Eileen Chang - Love in a Fallen City

Author: Eileen Chang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: In order to "save daylight," Shanghai had set all the clocks forward by one hour. However, in the Bai Mansion, they said, "We use the old clock." Their ten o'clock was someone else's eleven o'clock. They sang off-key, unable to keep up with the life's huqin. The huqin played a ditty, yodeling, in the night of countless lights. It pulled back and forth, telling an endless story of desolation—better not to ask! The story of the huqin should be played by dazzling performers. The long red robes, fatly clasped around Qiongyao's nose, sang, laughed, and covered their mouths with their sleeves. But here, only Master Bai sat alone on the dark, dilapidated balcony, playing the huqin. Just as he was playing, the doorbell downstairs rang. This was a rare occurrence in the Bai Mansion. According to the old rules, it was absolutely not proper to go out to pay visits at night. If a guest came in the evening or an electric telegram was received from the sky, it was usually only for urgent matters from the Tian Ning ship, mostly because someone had died. Master Bai listened intently and indeed heard the sound of the third master, the third mistress, and the fourth mistress.