History Professor's 5-Star Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans

It's never been easy to promote my historical Chinese novels to the English book world that's heavily Eurocentric in the historical fiction genre. But every once in a while, a reader appreciates the key message of your novel and writes a glowing review of it. Today I've come across one such review. I've reposted below the Goodreads 5-star review by history professor Harry Miller:-

 

"Tales of Ming Courtesans is a freedom book. Utilizing an approach that is very different from Lisa See’s in her Peony in Love, Alice Poon has created characters that do more than make the most of miserable situations. Rather, they rail at the injustice of them and seek liberation. In one passage, Poon credits very liberal expressions to the Hangzhou merchant Wang Ranming and includes a ringing endorsement from Liu Rushi, perhaps the most intrepid of the three Ming courtesans portrayed in this book:

‘Confucius was dead wrong to have classed women as inferior humans. Just think of all the female talent that has gone to waste over the past several millennia because of that stupid gender discrimination! Aiya, too tragic! And our society is so depraved to exploit girls from poor families and allow the thin horse [human trafficking and procurement] trade to thrive! Why aren’t learned men ashamed at just ignoring it and do nothing about it! Let me tell you this: [Qian] Qianyi and I have always shared the same view on this issue. We have even planned to jointly petition the Emperor to ban the slave trade. That’s why we are great friends!’

‘Ah, now I understand why you call your boat the “Untethered Villa”! You are a freedom lover, true? Wasn’t it the Song poet Su Shi who had used the term “untethered boat” to portray his freedom from the burdens of officialdom?’ (p. 183)

Such discourse was indeed atypical of old China, but it was not unimaginable in the late Ming dynasty, when traditional dogma came under bold scrutiny and received norms of gender relations were challenged. Of course, Liu Rushi and her sisters are not merely interested in “freedom from the burdens of officialdom” but are desperately seeking to escape from brutal chains of control and chronic abasement. As their desperation increases, idealistic talk of freedom fades, and only the struggle for survival remains.

Nonetheless, they fight the good fight. Tales of Ming Courtesans is compelling, very exciting, and hard to put down. Readers will be sorry when it’s over, and if they are like me, they will be eager to learn more about Liu Rushi and her extraordinarily forward-thinking times."

 

#50 on Amazon's Paid Bestsellers List (Historical Chinese)

 

Very grateful for the support!

 

Follow-up Offer of $2.99 For One Week!

 

If you missed the 1-day $0.99 special offer, not to worry. The ebook is being offered at $2.99 for ONE WEEK from today!

 

 

 

 

1st Birthday Celebration Special Price Offer for Tales

 

This SPECIAL OFFER is only for ONE DAY!

 

 

Charlie Reads China - Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans

 

When a reviewer finds deep resonance with your novel, that must be one of the most satisfying moments for a writer.

 

Quote from the review:-

 

"Tales of Ming Courtesans is a very skilful work, interweaving three well-known stories in a rich and rewarding setting. It is poignant and melodramatic in the best sense of that word, full of emotion, compassion, flashes of shock and tear-stained confessions." 

 

Link to the Full Review 

 

I'm also happy to note that other reviews included those of two upcoming releases: She Who Became the Sun (historical fantasy) and China (epic historical fiction).

 

 

 

Instagram Video Introducing My Novels

 I'm so grateful that this French blogger (Une Occidentale en Chine) took the time and trouble to create an Instagram video to introduce my novels: The Green Phoenix and Tales of Ming Courtesans.

Link to the Video

 

Thank you Krys!

Asian Review of Books - Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans

David Chaffetz has written an in-depth review of Tales of Ming Courtesans for the renowned review site Asian Review of Books

 

Alice Poon offers us a modern retelling of their intertwined lives. Tales of Ming Courtesans has two objectives: to bring these three women to life in a way that seems credible and relevant to this generation, and to describe enough of the culture of mid-17th-century China to help us appreciate what has been lost.

 

Link to the Full Review 

SCMP Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans

 

I had the privilege of being interviewed by the incredible Annemarie Evans in November, and am very thankful for her nice write-up on my novel Tales of Ming Courtesans for the SCMP. The article has been published today!

 

Excerpts:-

 

Although it is fictional, Poon meticulously researched the era, and her work is rich in its descriptions of the food, architecture, clothing, music, poetry, cultural references and calligraphy of the period. For those new to Ming dynasty courtesan culture, the poetry and constrained Confucian lives of both men and women of the era, hers is a gentle and descriptive introduction.

 

They (Liu Rushi, Chen Yuanyuan & Li Xiangjun) were central to China's cultural and literary life, and Poon was keen to give these women a voice so they would not be forever remembered as minor characters in historical narratives written by men. 

 

She writes about the perilous nature of the women’s existence: dependent on the whims of the households they were sold into, while trying to make sure their lovers did not come under too much pressure from their own families and wives.

 

Paintings exist of all three courtesans, and their stories have featured in televised and literary accounts. Now, Poon has offered an alternative, and perhaps more authentic, picture of their lives.

 

Link to the Full Article

The World of Chinese Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans

 

Having your historical novel reviewed in a popular cultural magazine is already quite a privilege. To see the review written thoughtfully by a well-known historian well versed in Chinese History is absolutely humbling. I owe a debt of thanks to Jeremiah Jenne the wonderful reviewer and The World of Chinese magazine.

 

Here's a quote from the review:-

 

"Though the super courtesan team-up probably never existed, it’s still fun to imagine the historical possibilities if it had—such is the liberating fun of reading a novelist who is also a historian. With characters as rich as these and a writer as expressive as Poon, who needs CGI, anyway?"

 

Link to the Full Review 

 

 

Bookish Asia Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans

 

This morning I woke up to this beautiful review on Bookish Asia's website. Bookish Asia is an acclaimed professional reviewer of China- and Taiwan-related books. It's an honor to be reviewed by this expert.

Link to the Full Review.

 

What Inspired Me to Write Tales of Ming Courtesans

 

On the kind invitation of online magazine Women Writers, Women's Books, I wrote this post for their website last week.

 

Link to the post.

 

 

 

 

 

 

French Blogger's Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans

I've always had a soft spot for the French language and literature. Discovering a French blogger's genuine appreciation of the three heroines of my new novel Tales of Ming Courtesans is nothing less than sheer ecstasy, because this represents a mutual love of each other's literary culture!

This is my translation of the last paragraph of the blogger's (Une Occidentale en Chine) review:

"I heartily recommend this book to you, which, despite all the harshness it describes, also shows us the beauty and the power of these women who kindled and inspired the greatest literary icons of the period."

"Je vous conseille réellement ce livre qui malgré toute la dureté qu’il comporte nous montre aussi la beauté et la force de ces femmes qui ont enflammées et inspirées les plus grands littérati de cette période."

Here's the link to the full review in French (you can click on the language of your choice on the right-hand side of the website):

Full Review

 

 

Tales of Ming Courtesans - Print Copies Available in Hong Kong

 My author friend in Hong Kong, Les Bird, sent this photo to me! It was taken at the Bookazine IFC store. Bless him! He's the author of A Small Band of Men and will be featured at the upcoming Hong Kong International Literary Festival. Congrats, Les!

 

Tales of Ming Courtesans - UK & Europe Release

For folks located in the U.K. and Europe, the wait for the paperback release is over!

 

 

 

Liu Rushi's Spirit Lives On!

 

[Caption: This is one of several of Liu Rushi's paintings that are held at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington DC. Last year I wrote a blog post citing the relation between those paintings and a 20^th century French Diplomat Jean-Pierre Dubosc, and explaining why I featured this poet-courtesan as a protagonist in my new novel Tales of Ming Courtesans. https://bit.ly/3hA9HRE ]

The story of Liu Rushi may have ended in tragedy, but her spirit lives on!

 

In a patriarchal society where poetry writing had traditionally belonged in the male sphere, and where female writing had always been slighted, Liu was known to have purposely compiled an anthology of poems entitled 閏集, collecting poetry written by women and focusing on works by courtesans, whom society ostracized collectively as a lowly class of jianmin, i.e. worthless people. This collection was incorporated into her husband Qian Qianyi’s comprehensive collection of Ming poems entitled 列朝詩集. She could well be considered as a pioneering champion of women’s literature. Sadly a lot of Liu Rushi's calligraphy, poetry collections and paintings (along with most works by Qian Qianyi, Chen Zilong and other Ming loyalist poets/artists) had been lost during Qianlong Emperor's literary inquisition.

On a personal level, Liu was determined to seek proper marriage against all odds, as she knew this was the only way to defend herself against class discrimination. She succeeded in gaining “wife status” in literary dignitary Qian Qianyi’s household.

The multi-talented Liu Rushi was also known for her habit of cross-dressing and mingling with elitist literati in poetry societies in defiance of gender barriers and with an aim to improving her craft of writing and painting. It reminds me of the renowned 19th century French novelist George Sand, also notable for her cross-dressing in rebellion against social conventions. But Liu lived two centuries earlier, and in patriarchal China!

This all goes to show how Liu used her “spirit of independence and liberal thinking” to wage war on classism and sexism and to achieve greatness in the arts. It earned her the iconic historian Chen Yinke’s adoration and respect.  http://chinese.thu.edu.tw/upload/newspaper_upload/28/05-%E5%BB%96%E7%BE%8E%E7%8E%89.pdf

Backdrop to the Late-Ming Courtesan Culture

During my research for the novel Tales of Ming Courtesans, I discovered that a unique courtesan culture was evident in the late-Ming era, one where an unprecedented number of cultured courtesans engaged in the high art of poetry writing. It could be said that courtesans from this era enjoyed much more respect than their counterparts who lived in earlier times or after. This phenomenon had in fact been rooted in the nonconformist literati’s threefold discontent in those unsettling times.

Politically the liberal-minded scholars were dismayed with incompetent rulers and a corrupt court dominated by self-serving eunuchs. On a personal level, they felt stifled by the orthodox Neo-Confucianism teachings that advocated suppression of personal desires as well as adherence to rigid moral codes. In regards to officialdom pursuits, they were fed up with civil exams that prohibited any form of creative writing, forcing candidates to write only prosaic eight-legged essays that focused on the Four Books and Five Classics.

As a form of protest and outlet for pent-up emotions, they set up private poetry societies, where they could engage freely in political discourse, poetry writing and appreciation, and overt promotion of poetry written by cultured courtesans. It was against this backdrop that high-minded courtesans’ literary talents found a nurturing harbor.

Because of the appearance of these quasi-political poetry societies, there was an explosion of poetry anthologies that included works by both the literati and the famous courtesans. In fact, anthologizing courtesans' poetry became a popular activity at the poetry societies.

Unfortunately, this unique phenomenon only lasted until early Qing. During the High Qing reign of Qianlong, while ordering the compilation of the Library of Four Treasures 四庫全書, the Emperor used the opportunity to deliberately cull all literary works by Ming poets/scholars whom he deemed as anti-Qing.

Caught in the literary inquisition were the works by the talented poetry prodigy Liu Rushi 柳如是 and works by her husband Qian Qianyi 錢謙益 and her lover Chen Zilong 陳子龍, both of whom were famous Ming poets. Obviously, works by other Ming loyalist poets met the same fate. It’s only in recent times that such once-lost literary works began drawing a little more attention from Chinese literature academicians.

This could also explain why Ming poetry has been so underrated relative to Tang and Song poetry.

For reference, please go to this link:-

https://core.ac.uk/download/pdf/41887334.pdf

The following is a quatrain written by Liu Rushi (one of her famous "Eight Quatrains on the West Lake" 西湖八絕句之一):-

垂楊小苑繡簾東，

鶯閣殘枝蝶趁風。

大抵西陵寒食路，

桃花得氣美人中。

My translation:-

East of the curtained window,

Lithe willows grace the court;

Birds nestle on nude branches,

Butterflies in the breeze cavort.

On the spring-scented path by West Lake,

Peach blossoms and beauties share a friendly taunt.

This poem attracted the attention of her future husband Qian Qianyi, who responded with another quatrain:-

草衣家住斷橋東,

好句清如湖上風。

近日西陵誇柳隱,

桃花得氣美人中。

My translation:-

The Straw Cloak Taoist lives east of Broken Bridge,

A good verse refreshes like a breeze from the pond.

I’ve lately commended Liu’s talent by West Lake,

Peach blossoms and beauties share a friendly taunt.

 

Both the above poems, plus others, can be found in the novel.

Barbara Sotcan's Review

 

One dull day last week I looked into my email inbox and found this review sent to me through friends by a reader named Barbara Sotcan from Sacramento, California. It instantly perked up my day!

 

Review of Tales of Ming Courtesans as excerpted from Barbara's email:

 

"Only a woman could have written this book. Only a Chinese woman could have written this book. Only a Chinese woman scholar could have written this book. I'm more than impressed with the amount of research that went into the creation of this historical novel. And I'm sure there are other scholars who might have done this amount of research. But to have that ability and also the ability to write engagingly is truly marvelous.

 

I have to confess that I had to work very hard to keep all the names straight, but I don't think I lost any threads of the story due to occasional confusion. I remain so outraged at the injustices suffered by women throughout history, and I applaud the resilience of the women in this book. I won't hesitate to recommend it to any of my more literary friends. It really would make a fantastic movie. The next best thing would be to add pen and ink illustrations, as it really is a visual feast."

Thank you so much Barbara!

A Bookish Affair Review

 

This review of Tales of Ming Courtesans is by a veteran book blogger in the historical fiction genre - A Bookish Affair.

 

"Now comes the time in the pandemic where I am just looking for an escape. I'm dreaming of books that thrust me into the center of a fascinating story with supreme world building and Tales of Ming Courtesans certainly fit the bill.....

The detail of the book was really good! I really liked how the author brought the Ming Dynasty to life. You can picture what life was like there: the glitz, the glamour, and the hardship when things didn't fall according to the rules.....

This book is perfect for those looking for tons of palace intrigue and strong female characters!"

 

Link to the full review  

 

A Book Review that Struck a Chord

I've said this often enough: that one of the greatest rewards for a writer may be to discover resonating reviews of his/her books written by readers. It was so gratifying to stumble upon one such review yesterday on Goodreads, written by Joy. For my blog readers' convenience, I'm copying and pasting the whole review below. [Link to the full review]

"An engrossing historical fiction novel featuring three Ming Dynasty women bonded in sistership: Liu Rushi, Chen Yuanyuan and Li Xiangjun. In the form of a memoir and recollections to Jing Jing, Rushi's daughter, the lives of these three women are chronicled :- sold to thin horse breeders as young slave girls, trained in poetry, dancing, musical instruments, calligraphy, painting, singing for the purposes of pleasing men, shunned as jian min, falling in love but thwarted by strict societal mores, raped and abused.

Ms Poon brings to life the atmosphere of that era; the scholars and the Revival Society, pleasure boats, Lantern festival, banquets, performances, political discussions at tea houses, tang yuan dessert. Framing historical events like Chongzhen Emperor's execution of Yuan Chonghuan, the invasion of the Manchus, the hanging suicide of the last Ming Emperor help to situate us in the timeline. The recitation and/or performance of Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming poetry and opera were convincingly protrayed; I wished for more poetry competitions or parties where the poets are challenged to spar with matching quartrains or couplets. The inclusion of minute details such as the wedding rituals for a primary wife (yes, men in that time could have concubines galore) show the painstaking research invested in writing this book.

I like how Tales of Ming Courtesan depicts common folk living everyday life. Often tales and media concentrate on the power makers; the Emperor, government officials, generals, jiang hu people. The Emperor always talks expansively about 平民百姓 - the common folk, the peasantry, citizenry, his subjects. Yet stories rarely concentrate on telling their life stories, their triumphs and sadness. They're the ones helpless against the changing winds of power, suffer under the yoke of corrupt officials and heavy taxes, buffeted by natural disasters like drought and flooding, crop failure, famines, diseases, war. It's heartening to read about these three women battered by life circumstances forging a path for themselves, albeit a difficult one. At the same time, it was disturbing that these talented women had to seek the protection of men to even have the smallest foothold in this traditional conservative Confucian society. Cultural details like 'lotus feet,' referring to the practice of binding females feet when they are young so their feet become painfully deformed resulting in a swaying lotus gait thought to be alluring remind us that men's pleasure was built upon women's suffering. In addition, for Chen Yuan Yuan to be blamed in history for the defection of General Wu Sangui hastening the downfall of the Ming Dynasty is plainly unfair and ridiculous.

A little aside: eunuchs are viewed by most of the characters in the book as evil conniving 'unnatural creatures' manipulating the Emperor while it's also acknowledged they themselves are victims of circumstance, being poor village boys and brought to the palace to be castrated. This isn't a central part of the story at all but it piqued my interest. Especially since I happen to be watching a Chinese drama set in the Ming Dynasty where a powerful head eunuch (Wang Zhi) is depicted as loyal and dedicated.

I had recommended the library to acquire this book and to my delight, they did. Hopefully more people can enjoy reading this. The library also acquired The Green Phoenix at the same time so it's on my to be read list."

Thank you so much, Joy!

Why Are Historical Novels Important?

Close friends of mine will already be aware that as a writer and an avid reader, I have a pet peeve, which is that the historical fiction genre is way too Euro-centric and that fiction based on Asian history is grossly under-represented.

So it came as a pleasant surprise that I recently found my new novel Tales of Ming Courtesans on a list of 30 most anticipated historical novels which is curated by the Michigan community-driven book blog Paperback Paris! I was quite pleased to see that 4 (mine included) out of the 30 are set in Asia. It's hardly a satisfactory number but hopefully this will be the start of a new trend. 

With racism rearing its ugly head and other forms of bigotry and oppression like sexism and power abuse still to be addressed in many parts of the world, we as global citizens all need to learn our own histories as well as learn, understand and respect cultures and histories that are foreign to us if we want a better world for our future generations. I do believe that immersive historical fiction is not only an entertaining learning aid in the study of history, but also, in the form of human stories traversing the spectrum of time and space and touching on every aspect of humanity, it has the potential to help us understand better our present human condition and turn us into more empathetic persons.

As well, it was quite heartening to note that my book, published by an Asia-based small press, runs alongside those heavyweights published by imprints of the all-powerful Big Five publishers. Incidentally, the name "Paris" is the first name of the book blog founding editor, Paris Close, who is a person of color. Perhaps that explains why the list is so inclusive.

"Whether you’re looking for a history lesson or simply want to dive into a new book (or genre!), we’ve rounded up some of our most anticipated history-inspired reads of 2020, blending hard historical fiction with romance, fantasy, and mystery to hit something for every reader....."

Link to the Article and List


[NOTE: Physical copies of Tales of Ming Courtesans will hit shelves of Hong Kong bookstores in early August.]