Taipei People () is a collection of 14 short stories written by Pai Hsien-yung in the 1960s, published in 1971. The length and art of each story is different, but all these short stories are about people who came from Mainland China to Taiwan in the 1950s, and about their life in Taipei. Some of the stories were also published in Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream (1968).
Context
"Taipei People" is the iconic literary work reflecting the experience of people from Mainland China ("mainlanders", waishengren) who fled to Taiwan following the War of Resistance against Japan and the Chinese Civil War and founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949.
Structure and Format
The format and topic of this book is often compared to James Joyce's "Dubliners". Both of the books are short story series, and they are all about people in a certain city. Also, another book of Pai Hsien-yung called "New Yorkers" are similar to the two books.
Themes
Although these people are called "Taipei People", in their minds they are always reminiscing the scintillating old times in Mainland China, therefore most of them don't really belong to Taipei mentally. Their loss and their sense of insecurity is what this book is depicting.
Motifs
The stories are interwoven with a large number of motifs that are very suggestive of the place, the time, and the people. Some of them include dance halls, teahouses, taxi dancer, and (sexual) patronage; mahjong; the Kuomintang military, especially the officer corps; China's diverse regions; fashion, especially the chipao (qipao); traditional Chinese interior furnishings; Buddhism; Peking opera; separation; and many others.
Related works
The collection has been translated into English and other languages. The stories have been also reworked to dramas in Hong Kong and Taiwan, and a movie in Taiwan.
Short stories synopses
"Taipei People" consists of fourteen stories:
The Eternal Snow Beauty (永遠的尹雪豔) A Touch of Green (一把青) New Year's Eve (歲除) The Last Night of Taipan Chin (金大班的最後一夜) A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas (那片血一般紅的杜鵑花) Ode to Bygone Days (思舊賦) The Dirge of Liang Fu (梁父吟) Love's Lone Flower (孤戀花) Glory's by Blossom Bridge (花橋榮記) Autumn Reveries (秋思) A Sky Full of Bright, Twinkling Stars (滿天裏亮晶晶的星星) Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream (遊園驚夢) Winter Night (冬夜) State Funeral (國葬)
Brief synopses are provided below. (Based on the English translation by the author and Patia Yasin, published as "Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream.")
The Eternal Snow Beauty (永遠的尹雪豔)
The aging "Snow Beauty" (Yin Hsueh-yen) looks back on her days as the belle of Shanghai's Paramount ballroom; she is still the center of attention at upscale mahjong soirees she arranges at her Taipei home.
A Touch of Green (一把青)
In an extended tale, the (female) narrator observes how an innocent middle school bride (Verdancy Chu) transcends the death of her air force pilot husband during the war years to attain some degree of stability in the post-war Taiwan environment.
The story touches on the KMT-related New Life Movement as an element of continuity in the social life of mainland loyalists in the pre- and post-war eras.
New Year's Eve (歲除) A visit by a former commanding officer (Brother Lai) for some New Year's Eve dining and drinking provides a contrast between the heroic tales of past military exploits and the limitations of his current situation.
An important "character" in the story is the fiery Kaoliang wine, famous in Taiwan for its power.
The Last Night of Taipan Chin (金大班的最後一夜) "Taipan Chin" is actually a woman who commands a taxi dancer group. In the story, she reflects on her choices, especially the insurmountable contradictions between wealth/security vs. love vs. freedom.
A Sea of Blood-red Azaleas (那片血一般紅的杜鵑花) A servant, Wang Hsiung, epitomizes the torment of exile. The story is pervaded with "fish out of water" symbolism.
The story leans heavily on the use of the azalea as a symbol of homesickness and exile in Chinese culture.
Ode to Bygone Days (思舊賦) Two old servants meet and talk about all the changes around them, especially those occurring in the rich family they have served. The story views decay as seen from beneath.
The story falls in a genre that explores the equivalence of the "mansion" and the "family," and the interweaving threads in their parallel growth and decline, in (modern) Chinese literature. See, for instance, Ba Jin's Family and the classic of late imperial Chinese literature, Dream of the Red Chamber.