The Mao Case by Qiu Xiaolong
Sceptre
Pp. 289
With this novel set in
Shanghai and Beijing, Qui Xiaolong introduces us to cities of growth and
contrasts where modern mores sit alongside past rituals. This is a world of art
and culture; teahouses and calligraphy; corrupt officials and Triad gangs;
opera and poetry; ‘Big Bucks’ and ‘little concubines’; street food and
emperor’s places; ballroom dancing and Buddhist scripture. And above or below
everything, there is the shadow of Mao and the Cultural Revolution.
There are five previous
outings for Chief Inspector Chen, but this reads perfectly well as a
stand-alone novel. Chen is relieved of his regular duties to focus on a special
case which may or may not involve Chairman Mao. “A case concerning Mao could
have unpredictable consequences, possibly serious ones for the cops involved.”
Shang Yunguan was a 1950's movie queen who became one of Mao’s many dancing
partners before falling from grace and, with her daughter Qian, being denounced
in the Cultural Revolution. Now her daughter, Jiao, is causing suspicion
through her affluent lifestyle of parties and painting and it is feared she may
be in possession of material that could harm the Party. If Chen doesn’t solve
the case soon, Internal Security will become involved, and then it really will
be game over.
Jiao spends a lot of time in
the company of older men, which is not in itself exceptional. The practice of
‘Big Bucks’ keeping young women as concubines is commonplace. They party at an
old mansion frequented by ‘Old Dicks’ obsessed with the 1930's and English
manners. The treatment of women is problematic – a plot point hinges on a young
women being used as bait; she will be harmed but the police will gain
information so this is acceptable.
Chen, as a “capable and honest cop” was “a
rarity in an age of wide-spread corruption”. He also writes poetry and so is
the right person to decipher whether there is anything in the verse Mao wrote
which could be personally or politically compromising. The attitude to Mao is
an interesting one. The book’s dedication is, ‘For the people that suffered
under Mao’. These were indisputably horrific times, and China’s attempt to come
to term with this period of its history is one of progress rather than
reflection. Chen understands that for the younger generation, who are not
personally affected by the horrors and the massacres, Mao is becoming a
mythical figure. “The past is now seen as a sort of golden Mao period where
there was no gap between the rich and poor, no rampant Party corruption, no
organised crime and prostitution, but instead there were free medical
insurance, stable pensions, and state-controlled housing.”
Many things are altering in this new world,
from attitudes to buildings. There is apparent affluence, but as in the past,
it is not equally distributed. “In the fast-changing city, the gap between the
rich and the poor was once again expanding. The newspapers and magazines had
started talking about a harmonious society, all of a sudden and all at once,
like never-tiring cicadas in the trees.” Chen is disconcerted by the
modifications to a city he once knew and doubts they are entirely for the
better.
