symbol of proletarian unity but I had not realised that this drabness extended to the family home. Shi Ding's father Shi Wangcai was a gifted tailor who made beautiful outfits for his wife, and magnificent tapestries and wall-hangings for the home. But colour was condemned as one of the Four Olds: Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas, and Shi Wangcai's wife Lin Guiru is concerned that her husband is not in tune with the times.Shi Wangcai had been a good husband. He was the most skilful at work and the handiest in the home. Apart from his mechanical inventions, he did exquisite work with wood and fabric, so their house was well equipped and decorated with beautiful things. He was also a good cook who could create sumptuous banquets and turn radish skins or outer leaves of cabbage into delicacies. His skills had brought honour, extra money and comfort to his family.
But lately, Lin Guiru felt there was something lacking in her husband. While everyone else tried hard not to be left behind by the rapidly unfolding revolutionary situation, he had actually gone backwards. In order to avoid the weekly political study sessions in the factory, Shi Wangcai had asked to be put on permanent night shift. (p.21)
Shi Ding comes home one day to find that their Long March wall-hanging is no longer there:
The wall-hanging was the Shi family's treasure. Inspired by the musical The East is Red which recounted China's history in the twentieth century...
[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LQaK3...
...Shi Wangcai had spent weeks creating his masterpiece, a double bed-sized patchwork quilt. He had skilfully sewn hundreds of red stars around the edges to give a three-dimensional effect. In the background were a towering snowy mountain, tall firs, sweeping grasslands and a flowing river. In the foreground, Red Army troops, hailed by civilians, marched here and there. Shi Wangcai had used different fabrics to create the colourful and stylish costumes of minorities. He had placed clouds, a rainbow and golden canaries above the human figures. It was too beautiful to be used as a quilt so they had hung it in their living room. (p.47)
Lin Guiru, thinking that kind of ostentatiousness was bourgeois, had dyed this exquisite quilt into the approved dingy blue...
To read the rest of my review please visit https://anzlitlovers.com/2020/03/25/d...
May 10, 2020
Through the experiences of the fictional character Shi Ding, Vivian Bi lifts the veil on life for many in Mao's China. Only someone who had lived those years could tell such a story. That is what Vivian has done with loving warmth and authentic detail. I loved Dragon's Gate so much, I did not want it to end. Lucky for me, I was able to find Vivian's memoir, Bright Swallow: making choices in Mao's China which inspired the story of the story-teller Shi Ding.
November 24, 2020
Vivian Bi's novel "Dragon's Gate" is truly fascinating. The story of Shi Ding the storyteller, and his family, neighbors, workmates and friends is a page-turner.
Vivian has great insight and ability to delineate character so that the reader gets to witness and understand their psychological development. Plot twists and turns keep the reader thinking she/he has the answers to the mysteries, situations that arise. Her technique of revealing bit by bit different aspects of and changes in Shi Ding's actions and thinking as more and more detail comes to light creates an in-depth perception of Shi Ding. The same is true of his father, mother, Sun Lanfen, Ruan Quiling.
Wang Tong and Wang Lixin and Sun Lanfen stay true to character as the novel advances. The lessons that Shi Ding absorbs as he grows, develops, learns, and his final decision as a storyteller shows true maturity, willingness to take responsibility for his own deeds and thinking. The Epilogue creates new surprises as we gain access to Shi Wancai's motivations. Again, the reader is disabused of previous assumptions as to why Shi Ding's genetic inheritance influenced his behavior.
Vivian Bi's attention to detail, beautiful description of settings, especially color bring the story alive and very present. Mixing quotations from classic world literary works written in or translated into English with the scenes in China during the Cultural Revolution shows how the human condition is the same regardless of politics. As well, they reveal the progression of Shi Ding's actions and insights as he grows up. The final quotation from "Crime and Punishment" demonstrates the central theme of the novel - and the key life lesson Shi Ding has absorbed.
Review: Sharon Asher
Vivian has great insight and ability to delineate character so that the reader gets to witness and understand their psychological development. Plot twists and turns keep the reader thinking she/he has the answers to the mysteries, situations that arise. Her technique of revealing bit by bit different aspects of and changes in Shi Ding's actions and thinking as more and more detail comes to light creates an in-depth perception of Shi Ding. The same is true of his father, mother, Sun Lanfen, Ruan Quiling.
Wang Tong and Wang Lixin and Sun Lanfen stay true to character as the novel advances. The lessons that Shi Ding absorbs as he grows, develops, learns, and his final decision as a storyteller shows true maturity, willingness to take responsibility for his own deeds and thinking. The Epilogue creates new surprises as we gain access to Shi Wancai's motivations. Again, the reader is disabused of previous assumptions as to why Shi Ding's genetic inheritance influenced his behavior.
Vivian Bi's attention to detail, beautiful description of settings, especially color bring the story alive and very present. Mixing quotations from classic world literary works written in or translated into English with the scenes in China during the Cultural Revolution shows how the human condition is the same regardless of politics. As well, they reveal the progression of Shi Ding's actions and insights as he grows up. The final quotation from "Crime and Punishment" demonstrates the central theme of the novel - and the key life lesson Shi Ding has absorbed.
Review: Sharon Asher
January 9, 2022
Dragon’s Gate is a “fictional ”story that flogs the communist regime thoroughly. The readers peep into the lives and stories of the ordinary people of No. 10 residential compound. It depicts what exactly occurred during the so called “Cultural Revolution and thereby the readers can comprehend what the original intentions of story is about.
The story also depicts such tragic human livelihoods and circumstances that must not reoccur in any time nor place. The Universal values and common rule of law must be maintained and held in ground by the democratic society without compromise.
In today’s society, the revelations of the brutal regime are still a wake up call to the rest of the world; China’s spreading “plague” can be repelled. Their “One Belt One Road” encroaches around the world and threatens to trap other nations…
The story also depicts such tragic human livelihoods and circumstances that must not reoccur in any time nor place. The Universal values and common rule of law must be maintained and held in ground by the democratic society without compromise.
In today’s society, the revelations of the brutal regime are still a wake up call to the rest of the world; China’s spreading “plague” can be repelled. Their “One Belt One Road” encroaches around the world and threatens to trap other nations…
March 7, 2021
It was such a privilege and a pleasure to read Dragon’s Gate. The brilliantly mastered story of Shi Ding opened and demystified a China and its people in a unique way. The feelings, the conflicts and the decisions of people living under intense influence from the Maoist cultural revolution while still dosed by the Kuomintang influence, the traditional Chinese culture and by that of the Western world. All this and with a vivid description of peoples’ personalities, of technicalities, of trains and of geography.
October 26, 2020
4.5 stars
This is a coming of age story set in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It brings to life an era in Chinese history, with its constantly changing foundations.
Shi Ding is a member of the Red Guard and he relishes the activities he undertakes, including stopping potential suicides. Then his parents die and Shi Ding had to re evaluate his life and the people around him.
This is a coming of age story set in the Chinese Cultural Revolution. It brings to life an era in Chinese history, with its constantly changing foundations.
Shi Ding is a member of the Red Guard and he relishes the activities he undertakes, including stopping potential suicides. Then his parents die and Shi Ding had to re evaluate his life and the people around him.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews