PEACH BLOSSOM PAVILION
In a sunny California apartment, a young woman and her fiancé arrive to record her great-grandmother’s story. The story that unfolds of Precious Orchid’s life in China, where she rises from a childhood of shame to become one of the most successful courtesans in the land, is unlike any they’ve heard before….
When Precious Orchid’s father is falsely accused of a crime and found guilty, he is executed, leaving his family a legacy of dishonor. Her mother’s only option is to enter a Buddhist nunnery, so she gives her daughter over to the care of her sister in Shanghai.
At first, life at Peach Blossom Pavilion feels like a dream. Surrounded by exotic flowers, murmuring fountains, colorful fishponds, and bamboo groves, Precious Orchid sees herself thriving. She is schooled in music, literature, painting, calligraphy, and to her innocent surprise, the art of pleasuring men. For the beautiful Pavilion hides its darker purpose as an elite house of prostitution. And even as she commands the devotion of China’s most powerful men, Precious Orchid never gives up on her dream to escape the Pavilion, be reunited with her mother, avenge her father’s death, and find true love. And as the richest, most celebrated Ming Ji or “prestigious courtesan” in all of China, she just might have her way even if it comes with a devastating price….
Sweeping in scope and stunning in its evocation of China, Peach Blossom Pavilion is a remarkable novel with an unforgettable heroine at the heart of its powerful story….
PETALS FROM THE SKY
From the acclaimed author of Peach Blossom Pavilion comes a lush and lyrical novel of East and West—and of one young woman’s search for her heart’s true calling…
When twenty-year-old Meng Ning declares that she wants to be a Buddhist nun, her mother is aghast. In her eyes, a nun’s life means only deprivation—“no freedom, no love, no meat.” But to Meng Ning, it means the chance to control her own destiny, and to live in an oasis of music, art, and poetry far from her parents’ unhappy union.
With an enigmatic nun known as Yi Kong, “Depending on Emptiness,” as her mentor, Meng Ning spends the next ten years studying abroad, disdaining men, and preparing to enter the nunnery. Then a fire breaks out at her Buddhist retreat, and Meng Ning is carried to safety by Michael Fuller, a young American doctor. The unprecedented physical contact stirs her curiosity. And as their tentative friendship grows intimate, Meng Ning realizes she must choose between the sensual and the spiritual life.
From the austere beauty of China’s Buddhist temples to the whirlwind of Manhattan’s social elite, and the brilliant bustle of Paris and Hong Kong, here is a novel of joy and heartbreak—and of the surprising paths that lead us where we most need to be.
SONG OF THE SILK ROAD
In this richly imaginative novel, Mingmei Yip—author of Peach Blossom Pavilion and Petals from the Sky—follows one woman’s daunting journey along China’s fabled Silk Road.
As a girl growing up in Hong Kong, Lily Lin was captivated by photographs of the desert—its long, lonely vistas and shifting sand dunes. Now living in New York, Lily is struggling to finish her graduate degree when she receives an astonishing offer. An aunt she never knew existed will pay Lily a huge sum to travel across China’s desolate Taklamakan Desert—and carry out a series of tasks along the way.
Intrigued, Lily accepts. Her assignments range from the dangerous to the bizarre. Lily must seduce a monk. She must scrape a piece of clay from the famous Terracotta Warriors, and climb the Mountains of Heaven to gather a rare herb. At Xian, her first stop, Lily meets Alex, a young American with whom she forms a powerful connection. And soon she faces revelations that will redefine her past, her destiny, and the shocking truth behind her aunt’s motivations….
Powerful and eloquent, Song of the Silk Road is a captivating story of self-discovery, resonant with the mysteries of its haunting, exotic landscape.
Copyright
KENSINGTON BOOKS are published by
Kensington Publishing Corp.
119 West 40th Street
New York, NY 10018
Copyright © 2013 by Mingmei Yip
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any means without the prior written consent of the Publisher, excepting brief quotes used in reviews.
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ISBN: 978-0-7582-7354-3
eISBN-13: 978-0-7582-8623-9
eISBN-10: 0-7582-8623-6
First Electronic Edition: July 2013