Shanghai Express: A Thirties Novel

by Zhang Henshui, William A. Lyell (Translator), Hen-Shui Chang

In this suspenseful tale of seduction and deception, a wealthy banker is smitten by an alluring young woman while traveling aboard the express train from Beijing to Shanghai. A consummate storyteller and one of the most popular novelists of his day, Zhang Henshui sweeps us on board with them and takes us through train stations and back and forth between first-, second-, and third-class cars, evoking the sights and sounds and smells of this microcosm of the urban world. Here is popular Chinese fiction at its best. This socially and psychologically incisive portrait of modern China can be read with great return against issues of gender, class, and modernity. And if this is not enough, it is also a travelogue, providing a delightful read for anyone who has traveled or is simply curious about traveling by train in China. First serialized in Shanghai in 1935, Shanghai Express appears now in English for the first time.

Genres: China, Asian Literature, Fiction, Historical Fiction, Novels

272 pages, Hardcover

First published April 1, 1997

Reviews

[Jay Hunter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great insight into the early modernization of China. Fun little twist at the end too.

[Monika Ciem · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a really enjoyable, uncomplicated, and fun quick read. Shanghai Express is a novel of Chinese modernism, set on the journey from "old China" Beijing to "modernity" Shanghai - aptly represented by a train unstoppably rushing through the Chinese countryside toward Shanghai, the foreigners who insist on getting off to walk at every station, and most of all (of course) by the elegant, educated, and exciting young woman Liu Xichun. Is she the bad guy? Arguably yes, though I will not deny how delighted I was to see her play the protagonist, Hu Ziyun, simply because he was too old-fashioned/misogynistic/full of himself to realise what she was doing. His sense of superiority is so wonderfully undercut by her cleverness and confidence, it's a joy to follow along. I particularly also enjoyed the chapters about the passengers in the third and second classes - the novel truly depicts the way in which the Shanghai express both throws together people of all backgrounds and classes into one metal box, while desperately trying to make sure old hierarchies are kept up, even as they are blended with new factors of power (read: money and capitalism). The reason I don't rate this book higher is both because I felt at times that the pacing was a little off (though how much of that is translation/my lack of knowledge of Chinese classical literature, I don't know), and also because while the travelogue/advert style of describing the train journey and its stops was great fun at times, it was a little too on-the-nose advert at others. Nevertheless, definitely a fun and interesting read.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Right off the bat, love love love a book based on a train. Loved that there was a map of the train line that the reader could reference as each station was reached in the story. Hated that the cities were named with that ugly, nasty, gross version of pinyin but appreciated that it had footnotes that translated the places into actual pinyin.

Ziyun’s pining over Xichun is almost painful to read because it hits a little too close to home about what women fear men think when we show the slightest bit of niceness towards them. Not to mention that he is wayyy older than her and her current marriage is ending, his train of thought is only focused on how he can make moves on her based on the fact that she is spending time with him and willing to talk and appear friendly. Like yoinker. Honestly love that he was fucked over and ended up in third class at the end cuz that’s what ya get sir.

Really enjoyed the translator’s note at the end, talking about the modern history of China and how Zhang Henshui fit into that society. Made the story even more special.

[Huangquancan · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really fancy at the narrative of this novel with strong, clear, and sharp contrast: the scenes in different coaches of the train, the scenes inside and outside the train, the scenes in the south and north regions of China.

[F Gato · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s fun!
Only I dislike the switch to the man’s perspective at the end of the story. It kills it for me.

[Danni The Girl · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dnf page 86
Zzzzzzzzzz

[Kathie # · Rating 3 out of 5]

Suspenseful may be an overstatement. Definitely a period piece, glimpse of Chinese class system & extreme disparities between rich and poor. A slow start. Picks up midway. Ending is bleak.

[Jody · Rating 4 out of 5]

Slimy banker, beautiful younger woman, train journey - what’s not to love.

[John Armstrong · Rating 5 out of 5]

Every once and a while you read a book that turns out to be better than you thought it would be. That happened to me with Zhang Henshui’s Shanghai Express. As the translator, William A. Lyell, explains, the author was one of the most prolific and widely read of the popular writers of Republican China of the 1920’s and 30’s. After reading the book (seemingly the only one of his many novels that has been translated into English), I can see why.

As the title implies it’s a train journey story, centering on a prosperous banker and a mysterious young woman who end up sharing, rather scandalously, a first class sleeping compartment on a train as it makes its two day/two night journey from Beijing to Shanghai. Both have acquaintances on the train, traveling in the second and third class sections, who, along with an assortment of porters and conductors, augment the dramatis personae and provide occasion for a variety of on-train interactions.

The course of the story is (more or less) what you’d expect; the fun is in the telling. Really it’s like watching a movie – particularly, a vintage train journey movie, if you’ve ever seen one. Compressed in time and space (all the action from start to – almost – finish takes place on station platforms and the train itself), leisurely paced but always moving, it carries you towards an ending that you become increasingly aware will involve complications and wonder more and more how exactly how it will be resolved.

The book seems to be a typical, if unusually pleasing, example of popular Chinese literature of the time. Though its characters and setting are thoroughly modern, the perspective is fairly traditional, and, as the translator explains, continues in spirit if not form the so-called “Mandarin Ducks and Butterflies” popular literature of the late Qing Dynasty, characterized by sentimentality, a degree of melodrama, and (in sharp contrast with the “serious” literature inspired by the May 4, 1919 movement) a general lack of intellectual or political pretension.

The story sheds light on China in the 1930’s but more in passing than in any concerted way. A few details I thought were interesting were, the fact the city today called Beijing ‘Northern Capital’ was called when the story takes place Beiping ‘Northern Peace” because at the time the capital was Nanjing ‘Southern Capital’, the fact that the bridge that now spans the Yangzi at Nanjing didn’t exist then and the whole train, cars and locomotive, had to be ferried across the river, an operation which took four hours, and, to add one more, the presence of armed military guards on the train, a reminder that China was at the time in a state of protracted civil war.

Probably not everyone is going to enjoy this book as much as I did, but for me it was five stars.

[Charlotte Frank · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book for my Modern Chinese Popular Culture class and I found it rather fascinating and a good read. This novel is a great example of the Mandarin Duck and Butterfly school of fiction in the early 20th century. The book is very descriptive and gives an interesting critique of society in China during the 1930s. I give this a solid 3.5 stars

[Lawsie · Rating 3 out of 5]

if, like me, you are interested in china, the chinese mindset, etc, then this is an interesting read. otherwise there is probably a better choice!

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fast paced, very interesting, easy read. It has a great atmosphere and sense of time and place, if you like 1920s-1930s style literature you will like this. An enjoyable book.

[Peter Hájek]

Good.

[Victoria · Rating 4 out of 5]

What an ending!