271:. Kung Lifu and his mother, Mrs.Kung are family friends of the Yaos. Both Mulan and Mochow have found Lifu to be deep, erudite, and virtuous: a promising future scholar and an interesting figure. Mulan is attracted to Lifu, but marriage and a romantic relationship had not crossed his mind. On the other hand, her reunion with her family seems so mysterious a circumstance, that on some level she feels that marriage with Sunya is fated. So with blessings from both families, she marries Sunya. Their marriage is mostly peaceful and harmonious. Together they have three children: Aman, Atung and Amei.
344:(珊瑚) Shanhu is the oldest child of the Yao family. Though her family name is Xie, not Yao, she has always considered the Yaos as her real family. Her father, Mr.Xie, is a close friend of Yao Si-an's. Yao Si-an and his wife took her in and raised her along. They treated her as if she was one of their own. She is second in command when it came to daily routines in the house and has been a great help to Mrs. Yao. She was 19 years old when she married a fine young man, who died a year later and left her childless and alone. So she returned home.
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who fled from the coastal regions to the inland of China would survive the horrible war. In the final pages of the book Lin observes: "What an epic story was being lived through by these people of China.... And it seemed to them that their own story was but a moment in old, ageless Peking, a story written by the finger of Time itself.... In this moving mass of refugees, there was now neither rich nor poor."
512:(紅樓夢). When she misunderstands a conversation and thinks that Afei doesn't love her, she drowns herself, or so it seems. She dies in vain, leaving her parents devastated. Her death provides a reflection on the Yaos: ill-mannered, irresponsible, negligent. The so-called blood-ties are so weak when it comes to real commitment.
214:, and followed its example in showing a spectrum of characters in their social settings and defining them through their clothing, jewelry, and footwear, and even by their language (dialect), geography (region), and foodways. Lin's eldest daughter Lin Rusi also indicates in an introductory essay to a Chinese translation of
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Lin does not try to say which is right or wrong. "By
Western standards it is a somewhat formless record, not always easy to follow," but "by any standards it has strength, tolerance, humor, color, and dignity." The reader should see why, he concludes, Pearl Buck has called in "the great novel of modern China."
225:
Lin tries not to be overly judgemental of the characters because he recognizes that too many issues were involved in the chaotic years of early twentieth century China. There are no absolutely right or wrong characters. Each character held a piece of truth and reality and a piece of irrationality. In
560:
reviewer wrote that "Mr. Lin has filled some 800 pages with a picturesque and leisurely account of how contemporary China grew and learned to live and adjusted itself to the fact, as he says in a preface, that 'men strive but the gods rule.'" The old has given way to the new, the review goes on, but
469:
Mulan's older brother, a selfish dandy. His father sent him to
England to study, but he spent all of the money in Hong Kong. He falls in love with his servant girl Yinpin, and has a son with her. Their love is opposed by his mother. After Yinpin's suicide, he works hard in his uncle's drug store and
229:
While Lin does not display hatred toward the
Japanese, he does let events and situations affect the novel's characters to let the reader clearly see the reason the Chinese are still bitter about Japan's military past. The novel ends with a cliffhanger, letting readers hope that the major characters
313:
Yao Mulan's sister, she is also very clever and attractive. She married Lifu, when he was a poor scholar, and unlike many marriages in the olden times, she had an eye for Lifu long before their engagement. Mochow is stable, reliable and extremely responsible. She takes care of her sick mother for
282:
Mulan's husband, Tseng Sunya, is affectionately called "Fatty" by Mulan. As the youngest son of his family, Sunya is arguably the least responsible one, but has what is called a "round character". He and Mulan had gotten to know each other well when they were children after Mulan was rescued from
262:
The protagonist of the story, Mulan, is from the wealthy Yao family. During the Boxer
Uprising many people left Peking and fled to other regions to avoid the turmoil and chaos of war. On the way to Hangchow she is separated from her family and then seized and sold to a human trafficking group,
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Her parents thought Chinya was a man who had the right character to be a successful officer, so Suyun marries him. During their marriage, she bosses and orders him around like a busboy. Suyun later becomes a friend of Inging, her second brother's concubine. She divorces Chinya, and becomes an
263:
Fortunately the Tseng family track her down and buy (rescue) her. The two families become close friends and possible future in-laws. Mulan is lively, beautiful, intelligent and generous, as well as responsible. Her father has always encouraged her interests, among them her interest in "
34:
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A Manchu princess. Her family once owned the gardens which became the Yao's later. Her family believed that there were great treasures buried in the garden, and sent her to Yao family to work as a servant girl and to find the treasure. She marries Afei after Hongyu's death.
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Kidnapped when she was a child, and meets Mulan. When Mulan is saved by Mr. Tseng, Dim
Fragrance is sold to another family. She becomes a nursery maid of Mulan's child some years later. She finally found her family, and becomes Jinya's second wife.
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Married to the Tseng's eldest son, Pingya. She becomes a widow the week after her wedding. She adopts a child, Asuan, and remains in the Tseng family. She commits suicide during the
Japanese war, and remains a virgin till her death.
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the preface, Lin writes that " is merely a story of... how certain habits of living and ways of thinking are formed and how, above all, adjust themselves to the circumstances in this earthly life where men strive but gods rule."
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to do the
Chinese translation, but Yu had only completed the first section when he was killed by the Japanese in World War II. Lin did not particularly like the first complete Chinese translation, which was done by 1941.
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A young art student. She meets Sunya in
Hangzhou, and falls in love with him. Sunya lies to her that his wife was an old and fat country woman. When she met Mulan, she is surprised, and eventually became her friend.
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The second son of the New family. He leaves his wife and four children, and marries a singsong girl (also a prostitute) named Niu Inging (牛鶯鶯). He betrays his country, and is nearly killed by his eldest son.
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A traditional
Chinese woman. She loves her oldest son, Tijen, best. She opposes Tijen and Yinpin's love, and causes her death. She becomes depressed, unable to talk, and very weak for the rest of her life.
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is "modeled exactly on traditional
Chinese novels," which are among the world's longest, oldest, and most thickly populated with characters. The novel, "far superior to Author Lin's whimsical
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A scholar and Yao Mochow's husband, he marries Mochow but he admires Mulan. He was a biology professor at a school in Peking and also fight for democracy and law in China. He is a member of
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Many characters are from three wealthy families: Yao, Tseng (Zeng), and New (Niu), but characters from other families play an integral part in the story, such as Lifu, from the Kong family.
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officer's concubine and also the infamous Japanese-controlled heroin dealer known as the "White Powder Queen." When she finally recognizes her mistake she is killed by the Japanese army.
533:, may well become the classic background novel of modern China." The magazine named it as one of nine novels that were "Books of the Year" in 1939. Others included
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He was a playboy when he was young. However, he has become a great Taoist monk later. He influenced Lifu very much. Sze-an was also interested in "oracle bones"
197:, which was published in August 1937 to even greater success just as war broke out in China. In 1938, Lin left New York to spend a year in Paris, where he wrote
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Lin wrote the book in English for a U.S. audience, yet he based it in Chinese literature and philosophy. As an exercise, before he started to compose
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The second son of the Tseng family, a weak character who asks just to have a peaceful life. He was kind to everybody. He falls in love with Anxiang.
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The strong-willed leader of the Tseng family. She holds the family together, and she likes Mulan and Mannia, but Suyun's behavior annoys her.
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The concubine or maid in the Tseng household. She has two daughters Ailien and Lilien, who become modern ladies and married doctors.
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Press to publish the full translation. Yu Dafu's son Yu Fei (郁飛) finished his own translation in 1991, but his version, titled
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578:. In each, the author uses a distinctively Chinese worldview to give depth and metaphorical meanings to the story.
239:, published in 1941, does not follow the same characters, but takes up in 1937, at roughly the point in time when
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years, remaining by her side. She knows her sister's love for Lifu, but she is confident in their sisterly love.
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bandits by his parents. As the two families became increasingly close, their engagement was planned happily.
706:"Through a Cultural Looking Glass: Taoist, Confucian, and Popular Elements in Two Great Novels About China"
594:
In 1977 Zhang Zhenyu, a translator from Taiwan, created what is the most popular translation today, titled
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a "great novel", and went on to compare how Lin used the Daoist, Confucian, and popular elements with
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Mulan, Mochow, and Afei's cousin. She is madly in love with Afei, and admires the famous character
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A typical old Northeastern officer, honest and kind, but hates everything about foreign countries.
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157:. The novel, Lin's first, covers the turbulent events in China from 1900 to 1938, including the
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The eldest son of the Tseng family. He loves Manni but dies the week after his wedding.
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The novel has been adapted three times into a television drama, including a
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issued a sanitized version in 1987. The current political climate permits
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751:
George Gao, "Lin Yutang's Appreciation of the Red Chamber Dream,"
627:
903:
732:
Liberal Cosmopolitan: Lin Yutang and Middling Chinese Modernity
712:, United Kingdom: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, pp. 79–94
626:). It was not available in mainland China until a publisher in
267:," which reveal ancient Chinese characters, and the singing of
299:
191:
in 1935, Lin left China for New York in August, 1936 to write
169:, the rise of nationalism and communism, and the start of the
710:
China Beyond the Binary: Race, Gender, and the Use of Story
208:, Lin translated passages from the classic Chinese novel
185:, who had sponsored the publication of Lin's bestselling
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Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage
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The scholar Zuzana Dudasova, writing in 2019, called
16:
Novel written in English by Chinese author Lin Yutang
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19:For television adaptations of the novel, see
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149:is a novel originally written in English by
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222:and its message was "Life is but a dream."
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32:
25:
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708:, in Gong, Qiangwei; Rose, Kate (eds.),
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218:that the entire book was influenced by
764:Airen Huang, "Hu Shi and Lin Yutang,"
38:First English hardcover edition, 1939
7:
822:Thompson, Ralph (16 November 1939).
811:. Time Magazine. 18 December 1939.
14:
21:Moment in Peking (disambiguation)
856:Books: Books of the Year 1939.
586:Lin originally wanted the poet
1068:Novels set in the 20th century
1063:Novels set in the Qing dynasty
698:References and further reading
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653:
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181:At the repeated invitation of
171:Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945
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163:Republican Revolution of 1911
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766:Chinese Studies in History
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768:37.4 (Summer2004): 37-69.
704:Dudasova, Zuzana (2019),
632:Shaanxi Normal University
481:Mulan's younger brother.
31:
531:The Importance of Living
510:Dream of the Red Chamber
211:Dream of the Red Chamber
194:The Importance of Living
188:My Country and My People
1053:Chinese-American novels
734:(Leiden: Brill, 2011).
666:), is not widely read.
516:Reception and influence
508:from the classic novel
1083:John Day Company books
866:"Beijing Bestsellers:
1078:Novels set in Beijing
470:dies in an accident.
1073:Novels by Lin Yutang
1048:1939 American novels
824:"Books of the Times"
582:Chinese translations
1009:A Leaf in the Storm
955:A Leaf in the Storm
809:"Books of the Year"
694:starring Li Sheng.
650:traditional Chinese
610:traditional Chinese
546:The Grapes of Wrath
236:A Leaf in the Storm
135:A Leaf in the Storm
28:
27:A Moment in Peking
870:and other TV hits"
797:, 20 November 1939
642:simplified Chinese
602:simplified Chinese
572:'s use of them in
488:(Dong Baofen, 董寶芬)
1058:Historical novels
1035:
1034:
864:Martinsen, Joel.
842:, pp. 84 ff.
829:. New York Times.
791:"Big Little Talk"
566:Moment In Peking
419:(Zeng Jinya, 曾經亞)
321:(Yao Si'an) (姚思安)
309:(Yao Mochou, 姚莫愁)
300:Nationalist Party
278:(Zeng Sunya, 曾蓀亞)
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1001:Moment in Peking
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947:Moment in Peking
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465:(Yao Tiren, 姚體仁)
453:(Cao Lihua, 曹麗華)
383:(Niu Suyun, 牛素雲)
350:(Auntie Gui, 桂姨)
290:(Kong Lifu, 孔立夫)
241:Moment in Peking
216:Moment in Peking
206:Moment in Peking
199:Moment in Peking
146:Moment in Peking
130:Followed by
120:Preceded by
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993:Adaptations
974:Non-fiction
670:Adaptations
541:James Joyce
525:wrote that
486:Tung Paofen
359:Tseng Wenpo
276:Tseng Sunya
167:Warlord Era
1042:Categories
932:Lin Yutang
880:2006-12-23
753:Renditions
740:9004192131
680:Angie Chiu
570:Pearl Buck
451:Tsao Lihua
405:New Huaiyu
393:Sun Mannia
370:Mrs. Tseng
319:Yao Sze-an
307:Yao Mochow
177:Background
155:Lin Yutang
124:None
48:Lin Yutang
930:Works by
686:starring
678:starring
506:Lin Daiyu
463:Yao Tijen
381:New Suyun
288:Kung Lifu
256:Yao Mulan
220:Zhuang Zi
113:Paperback
74:Publisher
690:, and a
688:Zhao Wei
330:Mrs. Yao
109:Hardback
78:John Day
54:Language
588:Yu Dafu
477:(阿非，姚非)
439:Anxiang
153:author
151:Chinese
107:Print (
58:English
1028:(2014)
1020:(2005)
1012:(2003)
1004:(1988)
985:(1972)
966:(1948)
958:(1941)
950:(1939)
939:Novels
738:
660::
658:pinyin
652::
644::
620::
618:pinyin
612::
604::
498:Hongyu
348:Cassia
342:Shanhu
165:, the
161:, the
137:
111:&
44:Author
827:(PDF)
718:Notes
628:Jilin
430:(曾平亞)
407:(牛懷瑜)
395:(孫曼娘)
372:(曾太太)
361:(曾文伯)
332:(姚太太)
258:(姚木蘭)
64:Genre
895:HERE
795:Time
736:ISBN
682:, a
654:瞬息京華
646:瞬息京华
614:京華煙雲
606:京华烟云
556:The
543:and
500:(紅玉)
475:Afei
441:(暗香)
89:1939
549:by
539:by
298:'s
1044::
793:,
656:;
648:;
616:;
608:;
553:.
302:.
201:.
173:.
923:e
916:t
909:v
883:.
640:(
600:(
115:)
23:.
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