Review of Red Mandarin Dress, by Qiu Xiaolong

Page-Turning Murder Mystery Set In Vibrant Shanghai

Apr 26, 2009 Paris Franz

China's turbulent past casts a long shadow as enigmatic Inspector Chen reluctantly takes on a baffling murder case.

The body of a young woman, clad only in a torn red mandarin dress, is found on a traffic island in a a busy part of town, setting in motion the plot of Qiu Xiaolong’s fifth book in the Inspector Chen series of mysteries. Part detective thriller, part meditation on China and Chinese culture, Red Mandarin Dress is that rare mix – a page-turning whodunit and a finely written literary novel.

The Mystery of the Red Mandarin Dress

The red mandarin dress of the title is more than an item of clothing. Both elegant and suggestive, it comes weighed down with history, as do many things in China. Inspector Chen is well aware of this. Being a policeman is not something he chose, and the book begins with his decision to take some time out to study Chinese classical literature as a way to ease his frustrations.

His studies make a useful excuse when his political bosses ask him to deal with a sensitive real estate development case, which his instincts tell him to avoid at all costs.

The Legacy of the Past

As the plot progresses, the different threads come together, as China’s dark past casts a shadow over its ritzy present. Qiu Xiaolong, himself a poet, shows that history, be it in the form of Tang dynasty poetry or Cultural Revolutionary fervor, is never far away in modern China. For all its dash towards modernity, China is a place where ancient modes of thought persist, and connections are everything.

Along the way, there are loving, if occasionally alarming, descriptions of food, a cultural history of the mandarin dress, or qipao, and quotations from Confucius. Part of the strength of the book lies in this wealth of fascinating detail, woven seamlessly into the narrative.

Red Mandarin Dress works on a number of levels. As a detective story, it commands the reader’s attention as the bookish Inspector Chen tracks down the killer. As a rumination on China’s rampant development and the difficulties involved in leaving the past behind, the book is also a rewarding read.

Author Qiu Xiaolong

Born in Shanghai, Qiu Xiaolong has lived in the United States since 1989. He has an MA and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Washington University.

The other books in the Inspector Chen series include: Death of a Red Heroine, A Loyal Character Dancer, When Red is Black, A Case of Two Cities and The Mao Case.

Qiu Xiaolong, Red Mandarin Dress (Sceptre Books, 2007) ISBN 9780340935194, 310 pages

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Red Mandarin Dress, by Qiu Xiaolong