Old Shanghai - Gangsters In Paradise

by Lynn Pan

Book by Ling, Pan

Genres: History, China, Nonfiction

239 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Fernando Pestana da Costa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Since I can remember I always thought of Shanghai in the first half of the 20th Century as a fascinating place. So when I found this book in a bookshop in Vientiane, Laos, I didn't hesitate to buy it and know more about that time and place. The story, as told by Lynn Pan's book is attention grabbing almost from beginning to end. The book covers sixty five years of the city's history, from 1897 until 1952, from the imperial era until the early years of Communist rule. The main character whose life history serves as a conduction wire to the book is the gangster Du Yuesheng; through his life we visit a whole array of characters, some more dodgy than others but all of them fascinating, some of world fame even today, such as Chiang Kaishek, most of just national or even local significance and nowadays essentially forgotten. This is an extremely interesting book for those who want an overview of Shanghai (and even of China) in the first half of the 20th Century, with its hugely complicated balance between the different actors of city's: the local politicians, the underworld, the Western authorities in the International Settlements, the Japanese invaders and occupiers, the Chiang Kaishek regime, and the early Communist authorities. I enjoyed it very much!

[Mst · Rating 5 out of 5]

I wish I could communicate how much I love this book. Like Ms. Pan, I am compulsively drawn to the drama of Shanghai in the early years of the 20th century, and her depiction of that drama is at once stunningly clear and gloriously operatic. I only wish all history were written this well.