A right royal yarn about a princess

• Source: Global Times
• [11:22 June 24 2010]
• Comments

Chen Danyan. Photo: IC

Daisy's husband Woo Yu-hsiang, an MIT graduate, was one of many who took to developing the economy of the new nation. Initially rousing suspicion for listening to American broadcasts, mainly so he could keep up-to-date with baseball scores, Woo was soon under investigation. His illegal dealings in foreign currency confirmed government suspicions and soon landed him in prison where he died three years after his arrest.

Daisy, not only had to face the trials of being a single parent, sometimes living on less than 6 yuan a month, but she was also subject to constant criticisms and was forced into re-education due to her capitalist past.

Unlike many other works written about this period, Chen does not focus on the cruelty of the perpetrators but instead focuses on Daisy's strength in dealing with her ordeals. In many ways this is a nice change that inspires readers instead of heaping them into guilt and shame.

We are shown a woman who stoically accepts her fate and refuses to call anywhere else but Shanghai home.

The strong bond that developed between Chen and Daisy is evident, and perhaps in some ways Chen became too close to her subject.

All Daisy's choices in life are painted a little too romantically, and when some events become difficult for Daisy to mention, they are merely glossed over.

While it is understandable that Daisy would be reluctant to speak about such dark times, a little more research and information on Chen's part would have better emphasized Daisy's courage.

Chen also gives us a window into the dramatic events of Shanghai throughout the 20th century.

However, Daisy's firsthand accounts could have been used to greater effect in order to show the changes endured by this historic city.

More descriptions of Shanghai throughout the book would better allow readers to visualize the different periods in Shanghai's history.

Published in Chinese in 2005, Shanghai Princess is available in English through Better Link Press.

Movingly translated by Mavis Gock Yen, a Chinese-Australian whose own life mirrors Daisy's, Shanghai Princess offers us a true-life tale as rich as Shanghai itself.