Red Dress Floating in the Middle East

Author: Jiang Hui
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2002-08-01
Features: This is a long novel with autobiographical elements, depicting a romantic love story set against the backdrop of the Middle Eastern war. It is an deeply moving story of genuine affection between people of different ethnicities. It is the purest and most beautiful spiritual experience an Eastern woman offers to the world, a book written by a woman who loves life for mature, responsible men. It is the first literary work by a Chinese author depicting the Arab world—Red Skirts Drifting in the Middle East.
For a long time, deserts, mosques, and Arab women in black robes seemed to define the typical image of the Arab world, while the legendary Arab myths continued to captivate the world with their enduring charm. The 20th century was a great stage that accelerated the course of human history. The tide of globalization could not be stopped by any nation, no matter how closed off, like the pyramids. People from different countries, with different cultural backgrounds, and speaking different languages came to this magical Arab land. As many Chinese rushed to developed countries to "practice" and "seek wealth," a Chinese woman in a red cheongsam, with a broken heart and a sliver of hope, bravely set foot in the Middle Eastern desert, becoming the only Chinese woman in the small city of Aqaba in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. She created a modern "Arabian myth" through her personal experiences. She is Jiang Hui, the author of the autobiographical novel Red Skirts Drifting in the Middle East.
After returning to the Arab world with her extraordinary life, Jiang Hui, who had never written any literature before, was tormented by the wounds of emotion. She devoted three years to writing a romantic yet tragic love story set against the backdrop of the Middle Eastern war. From the perspective of an Eastern woman, it tells a story of genuine affection between people of different ethnicities. It is the purest and most beautiful spiritual experience an Eastern woman offers to the world. While narrating the story, the author also presents a world unknown to most people from all angles, perspectives, and viewpoints. The backdrop of the story also reveals the author's profound and serious reflections on the international society, the living environment of humanity, religious beliefs and cultural contexts, as well as views on love and marriage.
This is a work about love, but it is not a narrow expression of private emotions. It is a dialogue across borders and cultural concepts about life, values, love, and marriage, a soul-to-soul communication between the author and the readers through her personal experiences and passionate writing. The plot is full of twists and turns, and the characters are vivid and lifelike. The work features a large cast of characters from various nationalities, including UN officials, royal members, diplomats, the commander of the U.S. aircraft carrier, and ordinary soldiers, as well as Chinese officers, gamblers on a Russian gambling ship, merchants from different countries, Lebanese singers, and beggars driving "Mercedes-Benzes." They form a complex picture of human survival in the international society under specific time and place constraints.
When it comes to the theme of love, the author highlights the different understandings and expressions of love and marriage between Eastern and Western cultures through her personal experiences. She vividly portrays American, Arab, and traditional Chinese love. When we stand before the world map and think about world cultures and the spiritual essence of different ethnicities from a human perspective, we realize: love knows no borders, cultures can coexist, people of different religious beliefs can also connect on a spiritual level, and peace is what all races aspire to. This is the essence of the work and also the eternal theme of human survival.
"A normal woman encountering something extraordinary is not new in modern society. When I was forced to give up some things that should have been mine and unexpectedly gained what others longed for, many said I was lucky. But I know that I earned this through unseen sacrifices."
This is a passage from the author's self-narration. To save her marriage, Xie Mengyang traveled far to the small city of Aqaba in southern Jordan, becoming the only Chinese woman there. After much effort, she rose from a cashier to the manager of a Chinese hotel, but was ultimately betrayed by her husband. Li Shixun, a Chinese-American officer, showed her brotherly care, warming her heart. During a snowstorm and earthquake, she met Robert, a senior U.S. military officer conducting exercises in Jordan, and fell in love with him at first sight. When she unexpectedly learned he was the son of a millionaire and would soon become the commander of an aircraft carrier, she firmly rejected his love. At this time, the diplomat Salim, who had helped her with her visa, sent her a special fax. After Li Shixun's persuasion, she finally accepted Robert's love.
After Robert left with the aircraft carrier, he encountered a series of accidents and disappeared without a trace. Then the Gulf War broke out. Salim suffered from Gulf War Syndrome. Just as Xie Mengyang and Li Shixun were about to accept each other, Robert unexpectedly reappeared, and Xie Mengyang, who had endured so many emotional trials, faced another choice in love.