The Painter from Shanghai: A Novel (Hardcover)

~ (Author)
Key Phrases: mirror girl, drops her eyes, Liu Haisu, Pan Zanhua, Teacher Hong (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. Epstein's sweeping debut novel, set in early 20th-century China, fictionalizes the life of Chinese painter Pan Yuliang. Born Xiuquing, she is orphaned at a young age and later sold into prostitution by her uncle, who needs the money to support his opium habit. Renamed Yuliang, she becomes the brothel's top girl and soon snags the attention of customs inspector Pan Zanhua, who makes her his concubine. Zanhua sets her up in Shanghai, where she enrolls in the Shanghai Art Academy and early on struggles with life study, unable to separate the nude's monetary value from its value in the currency of beauty. She eventually succeeds, winning a scholarship to study in Europe. But when she returns to China, itself inching toward revolution, the conservative establishment is critical of Yuliang, balking as she adopts Western-style dress and becomes known for her nudes (one newspaper deems her work pornography). Simmering resentments hit a flashpoint at a disastrous Shanghai retrospective exhibit, and the fallout nearly destroys Yuliang's artistic ambition. Convincing historic detail is woven throughout and nicely captures the plight of women in the era. Epstein's take on Yuliang's life is captivating to the last line. (Mar.)
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Review

A historical novel on a grand scale...reads like a fable, a dark love story, a triumphant tale of survival. -- Maureen Howard, author of The Silver Screen

A luminous rendering of a woman whose work was her life. -- Booklist

A phenomenal debut. -- Joanna Hershon, author of The German Bride

A sparkling debut....Lush! -- Vogue

Epstein's harrowing—and historically accurate—details show that through darkness comes greatness. -- Marie Claire

Epstein's take on Yuliang's life is captivating to the last line. -- Publishers Weekly starred review

Luminous.... An irresistable story. --New York Times Book Review, Sarah Towers

Plush and vibrant...The Painter from Shanghai combines the sweep of an epic with the persuasive, textured detail of daily life. -- Michelle Wildgen, author of You're Not You

Yuliang's story is as captivating as it is chilling, vividly told, hard to put down. -- Helen Schulman, author of A Day at the Beach

Yuliang's story is by turns harrowing, passionate, and inspiring. A moving story, and a real page-turner too. -- Binnie Kirshenbaum, author of An Almost Perfect Moment

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 416 pages
• Publisher: W.W. Norton & Company; 1 edition (March 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0393065286
• ISBN-13: 978-0393065282
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.6 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (46 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #192,201 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars 'Artists are after life's reflections, not life itself.', July 15, 2008

By	Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Jennifer Cody Epstein steps into the pantheon of fine contemporary writers with her first book THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI, a work of 'historical fiction' so polished in research, so rich in detail not only of the turbulent period in China during the first half of the 20th century, but also in the mysterious social customs of that country, and a source of insight into the changes in the manner in which the visual world was captured by artists as East and West met and married in the art capital of the world - Paris. Yet overriding all of this fascinating information is Epstein's gift for delivering a story of passion and love with a poetic prose style that comes together in this novel in a manner not unlike creating the painting technique that this novel's heroine describes her world. It is a grand feat and a work worth repeated readings.

Westerners may not be familiar with the name Pan Yuliang, one of the more important Chinese artists who influenced the Post-Impressionist art movement, but in Epstein's eloquent novel we grow to know this gifted artist from her birth as Xiuqing in 1895, and her early years as an orphan protected by her opium-addicted uncle who sold her into a brothel at age fourteen. Enough space is allotted in this tale to allow us to learn the traditions of the 'flower houses' and the brutalities and consequences of life as a prostitute, but Epstein is careful to balance the sad with the radiant in the relationship between the newly renamed Yuliang and her beautiful 'teacher' Jinling with whom she has her first love affair, and Yuliang's subsequent rescue from the brothel through the kindness and concern showered upon her by a handsome gentleman Pan Zanhua - the man with whom she not only enters into the relationship of being his concubine, but also benefits from his support of her position as a woman and as an artist.

The story spans Pan Yuliang's life from these early beginnings to her death in 1977, a life that brought her exposure to the West, with awards from the schools of art in China, Italy and France resulting in renown as a gifted artist who just happened to be a woman with a past, the many private and public pains she endured as her native country moved from the reign of the Emperors through the rise and fall of Chiang Kai-shek, the invasion by the Japanese, and the new order of Communism, and the influence of the world perception of art that included defeat of some of the finest artists as the battle of the sexes altered the perception of painting the nude figure as an acceptable subject matter in a climate of global turmoil.

Epstein manages to write as intricately about history and Chinese tradition as well as luminously about the act of creativity. Few writers can match the descriptive language of the emergence of the visual: 'But true art must contain an emotional range that speaks to the viewer. Speaks...not by lulling them into a false sense of complacency, but by probing. Challenging. Even hurting, if need be. Anything to force us beyond life's easier thoughts.' 'Has it ever occurred to you that our wounds are what drive us to create?...What if those who've lost something compensate for it in their work? In that case the damage helps them. It's what compels them to create...And it might explain why the best artists tend to be the poorest.'

THE PAINTER FROM SHANGHAI begs to become a film. But until that happens, this elegant and passionate book is one to treasure repeatedly. It is a work of art. Grady Harp, July 08

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Review, August 16, 2008

By	Cheryl K (CO) - See all my reviews

Pan Yuliang has lived and taken care of her uncle, ever since her mother died when she was young. At fourteen years Pan Yuliang was sold to The Hall of Eternal Splendour to become a prostitute. Her uncle did it to play off some loans he had accrued for his habit of opium. After two years of working at The Halls of Eternal Splendour, Pan Yuliang was saved. A young man by the name of Pan Zanhua, who is an inspector. He is so fascinated by Pan that he offers to take her away from Eternal Splendour and make her his wife. For once Pan Yuliang sees Shanghai through a different light. Pan Zanhua recognizes Pan Yuliang interest and talent for painting. He encourages her to become a professional painter but is Pan Yuliang to free spirited for the school and will they even accept a woman.


The Painter from Shanghai is based on true events of Pan Yuliang life. I have to admit that I had never heard of Pan Yuliang. After reading The Painter from Shanghai, I found Pan Yuliang to be a very remarkable woman. She could find beauty in everything around her. This included even during the two years Yuliang was at The Halls of Eternal Splendour. Pan Zanhua was a good husband to Yuliang. He helped Pan Yuliang pursue her dreams no matter what people thought. For this fact Pan Yuliang was able to stand up for what she wanted to paint and not just what sold. I feel Jennifer Cody Epstein did Pan Yuliang justice in this creative masterpiece of a book titled The Painter from Shanghai.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Painter from Shanghai, May 9, 2008

By	Regina Sugarmon "Bird - Gina" (Memphis, Tn USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

From the moment I opened the book, I could not put it down. The writers description of rural China, Shanghai and Paris in the 1920s, was fascinating and mesmerizing. I became so involved with the character of Pan Yuliang, that I had to remind myself she was a fictional character and that I would not find any of her paintings in the Museums of Shanghai or Paris. I consider this a double eye drop book, at night I had to keep on reading regardless of burning eyes and vampire hours. I hated this one to end.