All things old China - books, anecdotes, stories, podcasts, factoids & ramblings from the author Paul French
My November 2023 author Q&A column for the China Britain Business Council’s Focus magazine is Cassia St Clair and her book The Race to the Future (John Murray) – click here to read…
A while back I posted about car number plates in old Shanghai – International Settlement, French Concession and Chinese Districts plates (here). Here, for the record, is a French Concession motorcycle plate….the slightly obscured lettering is CMF – Conseil Municipale Francais.
Congratulations to Susan Blumberg-Kason with the publication of Bernardine’s Shanghai Salon: The Story of the Doyenne of Old China (Post Hill Press) – a great addition to the old Shanghai shelf…
Bernardine Szold Fritz arrived in Shanghai in 1929 to marry her fourth husband. Only thirty-three years old, she found herself in a time and place like no other. Political intrigue and scandal lurked on every street corner. Art Deco cinemas showed the latest Hollywood flicks, while dancehall owners and jazz musicians turned Shanghai into Asia’s top nightlife destination.
Yet from the night of their wedding, Bernardine’s new husband did not live up to his promises. Instead of feeling sorry for herself or leaving Shanghai, Bernardine decided to make a place for herself. Like other Jewish women before her, she started a salon in her home, drawing famous names from the world of politics, the arts, and the intelligentsia. She introduced Emily Hahn, the charismatic opium-smoking writer for The New Yorker, to the flamboyant hotelier Sir Victor Sassoon and legendary poet Sinmay Zau. And when Hollywood stars Anna May Wong, Charlie Chaplin, and Claudette Colbert passed through Shanghai, Bernardine organized gatherings to introduce them to their Shanghai contemporaries.
When Bernardine’s salon could not accommodate all who wanted to attend, she founded the International Arts Theater to produce avant-garde plays, ballets, lectures, and visual arts exhibits, often pushing audiences beyond their comfort zones. As civil war brewed and World War II soon followed, Bernardine’s devotion to the arts and the people of Shanghai brought joy to the city just before it would change forever.
In partnership with the Museum at Eldridge Street, the Museum of Chinese in America (MOCA) is thrilled to introduce its distinguished MOCA TALKS speaker, Scott D. Seligman. He will discuss his riveting book Murder in Manchuria: The True Story of a Jewish Virtuoso, Russian Fascists, a French Diplomat, and a Japanese Spy in Occupied China.
Venture into an enigmatic, unsolved murder set against the backdrop of a turbulent China on the cusp of World War II. The narrative unravels in Manchuria, sometimes referred to as China’s “Wild East,” highlighting the explosive mix of nationalities, religions, and ideologies. Central to the story is the tragic account of Semyon Kaspé, a promising Jewish musician. His abduction, torture, and eventual murder at the hands of antisemitic White Russians reveals deeper conspiracies, as they secretly follow the directives of their Japanese military overlords, drawn by Kaspé family wealth. As local authorities dawdle in their pursuit of the kidnappers, a tenacious French diplomat takes charge, embarking on a quest for justice. Blending the allure of a cold-case investigation with a deep dive into social history, Seligman offers a vibrant portrayal of the twenty thousand Jews who made Harbin their sanctuary in the early twentieth century. With masterful storytelling, he chronicles their arrival, hasty exodus, and ultimately, solves a crime that has perplexed historians for decades. This virtual talk is presented in partnership with the Museum at Eldridge Street.
Click here to register – https://www.mocanyc.org/event/murder-in-manchuria-scott-seligman/
The Scottish artist Anna Mary Hotchkis was from Kirkudbright lived and work in China for most of the years between 1922 and 1937 when she left due to the Japanese invasion. She had studied at Glasgow School of Art and in Munich. She was a long time member of of the Dumfries and Galloway Fine Art Society. She spent much of her time in Peking and painted many of the temples of the Western Hills. Here is her (undated) picture of the Tan Che Ssu (temple). It was exhibitied in Scotland by the Scotish Societyof Women Artists…
Xu Huaizhong’s That Which Can’t be Washed Away (translated by Haiwang Yuan and Will Spence and published by Sinoist Books.
1947, and the final bloody chapters of the Chinese Civil War unleash a tidal wave of Red across the nation. Qi Jing and his Communist 9th Brigade are given a near-impossible mission: ford the mighty Yellow River and cut a swathe south through the Nationalist-held Dabie mountains, regardless of cost.
As the disciplinarian Qi leads his soldiers through wretched conditions, he comes to rely on the enigmatic Wang Keyu to shore up flagging morale through education and propaganda. Amid desolate bluffs and ridges, she proves to be a beacon to the peasant warriors, especially Cao Shui’er, the commander’s bodyguard.As the campaign splinters and the fighting devolves into a hand-to-hand struggle against reluctant countrymen. Cao and an injured Wang find themselves stranded at the entrance to an ethereal network of caves. Can they find their way back through this labyrinth? Or will the walls close in on them?
Attributing works to George Chinnery and not his ‘school’ – Lamqua etc – is a minefield. Interestingly this painting of a Sampan Girl, c.1850, came up for auction recently in London. At first glance it appeared to be the same as the one that is in the collection at HKMOA, the Hong Kong Museum of Art (thanks to Peter Gordon in HK for spotting that).
I queried it with the auction house who noted that ‘Chinnery did a number of versions and this one (with fire ll) is also by Chinnery.’ And, yes on closer inspection you can see that in this pictture there is a fire of some sort in the background making it subtly different. So too the montains behind (Lapa/Wanzai?). and the scarf too – from yellow to red.
So, are either or both Chinnery? are either of both Lamqua or another member of the Chinnery Studio? Is the fire added to differentiate the painting for some reason? Is either one more desirable or valuable than the other? Are there any more?
And, of course, we should never forget that Chinnery was a lovable rogue and appreciated a bit of obfuscation…
The great publishing house of Kelly and Walsh had branches in Yokohama, Shanghai, Hong Kong & Singapore and published (and of course sold) books in all those locations. Here is a fairly rare crepe cloth book, A Short Account of The Forty-Seven Ronins, published c.1893 by their Yokohama branch (then a treaty port)…
