Qiu Xiaolong - Red Mandarin Dress

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

As with other books, I have a long list of people to thank for their help, among whom, particularly, Lin Huiying, a celebrated mandarin dress designer in Shanghai, for her expert lessons; Patricia Mirrlees, a friend I met twenty years ago in Beijing, for her continuing support after all these years; and Keith Kahla, my editor at St. Martins Press, for his extraordinary work.

ALSO BY THE AUTHOR

FICTION

POETRY TRANSLATION

POETRY

ONE

CHIEF INSPECTOR CHEN CAO , of the Shanghai Police Bureau, was startled out of his dream by an early phone call.

Rubbing his eyes, as he snatched up the receiver, he saw the clock on the nightstand pointing to seven thirty. He had stayed up late last night writing a letter to a friend in Beijing, quoting a Tang dynasty poet, to say what he found difficult to say in his own words. Afterward, he managed to lose himself in a dream of the heartless Tang willows lined along the deserted bank in a light green mist.

Hello, I am Zhong Baoguo, of the Shanghai Legal System Reform Committee. Is this Comrade Chief Inspector Chen?

Chen sat up. That particular committee, a new institution under the Shanghai Peoples Congress, exercised no direct authority over him, but Zhong, higher in the Party cadre rank, had never contacted him before, let alone called him at home. The fragments of the willow-shaded dream were fading quickly.

It could be one of those politically sensitive cases, preferably not discussed at the bureau. Chen detected a bitter taste in his mouth.

Have you heard of the West-Nine-Block housing development case?

The West-Nine-Block? Yes, Peng Liangxins developmentone of the best areas in the center of the city. I have read articles about it.

In Chinas ongoing reform, some of the most unbelievable business opportunities were in housing development. In the past, with all the land controlled by the state, people had depended on the state housing assignment. Chen, too, had been assigned a room through the bureau quota. But in the early nineties, the government started selling land to emerging entrepreneurs. Pengnicknamed the Number One Shanghai Big Buckwas one of the earliest and most successful developers. Since Party officials determined the land prices and allocation, corruption swarmed around like flies chasing blood. Through his connections, Peng obtained government approval for the West-Nine-Block development project. There, the old buildings had to be pulled down to make way for the new, and Peng drove out the original residents. It did not take long, however, for people to start complaining about the black holes in the business operation, and a scandal broke out.

But what could Chen do? Obviously, for a huge project like West-Nine-Block, a number of officials were involved. It could turn into a major case with disastrous political impact. Damage control, he guessed, would probably be the assignment waiting for him.

Yes, we think you should look into the case. Especially into the attorney, Jia Ming, who represents those residents.

Jia Ming? Chen was even more puzzled. He did not know any details about the corruption case. He had heard of Jia as a successful attorney, but why should an attorney be the target? Is he the attorney who defended the case for Hu Ping, the dissident writer?

Thats him.

Director Zhong, I am so sorry. I am afraid I cannot help with your case. He promptly came up with an excuse, instead of saying a straightforward no. I have just enrolled in a special MA program at Shanghai University. Classical Chinese literature. The first few weeks are for intensive studiesIll have no time for anything else.

More than merely an improvised excuse, it was something he had contemplated for some time. Technically, he wasnt yet enrolled, but he had made preliminary inquiries at the university about it.

You are kidding, Comrade Chief Inspector Chen. What about your police work? Classical Chinese literature. Not in the line of your job at all. Are you looking for a new career?

Literature used to be my majorEnglish literature. To be a competent investigator in todays society, one has to acquire as much knowledge as possible. This program includes psychology and sociology courses.

Well, its desirable to enlarge your knowledge horizon, but I just dont think you have the time in your position.

Its a sort of special arrangement, Chen said. Only a few weeks of intensive studyin classrooms like other students, and then nothing but papers. After that, the curriculum will be arranged in a way compatible with my work schedule. It was not exactly true. According to the program brochure he had picked up, the intensive weeks did not have to be now.

I was hoping I could persuade you. A leading comrade in the city government suggested I talk to you today.

Ill pay close attention to the case in whatever way possible, Chen said, meaning it as a face-saving comment for Zhong. He did not want Zhong to talk about the leading comrade, whoever he might be.

Thats great. Ill have the case file sent to you, Zhong said, taking the comment as a concession from the chief inspector.

Afterward, Chen thought in frustration that he should have said no unequivocally.

After hanging up with Zhong, Chen realized he needed to find out as much as he could about the West-Nine-Block case. He immediately started making phone calls, and his gut feeling that this was an investigation to avoid proved to be right.

Peng Liangxin, the real estate developer, had started out as a dumpling peddler, but he displayed extraordinary expertise in building a connection network. He knew when and where to push red envelopes of money into the hands of the Party officials. In return, the Party had helped him push himself into a billionaire in only four or five years. He acquired the West-Nine-Block land with numerous bribes and a business plan for improving conditions for the residents there. Then, with the government document granting him the land, he obtained the necessary bank loans to build the development without having to spend a single penny of his own. He bullied the residents out with little or no compensation. The few resisting families he called nail families, and he pulled them out forcibly, like nails, by hiring a group of Triad thugs. Several residents were badly beaten in a so-called demolition campaign. Whats more, instead of allowing the original residents to move back in as promised in his development proposal, he started selling the new apartments at a much higher price to buyers from Taiwan and Hong Kong. When people protested, he again enlisted the help of the local Triad, as well as that of the government officials. Several residents were jailed as troublemakers interfering with the development plan of the city. But as more and more people joined the protest, the government felt compelled to step in.

According to one source, Peng got into trouble more or less because of his nickname. There were many rich people in the city, some possibly even richer, but they managed to keep a low profile. Suffering from a swollen head due to his incredibly fast success, he delighted in people calling him the Number One Big Buck in Shanghai. As the gap between the rich and the poor increased, people voiced their frustration with the widespread corruption, and with Peng as a representative of it. As a Chinese proverb says, a bird reaching out its head will be shot.