''Shanghai Baby'' is a novel written by Chinese author
Wei Hui
Zhou Wei Hui (; born 4 January 1973), known simply by her Chinese given name Wei Hui, is a Chinese Post 70s Generation writer, living and working in Shanghai and New York City. Her novel ''Shanghai Baby'' () (1999) was banned in the People's Repu ...
. It was originally published in China in 1999. The English translation was published in 2001.
Synopsis
The novel's
narrator
Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the a ...
and main character, supposedly a semi-fictionalised version of the author, is a 25-year-old
Shanghainese
The Shanghainese language, also known as the Shanghai dialect, or Hu language, is a variety of Wu Chinese spoken in the Districts of Shanghai, central districts of the Shanghai, City of Shanghai and its surrounding areas. It is classified as ...
woman named Nikki, or Coco to her friends, a waitress in a
Shanghai
Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...
cafe
A coffeehouse, coffee shop, or café is an establishment that primarily serves coffee of various types, notably espresso, latte, and cappuccino. Some coffeehouses may serve cold drinks, such as iced coffee and iced tea, as well as other non-caf ...
. Coco is trying to write a first novel after previous success publishing a collection of sexually frank
short stories
A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest t ...
. At the cafe, Coco meets a young man, Tian Tian, for whom she feels extreme tenderness and love. However, Tian Tian – an artist – is reclusive, impotent and an increasing frequent user of drugs. Despite parental objections, Coco moves in with him, leaves her job and throws herself into writing.
Shortly afterwards Coco meets Mark, a married German
expatriate
An expatriate (often shortened to expat) is a person who resides outside their native country. In common usage, the term often refers to educated professionals, skilled workers, or artists taking positions outside their home country, either ...
businessman living in Shanghai. The two are uncontrollably attracted to one another and begin a highly charged, physical affair. Torn between her two lovers, and tormented by her deceit, her unfinished novel and the conflicting feelings involved in love, lust and betrayal, Coco tries to understand who she is and what she wants from life.
Plot
Twenty-five-year-old Nikki - whose friends call her Coco after
Coco Chanel
Gabrielle Bonheur "Coco" Chanel ( , ; 19 August 1883 – 10 January 1971) was a French fashion designer and businesswoman. The founder and namesake of the Chanel brand, she was credited in the post-World War I era with popularizing a sporty, c ...
– is a young Shanghainese writer, fascinated by the
West
West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sunset, Sun sets on the Earth.
Etymology
The word "west" is a Germanic languages, German ...
and
Western culture
Leonardo da Vinci's ''Vitruvian Man''. Based on the correlations of ideal Body proportions">human proportions with geometry described by the ancient Roman architect Vitruvius in Book III of his treatise ''De architectura''.
image:Plato Pio-Cle ...
. A graduate of
Fudan University
Fudan University () is a national public research university in Shanghai, China. Fudan is a member of the C9 League, Project 985, Project 211, and the Double First Class University identified by the Ministry of Education of China. It is als ...
, Coco has written a successful collection of short stories, ''The Shriek of the Butterfly'', which, unusually for China, have sexually frank themes written from a woman's point of view. Coco now wants to embark upon her first novel, a semi-autobiographical work set in Shanghai.
The novel opens with Coco working as a waitress in a Shanghai cafe. Whilst at work, she meets a sensitive-looking young man, Tian Tian. Coco and Tian Tian start an intense relationship and Coco leaves her parents' home to move in with her new boyfriend. However, Tian Tian, a talented young artist, is extremely anxious and shy. His mother left him in the care of his grandmother when he was a small boy, after his father mysteriously died. Tian Tian now refuses to speak to his mother, who is living in Spain, although he lives off the money she sends him. Tian Tian's problems cause him to be completely impotent and unable to consummate his relationship with Coco.
Coco soon meets another man – a large, blond German named Mark who is living and working in Shanghai. Coco and Mark are intensely attracted to each other, and start an
affair
An affair is a sexual relationship, romantic friendship, or passionate attachment in which at least one of its participants has a formal or informal commitment to a third person who may neither agree to such relationship nor even be aware of i ...
, despite the fact that Mark is married and Coco is living with Tian Tian. Mark seems to want only pleasure from the affair, and Coco is torn between conflicting emotions.
Tian Tian, sensing that something is not right, becomes more and more withdrawn and starts to use drugs. He embarks on a trip to the South of China, leaving Coco alone in Shanghai. Coco continues her relationship with Mark, even after meeting his wife and child at a company-sponsored event.
Coco discovers that Tian Tian has become addicted to
morphine
Morphine is a strong opiate that is found naturally in opium, a dark brown resin in poppies (''Papaver somniferum''). It is mainly used as a analgesic, pain medication, and is also commonly used recreational drug, recreationally, or to make ...
, and travels to him to bring him back to Shanghai, where he enters a
rehab centre. Meanwhile, Tian Tian's mother returns from
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
with her husband. Mother and son are reunited, but Tian Tian is unable to overcome his hatred of her.
Mark tells Coco that he is moving back to
Berlin
Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...
and so the two must part. Coco spends several days in Mark's apartment. In her passion, she does not tell Tian Tian that she will be absent. When she returns to her own flat, she discovers that Tian Tian is gone and is at a friend's house. He has been informed of what he already suspected - that Coco is having an affair. Mark departs from Shanghai and Coco and Tian Tian resume living together. Shortly afterwards, Coco wakes up to find Tian Tian dead from a
heroin overdose
An opioid overdose is toxicity due to excessive consumption of opioids, such as morphine, codeine, heroin, fentanyl, tramadol, and methadone. This preventable pathology can be fatal if it leads to respiratory depression, a lethal condition tha ...
.
Reaction
''Shanghai Baby'' was
banned
A ban is a formal or informal prohibition of something. Bans are formed for the prohibition of activities within a certain political territory. Some bans in commerce are referred to as embargoes. ''Ban'' is also used as a verb similar in meaning ...
in China.
In
the West
West is a cardinal direction or compass point.
West or The West may also refer to:
Geography and locations
Global context
* The Western world
* Western culture and Western civilization in general
* The Western Bloc, countries allied with NATO ...
, the reaction was mostly positive. It has been translated into English and other languages. In 2007, the novel was made into a film ' directed by and starring Chinese actress
Bai Ling
Bai Ling (, born October 10, 1966) is a Chinese-American actress known for her work in the films ''The Crow'', ''Nixon'', ''Red Corner'', '' Crank: High Voltage'', ''Dumplings'', ''Wild Wild West'', ''Anna and the King'', ''Southland Tales'', and ...
in the lead role of Coco.
Literature
*Sandra Lyne
''Consuming Madame Chrysanthème: Loti's 'dolls' to Shanghai Baby'' ''Die Gazette'', February 2002
*Wei Hui: ''Shanghai Baby'', translated from the Chinese by Bruce Humes, Robinson 2001
External links
Homepage of the 2007 movie ''Shanghai Baby'', directed by Berengar Pfahl*
Bruce Humes
Bruce Humes (born in 1955) is an American literary translator and critic of Chinese literature, specialising in non-Han authors and their works.
Life
Humes grew up on Chicago's North Shore and in Sewickley, outside Pittsburgh, and had an early i ...
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interviewon the translation process an
articleat ''Ethnic ChinaLit''
References
{{Reflist
1999 Chinese novels
Works banned in China
Book censorship in China
Novels by Wei Hui
Novels set in Shanghai
Chinese autobiographical novels