Shanghai Story: A WWII Drama Trilogy Book One

by Alexa Kang

  Within the Jewish community, an endless string of activities kept her entertained. Concerts, lectures, dinners. With Miriam Stein showing her the ins and outs and who was who, she’d had soon formed a new circle of friends. Last week, she’d joined Miriam and several others on a trip by train to Hangzhou. A wonderful summer getaway to see the famous West Lake.

  The locals, too, offered surprise after surprise for her to discover. The silk and fabric markets, the street foods, martial arts, Chinese painting and calligraphy—none of which she’d ever seen in Germany, and all of which showed her a world much bigger than the one she’d known.

  Tonight, another new experience awaited. Clark Yuan had invited her family to dinner at his home. She could hardly wait to attend. At last, she would have a chance to meet Chinese friends.

  The Yuans were superbly attentive hosts. They’d sent two cars to pick them up to save their guests from potential problems with communicating the address to the taxi drivers. She’d assured Clark it wasn’t necessary. He insisted anyway. Did the Chinese always go out of their way to be this hospitable? Or was it only the Yuans?

  Or maybe, was it only Clark?

  She did, however, request that there be dishes that would accommodate Isaac. While the invitation was for her family, her parents could not fathom leaving Isaac home. As far as they were concerned, they were Isaac’s family until his parents came to join him.

  The Yuan’s chauffeurs took them to a large villa surrounded by a lush green courtyard. The scenery took Eden’s breath away. What a beautiful house! Like an English manor, right in the heart of a Chinese city.

  Back where she came from, the Germans were busy excising everything that wasn’t purely German. Here, worlds melded. Peoples and cultures mixed, their ways spilling over onto each other until everything burst and infused into new patterns like a kaleidoscope.

  Could Shanghai be the antithesis to Hitler and the Nazis to show how a world could be?

  A houseboy greeted them at the door. Shanghailanders called the male household servants houseboys, but this one looked to be middle age and behaved like an experienced butler. He brought them to a grand living room furnished with a blend of art deco style furniture and Chinese antiques.

  “Wow,” Isaac said as he scanned the room.

  Eden thought the same thing. She walked over to the main wall to look at the details in the painting depicting an ethereal landscape of mountains and waterfalls. Did places like this really exist in China, or was it only the artist’s imagination? If there were such a place, she would love to sit in the pagoda and watch the stillness of the lake between the mountains.

  “Eden.”

  She heard her name and turned around. Clark gazed right back at her.

  With him was a young lady. Her features resembled Clark’s, only softer. She held out her hand. “Dr. Levine? Mrs. Levine?”

  Eden’s parents stepped forward and Clark made the introduction. “My sister, Wen-Ying. You can call her Estella.”

  Clark’s parents soon joined them, along with Clark’s youngest sister, Wen-Li. Or Mei Mei, as they called her, and her boyfriend, Liu Zi-Hong. After a round of introductions, Clark led them into the dining room where a beautifully hand-carved rosewood table had been set with exquisite gold-rimmed chinaware. Eden took a seat next to Estella. To her surprise, Clark pulled out the chair on her other side. She smiled but wondered, wouldn’t he prefer to sit with Isaac? It seemed they would have more in common to talk about.

  Not that she minded. Clark was interesting. He was warm and friendly, yet so reserved. She had never met anyone intriguing like him.

  While the maidservant poured the tea, Dr. Levine asked his host, “How’s your health these days?”

  “Never better.” Mr. Yuan held up his thumb. “Thanks to your healing hands.” His limited English did not prevent him from chatting up his guests. He proceeded to ask her father about his medical practice and her mother whether she was adjusting to life in Shanghai. He asked Isaac about his plans and whether he was in need of help to find a job. He even tried to talk to Joshua, asking him about his studies and school. Beside him, Mei Mei whispered to Madam Yuan, translating the conversation for her mother, who spoke no English.

  While Mr. Yuan engaged everyone in small talk, with Estella occasionally injecting to clarify in English what he meant, Clark turned to Eden. “It’s good to see you again.”

  Eden held her cup in midair. Was he being polite, or did he mean he wanted to see her again? The quiet way he spoke, so that no one else could hear him, made her think he meant the latter, although she couldn’t be sure.

  “Me too.” She glided her eyes sideways. That seemed an appropriate response either way.

  “Remember I told you I’m working for the KMT?” He pulled a business card out of his jacket’s inside pocket and gave it to her. “I started my new job last week.”

  She held the card with both her hands and read his title, “Foreign Relations Special Assistant.”

  “Yes. I’m the KMT’s primary liaison with the American consulate in Shanghai.”

  “Sounds like an important job.”

  A glint of pride shone in his eyes.

  “The Chinese government must think highly of you to give you this appointment.”

  “Maybe.” He bowed his head. “Maybe just a little.” He jokingly held up his thumb and finger to show the size of an inch. She liked how he tried to be humble.

  The servants brought out the appetizer dishes. Clark picked out a piece of chicken and put it on Eden’s plate. “Drunken chicken. It’s been soaked in rice wine and it’s served cold.”

  Eager to show off her ability to use chopsticks, which she’d recently learned, Eden picked up the piece. As she took a bite, she wondered. Was he being extraordinarily attentive? That couldn’t be. A proper Chinese man wouldn’t be interested in a foreign girl. She must be misreading him. He was simply being a good host. She pointed her chopsticks at another dish. “What’s that?”

  “Marinated eggplants with sesame sauce.” Clark served her a spoonful.

  This dish she really liked.

  “I told the kitchen staff to make sure everything we serve would be agreeable to Isaac and your family. There’s a wonderful Shanghainese dish coming up. The pan fried niangao I told you about. I think he’ll like it.”

  Speaking of Isaac, his voice could be heard from across the table. “The only way Jewish people can guarantee their freedom and safety is to have their own nation,” he was saying. Eden looked up. How did this enter the conversation?

  “The Zion movement to establish a homeland for the Jews is the ultimate answer,” he told everyone. “Nothing else matters. Not here, not anywhere.” The table fell silent. When he saw the horrified look on Dr. Levine’s face, he backed down a bit and said to Mr. Yuan. “Don’t get me wrong. The Chinese have been extremely generous to accept us. As Jews, we’re eternally grateful. But we need a land of our own where we’ll be free from discrimination. We need a place where we wouldn’t be treated like an inferior class of people or have to worry about being unfairly excluded from society. When we have our own nation, we won’t need anyone else. We can stand on our own.”

  Estella raised her brows. A cynical smile came to her lips. “Having your own country wouldn’t prevent other people from stepping all over you. Look at us Chinese. Ours is one of the biggest countries in the world. That didn’t stop the British, the French, the Americans, the Japanese, and just about everyone else from coming here and trampling all over us.”

  “What do you mean?” Eden asked. She wasn’t aware people from other countries were mistreating the Chinese.

  “We’re second-class citizens in our own country,” Estella said. “All those fancy clubs the British and the others set up, they won’t allow the Chinese to set a foot inside. They built their own schools, their own hospitals, their own everything with better facilities and better services, but we’re not good enough to be admitted.” She stared at her plate with a far
away look in her eyes. “As long as all the foreigners are here, they’ll never let us raise our heads.”

  Now it was Clark who looked horrified. He glared at her, trying to catch her attention. Seeing her brother’s warning eyes, Estella came out of her thoughts. “Excuse me. I’ve said too much.” She dabbed her lips with her table napkin. “I didn’t mean the Jewish people, of course. You’re here for different reasons.”

  Clark looked apologetically around the table. “The Jewish refugees are contributing a lot to us.” He smiled at Eden’s father. “Your medical skills and expertise, for example. Science is more advanced in the West. The knowledge you brought is helping us tremendously.”

  Dr. Levine smiled back. Eden, however, was troubled to hear what Estella had just told them. If the foreigners in Shanghai were doing what Estella had said, then how were they any different from the Germans who were ostracizing the Jews? She looked at Estella. “I’m very sorry this is happening. I thought Shanghai was different. I thought this was a place where people from all different parts of the world could coexist. I’m disappointed to hear that foreigners treat the Chinese this way. Can’t the Chinese government do anything? Why do they allow this?”

  Estella lowered her chopsticks and glanced hesitantly at Clark, but Eden persisted. “Please. Tell us. I want to know.”

  “All right.” Estella looked away from Clark to Eden. “The foreigners have the money, and they hold all the cards. They strong-armed us into opening our country for trade with everything established in their favor. They continue to take advantage of us because they know we don’t have a military strong enough to defend ourselves against them. They got what they wanted, but that’s not enough. The Japanese keep bullying us, knocking us off our land, all the while claiming their assaults were mere ‘misunderstandings’ and ‘incidents.’ The British are even worse. They use opium to keep our population weak. When everyone is a drug addict, there’s no one left to fight. After all that, they have the nerve to call us worthless, treacherous snakes.”

  Eden’s gut tightened with each word Estella spoke. All this time, she thought people in Shanghai were more open and accepting of each other. Had she been naive? Was there no place on earth where people didn’t feel the need to undermine and exclude others to hold themselves up as superior?

  “We certainly disagree with how foreigners are abusing their privileges here,” Dr. Levine said. “Speaking as someone who’d been unfairly treated too, you have my full sympathy. My family and I are here now. We’ll do the best we can to give back to the Chinese, even if we can’t make up for what other foreigners have done.”

  “We’d appreciate that,” Clark said. “In any case, the Chinese bear some of the blame. We need to modernize. We need to improve our education system, catch up in science and technological progress. Our country is still very backward. We have a lot to do. I believe we can do it. We will advance. Everything takes time.” He looked around at his guests, then turned to Eden and gave her a reassuring smile.

  “My son’s right.” Mr. Yuan signaled the maid to pour him and Dr. Levine more Chinese yellow wine. “And my daughter despises only the British and Japanese, not the Jews.”

  The words were so blunt, so odd that Eden and Clark exchanged a glance and tried not to laugh.

  “Excuse my father,” Clark whispered to her. “His English is so so. He really is more tactful when he speaks in Chinese.”

  Eden held back her smile. “I believe that.”

  Still talking, Mr. Yuan raised his glass. “Me? I’m a businessman. I like everybody. We Chinese like to say, all are brothers within the four seas. That’s it. We’re all brothers.” He invited Dr. Levine to join him for toast. “In the end, the best is if heaven and earth are at peace in the world, and everyone can make money without worries. Other matters aren’t too important.”

  The maid brought out the next dish. Peking duck. The tension at the table subsided, only to be brought back by Zi-Hong, Mei Mei’s boyfriend. “So we advance. What good would it do?” he asked, looking at Clark. “If we make progress, the only people who will benefit will be the ones who have money. Even if the foreigners are gone. So what? Those with the most wealth will still use their power to take advantage of those without. We’ll trade in one oppressor for another.”

  No one at the table answered. Zi-Hong raised his Chinese teacup and turned it in his hand. His eyelids lowered as he stared at the hand-painted dragon on the cup. “The problem is the system. It rewards advancement with wealth, and wealth gives those who own it an undeserved sense of superiority.” He put down his cup of tea and lifted his chin. “Real progress will come only when advancement is made not for individual benefit, but for the good of the whole society. Real progress will be when everyone is deemed equal, and no one can claim to be more or have more than the others.”

  Eden balked. What a rude young man. Was it not obvious to him that the Yuans was a very well-to-do family. How could he criticize wealth while sitting in a wealthy family’s home as their guest? Not to mention it was the family of his girlfriend. How hypocritical of him too, seeing he had no qualms eating the sumptuous dishes and delicacies being served to him. Besides, the Yuans had done nothing to make her think they were abusing their wealth and status. Why put them in such an awkward place?

  She checked the reactions of her hosts. Mr. Yuan jovially helped himself to a serving of fish. If what Zi-Hong said bothered him, he sure wasn’t showing it. His congenial smile never left his face. Eden couldn’t help feeling impressed. This shrewd businessman. He easily let the indirect criticisms slide.

  Meanwhile, Madam Yuan remained oblivious. She didn’t understand English, and no one translated that part of the conversation to her. They might as well keep it that way. In this case, ignorance was bliss. Mei Mei, curiously, didn’t seem to see the thinly veiled insult directed at her family. Maybe she was too smitten to realize it. Only Clark and Estella looked displeased. They exchanged a glance. Estella lowered her eyes, deferring to her brother to decide whether or not to respond. Clark tightened his fist resting on the table. This was the first time Eden had seen him show a more intense emotion. She felt for him. Before she could think further, she said, “Not everyone who has wealth uses it to abuse and suppress others.”

  Everyone’s eyes turned toward her. She hesitated, then sat up. “There are many who use their wealth and positions to do good. Clark’s one of them. He told me so much about all the things he wants to do to improve the lives of those who are less fortunate, and I believe he will.”

  Clark looked at her, stunned. He probably didn’t expect she’d speak up for him, but she meant every word she said. “Besides, it’s not always the wealthy who oppress the non-wealthy. Time and again in history, people have blamed the Jews and their business successes for their own problems. Right now, in Germany, Jews are being blamed for the poor economy, the lack of jobs, and every other woe. The Nazis talk as if all their problems will miraculously be fixed if we just disappeared. It’s nonsense. It’s jealousy. We run our businesses well and they don’t like it.”

  Zi-Hong stared at her, as if seeing her for the first time. His stare annoyed her even more. Did he not notice she was sitting at the table all this time? That she was part of the conversation? Or did he think she was an empty-minded foreign girl with no serious thoughts to contribute?

  Before anyone else spoke up, Mrs. Levine said, “While on the subject of business, I wanted to ask Madam Yuan for her advice.”

  Mei Mei immediately translated what Mrs. Levine said for her mother. Madam Yuan leaned forward in surprise and replied in Chinese to her daughter. Mei Mei lowered her ear and listened, then said to Mrs. Levine, “My mother said no one had ever asked her for business advice, but she’d be happy to answer your questions if she can.”

  “Wonderful.” Mrs. Levine put down her chopsticks. “Your parents have been referring so many Chinese patients to my husband, and we’re so grateful for that. A few of them have been sending us gifts after they
recovered, even though they’d already paid. Their gifts were expensive too. Biscuits imported from Harrod’s. Chocolates from Switzerland. I couldn’t accept all these without returning the favor, so for fun, I made their children Bavarian outfits.”

  Mei Mei translated while Madam Yuan nodded.

  “The Chinese ladies love them!” Mrs. Levine gushed. “They started telling their friends, and their friends told their friends. Next thing I know, everyone wants to me to make lederhosen and dirndl dresses for their kids. They even offered to pay me. I don’t want to keep saying no, especially since they’re so enthusiastic about it. Anyway, I’ve got time, so I thought, why not? I quite like the idea of trying my hand at running my own small business.”

  At first, Madam Yuan looked perplexed. But as Mei Mei explained further and answered her questions, her face eased and her eyes lit up. She smiled at Mrs. Levine. “Yes. Yes,” she said, using one of the only English words she knew.

  “I’m wondering if you can give me advice on where to buy fabrics,” Mrs. Levine said to Madam Yuan. “I’ve been buying materials from a tailor near our home, but he doesn’t sell in bulk. I asked him to recommend other sellers, but he speaks hardly any English and he can’t seem to understand what I want. I wonder if you might know of anyone I can buy fabrics from.”

  Madam Yuan and Mei Mei spoke excitedly to each other. Mei Mei then said to Mrs. Levine, “My mother said she knows someone you can talk to. He sells all sorts of fabrics. We can get you good prices too.”

  “That would be wonderful!”

  “I’d be happy to help too. We can find a time and take you to see him . . .”

  As the women carried on, Eden glanced over at Zi-Hong. He helped himself to a serving of mushrooms, apparently no longer interested in the conversation. Mr. Yuan was now making jokes with her father and Joshua. Her mother had skillfully steered the discussion at the table away from anything contentious.

  Eden thought back to what Estella had said. What she’d learned tonight still bothered her. How could the foreigners treat the Chinese the way Estella described? In their own homeland too. Especially the British. In Europe, people were looking to the British to lead others to stand up against the Nazis. How disappointing it was to hear that their behaviors and attitudes toward the Chinese were no better than how the Nazis were behaving toward the Jews.