Rating: 
Summary: Historical Fiction that isn't
Review: "Empress Orchid" may be written by a native Chinese woman, but it certainly doesn't read as if it is. It is hard to believe that this book was the result of "copious research" as the book jacket claims. It seems much more the fantasy of an American of the late 20th century.When placed alongside Liza Dalby's exquisite "Tale of Murasaki" or the masterpiece "Memoirs of a Geisha" by Arthur Golden, "Empress Orchid"'s shortcomings are immediately apparent. The question in my mind, is why can Western authors enter the mind of historical Asian women so much more effectively than an Asian woman has? Examples abound throughout this book of anachronisms & glaring discrepancies. From the earliest pages, the narrator uses Western dates (such as October 1850) which brought this reader jarringly back to the present. A Chinese woman of the 19th century would never have used Western dating, especially one as inimical to the European invasion of China as this woman supposedly was. Many details seem dreadfully "off", such as the narrator's recounting of her early years in a poverty stricken household. Except, her father was a provinical governor; any scholar of that rank in 19th century China would simply not use cash. It would have been demeaning, & furthermore, as governor & scholar, they would have received percentages of harvest, taxes, etc gathered in the province. Additionally, it is hard to believe that a girl of this period & social rank would have been allowed to run wild with the boys, swimming naked with local peasant children & participating as their equal in the community. From my knowledge of period Chinese mores, a girl of this class would have been kept fairly sheltered (if not positively cloistered) from a very early age. The family's life in Peking also left me bemused. Once Orchid is accepted as an Imperial consort (but before her marriage) she is described as returning to the family hovel.This left me scratching my head in puzzlement (wouldn't she have been kept in the Forbidden City, being trained to her duties & court etiquette?) but when Anchee Min writes of the hovel being gloriously redecorated to prepare it for the wedding banquet, I was completely befuddled. Why would they redecorate a 3 room shack in someone else's compound? Wouldn't the family have been moved to more suitable housing following their social elevation? Her brother is granted the title of "Duke" with a generous yearly stipend. It is hard to believe a family related by marriage to the Emperor would continue living in a poor quarter, surrounded by low-ranking craftsman when they had the means to elevate their housing. Later, after her marriage, Orchid thinks about kissing her Imperial Husband. KISSING? Completely unknown during this period in China. Kissing was a "kinky" Western custom that was a specialty of whores that serviced Europeans. Even a high-ranking concubine would probably have had no idea this custom existed, much less having a word to describe it! Where "Empress Orchid" really shows it's deficiencies as historical fiction, is in Orchid's recounting of her feelings & thoughts following her marriage to the Emperor. Repeatedly, the reader is told she is a woman "who lives to love", who has fallen hopelessly in love with her hopelessly ineffective & weak consort, & burns with jealousy at the thought of his sexual relations with other women. This simply is so far beyond how a 19th century Chinese woman would ever think, that this book becomes the worst sort of historical fiction, one populated by "re-enactors" (in other words, people who think in 21st century terms rather than the period they are living in). Monogamous, romantic love was simply not an aspect of Chinese thought. A girl would have been ashamed to even think about being jealous (or loving) in this manner, had she even the words to describe her feelings. Yes, she may have been jealous of another woman bearing a son, thus jeopardizing her own position as well as her child's future, but the concept of sexual jealousy in a woman was simply unheard of. When Orchid muses "what is it I want to do with my life? How can I be fulfilled?" is when I burst out laughing & gave up entirely. These thoughts are so alien to a Chinese women of the 19th century that it would be like her saying "how can I be accepted into the NASA Space Program?" A Chinese woman (especially an Imperial Consort) had 1 function in life: to breed sons. Fulfillment? That is a late 20th century concept. Chinese were trained that their lives revolved around duty. Duty to the family, duty to the ancestors, duty to Emperor, duty to the gods. I don't think their was even a word to describe the concept during this period in any of the Chinese tongues! Yes, "Empress Orchid" has splendid descriptions of the Forbidden City, it's art, & clothing. Yes, the writing is polished enough to make it readable. But in no way does "Empress Orchid" relate the life & thoughts of a Chinese woman of the mid to late 19th century. 3 stars is actually being extremely generous to this book. 2 1/2 stars is a much more accurate rating.
Rating: 
Summary: Fascinating
Review: A vivid describtion of life in the Forbidden City a century ago, writen in an engaging, easy-to-read manner. I plan to go back and read the author's other books now. I don't know much about Chinese history, so I can't tell how accurate this is, but it certainly is detailed and rings true.
Rating: 
Summary: Moving and Emotional
Review: After reading the Anchee Min's past literary works, Empress Orchid flows with her style of wit and sophistication in the developement of her characters. Although many, this is a retelling of the actual Empress Tzu Hsi in the last stages of China's monarchy. As with Becoming Madame Mao, her story, done in first person, allows a deeper look into the Empress's life and emotions with her husband, Emperor Hsien Feng, who has thousands of concubines within the Forbidden City. Gaining political foes and friends, her plots for survival are enigmas of intrigue and mistrust. And like other Anchee Min novels, her ending is open for the imagination. Dealing with loneliness, despair, etiquette, loyalty, defeat, and rebellion, her character is complex and independent of the conventional view of women at that time period. It leaves you yearning for more into the life of Empress Orchid.
Rating:
Summary: Min fan
Review: All thru this book I just kept saying: "Give me a break!" I just wanted it to end....
Rating:
Summary: Oh Please!
Review: All thru this book I just kept saying: "Give me a break!" I just wanted it to end....
Rating:
Summary: Flawed---but an ambitious and exciting novel anyway
Review: Anchee Min takes the story of Yehonala, the concubine of Manchu Emperor Hsien Feng and gives it an erotic, feminine twist, creating a memoir-like portrait of this legendary woman. This novel is not perfect, yet it is exciting and takes a great deal of risks in style and substance. If you aren't familiar with much Chinese history of the Ching Dynasty (ending with "The Last Emperor" Pu Yi) it helps to know a few things beforehand. Orchid, or Yehonala (her family name) became "Tzu Hsi" --Empress of the Western Palace, and was known as The Dowager Empress to the Europeans. She ruled as regent for her infant son Tung Chih after the death of Hsien Feng. She survived a coup attempt, the Opium Wars, the Tai Ping rebellion in Nanking, and the Boxer Rebellion and she died in 1908, on the same day as her nephew, the emperor successor to Tung Chih, who died of smallpox not long after coming of age. A biography of the Empress by an English adventurer named Backhouse was considered gospel truth by the British, who despised this stubborn woman who kept China from modernizing and prevented the Europeans from establishing as much of a colonial beachhead in China as they had done in India and Indonesia. Backhouse's work was only discredited in 1974, which I find amazing, as I read his book in 1971 and thought it was pure bunkum with stories that surely were colonial propaganda and sensationalism (his tales of sexual escapades and sado-masochism were pure Victorian English erotic fantasy.) Anchee Min plays some interesting turns on well-known history events (the selection of concubines after the death of the first Empress, the flight of the Imperial Household to Jehol during one European invasion, the death of Hsien Feng amid the struggle of his Viceroy Su Shun to become Regent, and Yehonala's rise to power.) The real story is vastly different -- actual events are sketched in altered form or as they were reported to happen, depending on Min's novelistic requirements. What author Min is apparently attempting is an internal history, the development of the China's most powerful rulers rising from poverty-stricken and uneducated girl. It echoes the rise of Madam Mao during the Cultural Revolution, a subject of another of Min's novels ("Becoming Madam Mao.") As a work, the novel is flawed; characters are developed importantly, then dropped except for trifling reappearances (Yehonala's siblings, the Dowager foster-mother of Hsien Feng.) There is a lot of improbability and derivative plot device (the education in a whorehouse to learn erotic technique and the poisonous plotting of the other wives of Hsien Feng seems to owe more than a little something to novels such as Barbara Chase-Riboud's "Valide", the story of a concubine who rises to power in Ottoman Turkey.) But despite the literary vagaries, this is an exciting read, not quite as good as I'd hoped, and not nearly as good as Pearl Buck's version "Imperial Woman" which is just as inaccurate historically. Anchee Min takes risks, and though this may not be her finest work, I think she will continue to delight and amaze her readers with her style.
Rating:
Summary: Life in the Forbidden City
Review: Anchee Min's latest book demonstrates once again her comfort level with historical novels and shows, as well, her increasing command of English as an acquired language. Ms. Min's writing shows more complexity in her sentence structures, more subtlety in her imagery, richer characterization, and more power of expression than her previous novel, Wild Ginger. As a result, Empress Orchid is a highly engaging and satisfying read, rich in plot and characterization. Her novelization of the Dowager Empress Tzu Hsi may or may not be historically accurate, but I personally do not think precision is required here. The subject matter gives the author a wide field in which to display her story-telling skills while weaving in fascinating elements of Chinese history and culture. Having visited the Forbidden City and the Summer Palace three times myself, and the Summer Resort in Chengde once, I felt that Ms. Min captured their essence perfectly. As I read her descriptions, I felt transported back to those places as I had seen them, but 100 years ealier. Read this book for its atmosphere, its depiction of life in Imperial China, and its fascinating "insider" snippets of Chinese culture. If I had one criticism to offer, it is that I wish more of the "secondary" characters were more fully and thoroughly drawn and more of their interior thoughts, motivations, and reactions were revealed. The author creates fascinating characters in the eunuch An-te-hai, Prince Kung, and Yung Lu -- I would love to know more about them. That said, I will wait anxiously for the next installment in Anchee Min's story of Tzu Hsi. I firmly believe Ms. Min will replace Pearl Buck (and everyone else) as THE English language novelist of Chinese history. I recommend this book highly to anyone who wants to learn more about Chinese history and culture and life as it must have been lived in the Forbidden City in the late 19th Century.
Rating: 
Summary: Customized for Westerners.
Review: Author tried so hard to sell this book to English speakers. Facts conflict with the Chinese history though authors "claims" her "version" is true. In this excessively-detailed book (about strong-smart-mean-ugly Chinese impress who had significant influence on today's Chinese history) is full of "western" romance which was totally unacceptabe and unimaginable to Chinese culture, tradition of that time. One of the worst books I've read. If you like this book, Sorry, you don't have clue on China and Chinese history, culture and everything about China.
It's up to you if you have time and money to waste, though.
Rating:
Summary: Invites the reader to more
Review: Empress Orchid is one of those books that once you start reading, not only is it difficult to put down, but the story wraps itself around you and is reluctant to let go. Min's narration is lush and captivating. I'm looking forward to the other books in the series!
Rating:
Summary: empress orchid
Review: Empress Orchid...A great book in my eyes, it's full of the life style as youd expect of Chinas royal family a lovely "rags to riches" story of one young woman, as we follow her through her life as one of many wife's. It's a great easy book to read, dosn't go into too much history, stays with the plot. 10/10
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