The setting is China's Forbidden City in the last days of its imperial glory, a vast complex of palaces and gardens run by thousands of eunuchs and...
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Jul 29, 2007
Bookshop
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I can't say exactly whether this book is a work of fiction or a biography. It tells the story of Ci Xi, China's Last Empress (the one who arranged the ascend of China's Last Emperor, Pu Yi) in her own voice. Ci Xi has always been portrayed as a ruthless, evil woman with insatiable thirst for power and, in this book, she's described as a simple and sensuous woman who wants the best for her husband, a mother who wants her son to have what's rightfully his, and a I-don't-know-what who wants the bes
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Apr 09, 2010
dioscurio
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Bayangkan jika kamu seorang gadis kurang beruntung -- ayahmu dicopot dari jabatannya sebagai gubernur rendahan hingga meninggal karena stres, dan kamu terpaksa menumpang di rumah pamanmu, terancam dinikahkan dengan sepupu yang jelek bin idiot -- dan ternyata kamu mendapat kesempatan tinggal di kota terlarang: tempat (mungkin) tiga ribu wanita bersaing memperebutkan cinta dari seorang lelaki, sang Putra Langit yang tidak mengenal istilah "seorang pendamping hidup" (buat apa, toh dia pun
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Sep 15, 2008
Elizabeth
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I didn't enjoy this book as much as "Becoming Madame Mao" and "Red Azalea," and would be more apt to award it 3 and a half stars if that rating were available.
Regardless, the book depicts a fascinating time in Chinese history. Imperial China, deeply rooted in ritual and tradition, comes alive in Min's novel about the last Empress of China, Tzu Hsi. I enjoy rags to riches stories, but this one comes at a cost. Imperial life is lavish, yet stifling. The Forbidden Ci More...
Regardless, the book depicts a fascinating time in Chinese history. Imperial China, deeply rooted in ritual and tradition, comes alive in Min's novel about the last Empress of China, Tzu Hsi. I enjoy rags to riches stories, but this one comes at a cost. Imperial life is lavish, yet stifling. The Forbidden Ci More...
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Aug 20, 2008
I really wanted to love this book. I loved the author's autobiography (RED AZELEA) and her novel (KATHERINE)about a foreign English teacher in China, so I expected EMPRESS ORCHID to bring together her amazing talent for prose narrative in English, enhanced with her first-hand research of Chinese sources, to bring to life the mis-judged history of Empress Dowager Tz'u Hsi. [return][return]I anticipated some embellishments, but the total re-creation of Tzu Hsi as "Orchid", into a kind of
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Jul 17, 2009
Kirsty
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The book follows the story of Tzu Hsi (known as Orchid) who enters the Forbidden City as one of the Emperors concubines at the age of seventeen. Over time she seduces the Emperor and bears his son, which means an immediate rise in rank to 2nd Empress (1st Empress is Nuharoo). We see her struggle to keep the Emperor's interest whilst battling with Nuharoo to be allowed to raise her child herself (normal custom is for the first Empress to take over). When the Emperor dies, and names Orchid's son a
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Jan 30, 2012
Elecktra
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tratta la storia dell'ultima imperatrice cinese Cixi. nella storia attuale questa donna era stata mal vista perchè secondo la storia moderna era un'imperatrice malvagia che pensava solo a se stessa.
nel libro l'autrice ci fa scorgere il punto di vista di Cixi, cè la fa conoscere prima coe una ragazzina appartenente ad una famiglia povera ma di nobili origini che pur di evitare un matrimonio sbagliato fa le selezioni per diventare una delle moglio dell'imperatore Xiang-Fen.
ottenuto il titolo di im More...
nel libro l'autrice ci fa scorgere il punto di vista di Cixi, cè la fa conoscere prima coe una ragazzina appartenente ad una famiglia povera ma di nobili origini che pur di evitare un matrimonio sbagliato fa le selezioni per diventare una delle moglio dell'imperatore Xiang-Fen.
ottenuto il titolo di im More...
Feb 04, 2009
Toni
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This is a fictionalized account of Empress Tsu His (known as Orchid) who was the power behind the throne of the Ch'ing Dynasty in the 19th century. According to the author the characters are base on real people and the events kept closed to the events in history. The decrees and poems were translated from the original documents:
In the 1850's European incursions and peasant rebellions were already undermining the Dynasty. At the same time Orchid born in to poverty came to the Forbidde More...
In the 1850's European incursions and peasant rebellions were already undermining the Dynasty. At the same time Orchid born in to poverty came to the Forbidde More...
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Dec 25, 2011
Sarah
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I picked this book up at the book fair because I thought it sounded interesting. It's a historical, fictional biography of the last Empress of China (1860's to 1900's), so it involves a lot of Chinese history. Orchid is the eldest daughter of a local governor who ends up being chosen as a concubine for the emperor of China. She gets moved to the Forbidden City and the rest of the book is about the life she lived there.
The author did a great deal of research into Chinese history and More...
The author did a great deal of research into Chinese history and More...
Nov 22, 2011
Indri
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entah apa yang membuat anchee min kemudian terinspirasi untuk menggambarkan secara detail isi di dalam istana terlarang, bahkan hingga kemelut dan betapa pusingnya seorang anggrek yang berusaha menstabilkan panji negara Cina dengan tekanan saat itu (seorang suami yang sakit-sakitan dan memiliki banyak selir, anak yang tidak dapat diasuh sepenuhnya akibat anggrek adalah selir kedua dan dibenci ibu suri, korupsi dan nepotisme yang meraja lela, perang di seluruh dataran Cina, dan lain sebagainya).
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Oct 15, 2011
Elizabeth
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This book paints a picture of China as it succumbs to colonial power as told through the lens of a woman who was China's last empress. The book provides an excellent history (albeit fictionalized to a degree) to the challenges China faced as western nations sought to open the country to trade. By telling the story through the eyes of a girl who is plucked from poverty to be come one of the young emperor's eight wives, we see the vivid contrast between the lives of the different class strata in C
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Sep 28, 2011
Sue
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This is the fictionalised account of Empress Tzu Hsi's early life.
I knew little of this period of Chinese history before I read the book and it was a great way for me to discover a little more. I found it easy to read, interesting, never dull. In the course of her research Anchee Min was given access through the 'back door', as she puts it, to the papers of the Empress and her entourage in the Forbidden City. She also researched medical records, accounts and police records. Her desc More...
I knew little of this period of Chinese history before I read the book and it was a great way for me to discover a little more. I found it easy to read, interesting, never dull. In the course of her research Anchee Min was given access through the 'back door', as she puts it, to the papers of the Empress and her entourage in the Forbidden City. She also researched medical records, accounts and police records. Her desc More...
Aug 03, 2011
Kelli
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The Empress Orchid, written by Anchee Min, is about the Ch’ing Dynasty in 1852. A concubine, Tzu Hsi known as Orchid as a child, was able to win the affections of the Emperor, Hsien Feng, and gave him a son then found herself the ruler of China. Reading about Chinese history and their royal families, this was fascinating.
The Empress Orchid and the other books I have read are the reason why I LOVE to read. For that moment as I’m reading a book, I can travel to another world, live in More...
The Empress Orchid and the other books I have read are the reason why I LOVE to read. For that moment as I’m reading a book, I can travel to another world, live in More...
Apr 11, 2011
Windy
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This book was recommended by my friend. According to her, the story is very good.
According to me this book is half biography. The story of the life of empress dowager Orchid. One of emperor hsien feng mistress.
She's the daughter of poor governor, after the death of his father, her mother took his father rule as breadwinner and she help the family financial by working at ex servant of late emperor mistress.
From her she gets lot of information about what happened inside forbidd More...
According to me this book is half biography. The story of the life of empress dowager Orchid. One of emperor hsien feng mistress.
She's the daughter of poor governor, after the death of his father, her mother took his father rule as breadwinner and she help the family financial by working at ex servant of late emperor mistress.
From her she gets lot of information about what happened inside forbidd More...
Mar 18, 2011
Suzan
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Sebelumnya saya telah membaca The Last Empress, padahal novel ini yang menceritakan sisi Lain dari Orchid ini adalah buku pertama. Jangan ikuti jejak saya membaca buku terbalik ya :D
Jika dalam sejarah, Orchid yang lebih di kenal dengan nama Permaisuri Tsu Zhi, perempuan paling berkuasa pada awal abad 20 di Cina
kepiawannya memimpin Cina, membawa Cina dalam masa bertahan, karena pada saat Orchid berkuasa, Cina sudah berada dalam keadaan terpuruk dengan hutang-hutang leluhur kepa More...
Jika dalam sejarah, Orchid yang lebih di kenal dengan nama Permaisuri Tsu Zhi, perempuan paling berkuasa pada awal abad 20 di Cina
kepiawannya memimpin Cina, membawa Cina dalam masa bertahan, karena pada saat Orchid berkuasa, Cina sudah berada dalam keadaan terpuruk dengan hutang-hutang leluhur kepa More...
May 17, 2010
Kami
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I do not know a lot about China and its history. This book about a concubine in the forbidden city was fascinating. The elaborate wealth and tradition bound the forbidden city into a den of indulgence, loneliness, and intrigue. I learned a lot about eunuchs as well. I wish I knew how much was fiction and how much really happened. The book focuses at the time when China's wealth and power are fading. Europe is invading and some provinces are not happy and want to leave as well. Add to thes
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Mar 07, 2010
Hilda
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Drama cinta dan kekuasaan selir muda Kaisar Hsien Feng... Indah, menawan, dan penuh intrik.
Tzu Hsi Yehonala, atau yang dalam bahasa Cina berarti anggrek adalah seorang Maharani, terlebih dia kaisar wanita yang paling lama berkuasa di Cina. Tapi Anggrek tidak mencapai posisi itu dengan mudah. Dia yang dulu hanyalah gadis desa, berhasil mendapatkan kekuasaan lewat rayuan, intrik politik, dan kecerdasan luar biasa.
Anggrek dulu hanyalah gadis berumur 17 tahun dari klan Yehona More...
Tzu Hsi Yehonala, atau yang dalam bahasa Cina berarti anggrek adalah seorang Maharani, terlebih dia kaisar wanita yang paling lama berkuasa di Cina. Tapi Anggrek tidak mencapai posisi itu dengan mudah. Dia yang dulu hanyalah gadis desa, berhasil mendapatkan kekuasaan lewat rayuan, intrik politik, dan kecerdasan luar biasa.
Anggrek dulu hanyalah gadis berumur 17 tahun dari klan Yehona More...
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Dec 30, 2009
Amanda
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My second book of the year is Empress Orchid by Anchee Min, an historical novel about Tzu Hsi, concubine-turned-empress of China. It's "an epic of a country girl who seized power through seduction, murder and endless intrigue... she alone seems campable of holding the country together" (thanks, book jacket).
I think I'm going to look back on the year and not rank Empress Orchd in the top ten. It was very good, and definitely one of those books that, while I was readi More...
I think I'm going to look back on the year and not rank Empress Orchd in the top ten. It was very good, and definitely one of those books that, while I was readi More...
Sep 20, 2009
Tara
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I enjoyed the first half of this novel more than the last. The first half had a more personal feel and a little less historical data. The last half, at moments, was too much political drama and history for my taste. I love to read history, but it must be told in a manner that I will not forget it 5 minutes after reading it. I liked the main character, Orchid and I grew very angry at times reading about her plights and the way she was treated in the forbidden city. The novel follows Orchid as tee
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Apr 13, 2009
Elketw
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Category: Books
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Author: An Chee Min
Novel ini menceritakan tentang kisah hidup seorang gadis Manchu yang bernama Anggrek Yehonala yang pada kemudian hari akan menjadi Permaisuri Cina yang sangat terkenal.
Awal cerita dimulai dengan cerita kematian ayah Yehonala yang sebelumnya merupakan Gubernur propinsi Wuhu. Meninggalnya sang ayah membuat Anggrek beserta Ibu dan kedua adiknya berada dalam kemiskinan. Keluarganya kemudian melakuka More...
Genre: Biographies & Memoirs
Author: An Chee Min
Novel ini menceritakan tentang kisah hidup seorang gadis Manchu yang bernama Anggrek Yehonala yang pada kemudian hari akan menjadi Permaisuri Cina yang sangat terkenal.
Awal cerita dimulai dengan cerita kematian ayah Yehonala yang sebelumnya merupakan Gubernur propinsi Wuhu. Meninggalnya sang ayah membuat Anggrek beserta Ibu dan kedua adiknya berada dalam kemiskinan. Keluarganya kemudian melakuka More...
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Feb 15, 2010
Petta
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beberapa saat sebelum aku baca empress orchid, aku baca tajmahal-nya john shors, dan melihat beberapa persamaan antara kisah keduanya.
empress orchid dan jahanara (putri dari mumtaz mahal dan -siapa tuh nama bapaknya-) sama-sama berada dalam lingkungan yang menganggap kepemimpinan wanita lemah dalam kerajaan, mereka harus berjuang keras untuk bertahan diantara saudara serta pejabat-pejabat yang lain.
empress orchid memiliki pelayan setia, seorang kasim bernama an-te-hai, sementara jaha More...
empress orchid dan jahanara (putri dari mumtaz mahal dan -siapa tuh nama bapaknya-) sama-sama berada dalam lingkungan yang menganggap kepemimpinan wanita lemah dalam kerajaan, mereka harus berjuang keras untuk bertahan diantara saudara serta pejabat-pejabat yang lain.
empress orchid memiliki pelayan setia, seorang kasim bernama an-te-hai, sementara jaha More...
Mar 28, 2011
Lainy
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Empress Orchid by Anchee Min
This book was not at all what I expected. It is centered around the Emperor of China and her quest to rid herself and her family of poverty and marrying her unsavoury cousin.
We start at the beginning of Orchids life, briefly one sentence and then the memory of the loss of her father and how her family tries to get him to his respectful resting place with very little funds to do so. With no financial or materialistic prospects the only solution is More...
This book was not at all what I expected. It is centered around the Emperor of China and her quest to rid herself and her family of poverty and marrying her unsavoury cousin.
We start at the beginning of Orchids life, briefly one sentence and then the memory of the loss of her father and how her family tries to get him to his respectful resting place with very little funds to do so. With no financial or materialistic prospects the only solution is More...
Jan 27, 2011
Vina
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Orchid, masuk ke istana untuk menjadi satu dari 3.000 selir yang terpilih. Terlahir dan dibesarkan secara berkecukupan, Ayahnya menjabat sbg Gubernur di Provinsi Wuhu. Tapi nasib tidak selamanya berpihak. Tiba2 Sang Ayah dipecat dari jabatannya karna tidak bs meredam pemberontakan petani yang gagal panen di Provinsinya. Hidup mereka langsung jatuh melarat, menjual semua harta benda untuk menghidupi keluarga dan pengobatan Ayahnya yang jadi sakit-sakitan semenjak pemecatannya. Waktu Ayahnya Orchi
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Oct 09, 2010
Chris
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The first grown-up movie (a movie with subtitles, adult themes, and not based on a comic book or video game) I ever saw was The Last Emperor. I saw it pre-high school. I can't remember why I wanted to see it. I can remember really wanting to see it and loving it. I still love it. So it should be no surprise that the first Anchee Min book I pick up is this one.
At this point, I should let you know that I know very little about Chinese history so I cannot judge this book on its his More...
At this point, I should let you know that I know very little about Chinese history so I cannot judge this book on its his More...
Sep 29, 2011
MissChievous
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This book is about Orchid, a poor young Manchu girl who marries into the royal family to be one of the many concubines of the Emperor of China, and then becomes the last Empress herself. It chronicles her life from her marriage to the Emperor until just after his death. During this time, Orchid has to prove herself against her many rivals in the Forbidden City to become the most coveted and influential concubines of her time.
I had higher hopes for this book and left mostly disappointed More...
I had higher hopes for this book and left mostly disappointed More...
Oct 06, 2009
Khaya
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After my negative review of The Twentieth Wife A Novel, Mintzi recommended The Last Empress as a superior alternative and I thought I might as well read the prequel first.
"Empress Orchid" started off pretty strong -- Orchid, like Mehrunissa from "The Twentieth Wife," is a poor girl who miraculously rises to be the emperor's wife but unlike Mehrunissa, is not a goody-goody Mary Sue heroine. Chosen from among thousands of young women as the emperor's fourth conc More...
"Empress Orchid" started off pretty strong -- Orchid, like Mehrunissa from "The Twentieth Wife," is a poor girl who miraculously rises to be the emperor's wife but unlike Mehrunissa, is not a goody-goody Mary Sue heroine. Chosen from among thousands of young women as the emperor's fourth conc More...
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Jun 01, 2011
Harmonybites
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The author, Amchee Min, was born in Shanghai and came of age in China during the Cultural Revolution, and still visits there regularly. Being able to read Chinese, Min was able to extensively research her period using primary sources. I therefore trusted her depiction of late Ching dynasty China is fairly accurate. This novel is told as the first person account of China's infamous "Dowager Empress," Tzu Hsi aka Red Orchid, who came to the Forbidden City as one of the Emperor's brides w
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Mar 18, 2011
Mary
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This is historical fiction about Empress Ci Xi, the last (dowager) empress of China, and how she came to the palace as a subordinate wife, became the mother of the emperor's only son, and that son became emperor. There is a sequel novel about the son's reign.
One problem with historical fiction is that you do know how things will come out - the last dynasty was succeeded by Sun Yat Sen (which is good) but we also know that China did not manage to kick out the foreign interests that had ta More...
One problem with historical fiction is that you do know how things will come out - the last dynasty was succeeded by Sun Yat Sen (which is good) but we also know that China did not manage to kick out the foreign interests that had ta More...
Mar 11, 2011
Rahmadiyanti
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Sejak lama nggak begitu tertarik dengan novel bernuansa kekaisaran China. Sampai akhirnya edisi bahasa Indonesia novel ini di-republish, dan tiba-tiba saya pengen baca. Ternyata, baguuus euy! Habis ini saya bakal baca karya-karya Anchee Min yang lain nih :).
Cerita tentang Putri Yehonala atau Tzu Hsi atau Anggrek, salah satu selir Kaisar Hsien Feng, yang di kemudian hari melahirkan anak laki-laki (Tung Chih) yang akan menjadi penerus Hsien Feng. Anchee Min begitu detail mendeskripsik More...
Cerita tentang Putri Yehonala atau Tzu Hsi atau Anggrek, salah satu selir Kaisar Hsien Feng, yang di kemudian hari melahirkan anak laki-laki (Tung Chih) yang akan menjadi penerus Hsien Feng. Anchee Min begitu detail mendeskripsik More...
Nov 10, 2009
Kerlip
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saya membelinya karena saya selalu tertarik akan cerita di balik kota terlarang yang berada di Peking Cina. Apalagi ada imbuhan intrik seorang selir kaisar dalam menguasai dunia politik kerajaan.
Anggrek, begitu dia diberi nama adalah seorang keturunan Manchu yang hidup dan dibesarkan di desa Wuhu. Ketika ayahnya meninggal dunia, keluarganya terpuruk dalam kemiskinan. Dan ibunya meminta belas kasihan paman untuk tinggal di rumahnya.
Pamannya yang juga miskin, berencana untu More...
Anggrek, begitu dia diberi nama adalah seorang keturunan Manchu yang hidup dan dibesarkan di desa Wuhu. Ketika ayahnya meninggal dunia, keluarganya terpuruk dalam kemiskinan. Dan ibunya meminta belas kasihan paman untuk tinggal di rumahnya.
Pamannya yang juga miskin, berencana untu More...
Jun 12, 2011
Sweetdhee
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Anggrek (Tzu Hsi) adalah anak Hui Cheng Yehonala, mantan taotai (Gubernur) di sebuah kota kecil beranama Wuhu, di Propinsi Anhwei, propinsi termiskin di Cina.
Masa kecilnya tidak pernah mudah.
Terutama setelah ayahnya dipecat Kaisar Tao Kang karena tidak mampu menahan pemberontakan petani yang putus asa karena kemarau panjang.
Ayahnya mati dirundung malu.
Bahkan demi memakamkan ayahnya di kota kelahirannya, Peking, mereka meninggalkan Wuhu tanpa harta sedikitpun.
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Masa kecilnya tidak pernah mudah.
Terutama setelah ayahnya dipecat Kaisar Tao Kang karena tidak mampu menahan pemberontakan petani yang putus asa karena kemarau panjang.
Ayahnya mati dirundung malu.
Bahkan demi memakamkan ayahnya di kota kelahirannya, Peking, mereka meninggalkan Wuhu tanpa harta sedikitpun.
More...
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