Product Description

Set in 1930s China, this is a true but tragic tale of romance, sexual desire, and untimely death. Beautiful, intelligent, and schooled in the Daoist arts of love, Lin is married to a provincial university professor. Julian Bell, son of Vanessa Bell, and darling of the Bloomsbury set, has arrived in China, hungry for experience. Their mutual attraction leads to a passionate phy-sical and spiritual sojourn in Beijing. Unable to realize their love in a society divided by cultural conflict and the threat of war, they eventually part: Julian to fight for the Loyalists in Spain and Lin to contemplate suicide in her husband’s house.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #933155 in Books
• Published on: 2002-11-01
• Original language: Mandarin Chinese
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 262 pages

From Library Journal
It appears that the author of K could not be happier that people are talking about the sexually explicit nature of her writing-touted as a Chinese Lady Chatterly's Lover-expressing her pleasure in the lengthy foreword: "So to all you readers who see the erotic in K, I congratulate you on your luck." Hong writes of the illicit love affair between young Julian Bell, son of Vanessa and nephew of Virginia Woolf, and Lin Cheng, then the wife of a college dean who is Julian's employer in China. Grabbing the freedom to blend fact with fiction, Hong imagines, quite vividly, all the angst, guilt, and eroticism involved in the taboo union between a "respectable" Chinese woman and a "foreign devil." Set against the backdrop of the Japanese invasion of China and all its attendant horror, the book conveys a vivid sense of the disparities between sensibilities both emotional and physical. This is a fast and interesting read that will not disappoint those looking for yet another literary work alluding to the Bloomsbury group. Recommended for all libraries. [The daughter of Ling Shuhua, on whom Lin Cheng is based, has brought suit against this book in China, claiming that it defames her mother. Hong Ying currently lives in London.-Ed.]-Michelle Reale, Elkins Park, P.
--Michelle Reale, Elkins Park, PA
Copyright 2002 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Language Notes
Text: English (translation)
Original Language: Chinese

About the Author
Hong Ying was born in Chingqing in 1962 into a boat sailor's family. She was the sixth child in a family of eight, and endured great poverty and hunger as a child during the Great Famine and the Cultural Revolution.

Customer Reviews

Ringing Bell's Rainbow
I am regretful this novel is banned in China. However, when that happens, it makes curiousity an intense ache. Hong Ying has done an excellent job in portraying Julian Bell (nephew of Virginia Woolf) and his Chinese mistress, Lin. The affair starts almost instanteously with a little talk, a look, then moves into a constant taunt of lovemaking and from that point into a love that will not cease. It is difficult not to fall in love with Lin and Julian, their affair. The novel has a way of making the reader forget that they are indeed characters based on real individuals. There are many "peaks" in the novel--one beautifully written scene in an opium den where the lovers show off their passion, their affection, their lust--their intertwined spirits. Ying also includes the most crisp details of Lin's apparel and various cloths, even these common items are sexually charged by the characters' exuberant behavior. Backdrops that work against the lovers include war, the free-style relationship Julian has with his own mother (a little on the oedipal side), pestering servants, an American female, a foul, ill-dressed European female, and Lin's husband Cheng (who does not make it difficult for Lin to have an affair). But I must state that it is love itself that serves as the most prominent antagonist for the two.

Lin teaches Julian Daoist theories to lovemaking. Julian teaches Lin . . . well maybe another reader can help me see exactly what he teaches her. What is clear, however, is that Julian and Lin bend posture in each other. They release pinned-up fever only to realize that lust and clandestine tapping can actually turn into serious affection. Yes, one can fall in love after lust has had its say. Initially, one might believe that Lin is merely a bored wife who is also a successful writer. But, the novel shows readers that Lin is a woman in need of something more than success and marital status. More importantly, she is in need of giving love. It is she who comes to Julian over and again. It is Julian who lays and waits in great fervor for the sound of her footsteps "those light steps struck his ears sweeter than birdsong"; he waits for her presence, for the sex and for all of herself she constantly delivers. The novel's language moves with effervescence and will keep the reader deeply involved and very interested in what happens. As far as flaws in the book, one may only wonder what the relationship between Cheng and Lin [was] really like, but then again the novel leaves us to our own accord. Ying has written a beautiful, fine piece of work and deserves all the respect good writing warrants. Cheers!

Ringing Bell's Rainbow
I am regretful this novel is banned in China. However, when that happens, it makes curiousity an intense ache. Hong Ying has done an excellent job in portraying Julian Bell (nephew of Virginia Woolf) and his Chinese mistress, Lin. The affair starts almost instanteously with a little talk, a look, then moves into a constant taunt of lovemaking and from that point into a love that will not cease. It is difficult not to fall in love with Lin and Julian, their affair. The novel has a way of making the reader forget that they are indeed characters based on real individuals. There are many "peaks" in the novel--one beautifully written scene in an opium den where the lovers show off their passion, their affection, their lust--their intertwined spirits. Ying also includes the most crisp details of Lin's apparel and various cloths, even these common items are sexually charged by the characters' exuberant behavior. Backdrops that work against the lovers include war, the free-style relationship Julian has with his own mother (a little on the oedipal side), pestering servants, an American female, a foul, ill-dressed European female, and Lin's husband Cheng (who does not make it difficult for Lin to have an affair). But I must state that it is love itself that serves as the most prominent antagonist for the two.

Lin teaches Julian Daoist theories to lovemaking. Julian teaches Lin . . . well maybe another reader can help me see exactly what he teaches her. What is clear, however, is that Julian and Lin bend posture in each other. They release pinned-up fever only to realize that lust and clandestine tapping can actually turn into serious affection. Yes, one can fall in love after lust has had its say. Initially, one might believe that Lin is merely a bored wife who is also a successful writer. But, the novel shows readers that Lin is a woman in need of something more than success and marital status. More importantly, she is in need of giving love. It is she who comes to Julian over and again. It is Julian who lays and waits in great fervor for the sound of her footsteps "those light steps struck his ears sweeter than birdsong"; he waits for her presence, for the sex and for all of herself she constantly delivers. The novel's language moves with effervescence and will keep the reader deeply involved and very interested in what happens. As far as flaws in the book, one may only wonder what the relationship between Cheng and Lin [was] really like, but then again the novel leaves us to our own accord. Ying has written a beautiful, fine piece of work and deserves all the respect good writing warrants. Cheers!