Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines by Pim Wiersinga

The Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines

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Description

In the closing years of the eighteenth century, the once great Qianlong reign languishes in a morass of corruption and waste. The emperor, formerly the powerful ruler of a thriving dynasty, is now the feeble tool of his devious minister, Heshen, who plies his ruler with opium and whispers shadowy innuendos into his receptive ear. This dark stagnancy is abruptly interrupted when the English envoy of King George III refuses to perform the traditional obeisance: the kowtow. The Imperial Interpreter Second Class, the alluring Lady Cao Baoqin, assigned to the English embassy, is consequently incarcerated in the Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines, destined to end her days among these forlorn flowers of decades past. Lady Cao, however, is much more than she appears to be; rumours whisper of her mysterious association with the much-revered author of the Dream of the Red Chamber–a novel as politically dangerous as it is galvanizing. Loved by a stalwart Dutch diplomat, coveted by the Grand Censor, and scorned by the power-seeking Heshen, Lady Cao is a delicate pillar of indomitable strength and fortitude. Set amidst the intrigue of a dilapidated court, The Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines is a work of lyrical eloquence in which one woman emerges as the most unexpected of heroes, a woman who, through the indomitable power of her ink-reed, will defy an empire.

What readers and reviewers have to say…

Wiersinga has written a highly original novel…fraught with suspense, and delineated with exceptional clarity…

-André Oyen, jury member of the annual Flemish Literary Top 20

Not only does Wiersinga revive the China of bygone days, he is also a master in the art of corresponding. Without realizing it, you read those letters as if they were addressing you…

-Ezra de Haan, in Literatuurplein (Literature Square)

Product Reviews

5 based on 3 reviews.

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5/5

A fabulous work

Written by Melanie Cossey on 1st Dec 2022

The Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines is a luscious book that transports the reader back to 18th century China, right from the first page. When the British lord, George McCartney fails to kowtow for the Emperor, Imperial Interpreter Lady Cao Baoqin is sent to prison for improperly preparing the envoy. After the strongman at Court, Heshen, takes her to the dungeon, the Emperor intervenes and transfers her to the Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines to serve her sentence. Thus begins the rich correspondence between Lady Cao Baoqin and the Emperor, and branches out to the many characters of the book, whose lives intertwine with hers in the effort to preserve the original copy of the book The Dream of the Red Chamber, written by her former lover, Xuequin, and in which she appears as a fictional character. Author Pim Wiersinga, creates a multi-layered world within the tightly controlled life of Lady Cao Baoqin, through the letters that travel to and from the Pavilion. This rich, authentic storytelling swept me away into a world so far from my own that I truly felt I was escaping. Wiersinga expertly weaves a multi-dimensional story with an authentic voice, reflecting the customs and manners of this ancient Chinese culture. The voice and viewpoint of Lady Cao Baoqin are so well constructed I was impressed that the author, a male, was able to capture the female perspective so well. I loved the sections of the book where Lady Cao Baoqin relaxed her tough exterior and reflected on the gentle and passionate nature of her love for Xuequin. Some of the sections I read over several times as they were so evocative and doing so moved me to near tears. This is a book I plan to read again, as I feel many of the more subtle nuances escaped me. It will be an absolute joy to revisit this book and the characters again in the near future. This book will not disappoint the historical reader; it has everything one could want : lyrical language, a rich historical backdrop, love, political intrigue, passion and a twist ending. A fabulous work!

5/5

Well-researched

Written by Patricia Collins on 1st Dec 2022

In Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines, Pim Wiersinga has created a well-researched view of life in 18th-century China among people of a refined class. Building on Cao Xueqin’s famous novel, The Dream of the Red Chamber, Wiersinga imagines the life of Lady Cao, Cao Xueqin’s intellectually sophisticated concubine, and her life after this early disquieting and lovingly remembered time in the good Lady’s life. Wiersinga’s depiction of Lady Cao takes risks. She is not an entirely likable person. She will go against her own wishes just to spite someone else she believes is trying to tell her what to do. She is self-possessed, even egotistical. But she has a refinement and intellect that is appealing. In a sense, she is both protagonist and antagonist. This Dutch author restricts European characters to comparatively minor roles. Dutch Ambassador Isaac Titsingh is important to the story and place in history while most prominently serving as a means of further developing Lady Cao’s character. He is often not “in” the scene but somewhere spatially remote, reinforcing that maintenance of emotional distance that controls Lady Cao’s thoughts and behavior. Similarly, the character of the historical figure, British Envoy Macartney, serves as a stark contrast between Eastern and Western cultural norms, with his mission to acquire one-way benefits for Britain, a mission that failed for its very disrespect in a culture where hierarchical respect, to this day, is fundamental. For those with little knowledge of this era in China, reading the preface notes that discuss the book and Wiersinga’s own “Oh, Gentle Reader!” preface assist the reader in understanding more context than the novel can take on while remaining coherent. Perhaps the riskiest literary choice in Pavilion is that of using an epistolary form, one that is presented entirely as correspondence between Lady Cao and those with whom she has personal reasons for communicating. Often, the primary reason is that she wants something from the other person, but often she also shares descriptions of her thoughts and behaviors where she portrays herself with some degree of self-admiration. A confession: I have a loving connectedness with correspondence carried out on linen paper with a fountain pen. I am predisposed to appreciate a novel written with such a manner of communication. Written correspondence has a permanence that spoken dialog cannot have. For a novel about a culture in which history and tradition are so central, sharing a story in terms of Lady Cao’s correspondence serves as an echo of Chinese values. The diction and topics of each character’s letters provide insights into that character. As with any written correspondence worthy of a pen, these letters convey each character’s perspective-- whether that comes from their station in life, their sociopolitical allegiances, or their feelings about the recipient of their missives. The challenge of the epistolary form is that it is so difficult to keep the story as a “showing” of what transpires rather than as that one-step away “telling” about what has transpired. Lady Cao’s correspondence, in particular, can be long and winding as it tells the reader her version of her “backstory” and of events. This befits the character, however, as it allows her to control the narrative. Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines offers Western readers such a special opportunity to peer into 18th-century China through a Chinese looking glass.

5/5

An impressively ambitious novel

Written by Lily Iona MacKenzie on 1st Dec 2022

Per Wiersinga’s The Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines is an impressively ambitious novel. He is using The Dream of the Red Chamber, one of the world’s great works, as the basis for his exploration of 18th Century China’s history. His central character Lady Cao Baoqin is The Imperial Interpreter Second Class. When we first meet her, she’s in prison in the Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines. She has been wrongly accused by the Emperor’s Grand Vizier of complicity with a British visitor’s refusal to kowtow to the Emperor. Wiersinga’s ability to bring us into the world of court intrigue and high politics in 18th Century China through a series of letters between Lady Cao, the Emperor, and Heshen is a very impressive achievement. He uses Lady Cao as a means to explore his own fascination with The Dream of the Red Chamber, and this fascinating character becomes a mouthpiece for his meditations on Chinese literature, language, linguistics, the nature of literature, and history itself.

The Pavilion of Forgotten Concubines

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