Dragon Bones

by Lisa See

  She turned her face away from him. He stood up, and with his fingers he gently lifted her chin. “Whatever decisions you make, know that I will always love you,” he said. “Good-bye, daughter.” With that he walked away. She was unsure if she would ever see him again.

  Hulan got a ride out to Site 518 with Officer Ge Fei, who was now the highest-ranking policeman in Bashan’s Public Security Bureau. On the way, she reflected on some other aspects of the case. Stuart Miller didn’t get to be a big public hero; however, people in power noted his role in all this and he’d been quietly given a medal in gratitude for his efforts to aid China, while his company was awarded several very lucrative state projects. Captain Hom, by contrast, became a true Chinese hero. Hom had wanted desperately to protect the people of Bashan, but the government now used his death for very different reasons. He was being held up as an exemplar of socialist behavior in the same category as martyrs like Lei Feng and Liu Hulan. Tales of his childhood were being collected for a picture book, while a small volume of his sayings was already being rushed to press by a publisher in Chongqing. Thanks to Captain Hom, all across the country posters for the All-Patriotic Society had been painted out, Internet connections cut, and phrases like “Be reverent” (an admonition first spoken by Emperor Yao forty-three hundred years ago) removed from daily discourse. Fortunately for Hom’s extended family, his brother-in-law’s life and death had “disappeared.” Nothing could be allowed to mar the propaganda value gained by Hom’s death.

  Hulan arrived at Site 518, found David, and together they passed among clusters of people to say good-bye. Then Hulan and David walked out past the Wu house and down the path until they reached the little beach that had been Brian’s refuge. The river had calmed and lowered. The cliffs that soared above the current were now covered with trash at the high-water mark: plastic bags suspended on jagged rocks, bottles jammed into the tangle of roots, clothing twisted, torn, and flapping on inaccessible precipices. All of these things would stay where they were until time wore them out, wind ripped them away, or the next flood washed them to sea. Hulan had great faith in the river’s persistence. It might be slowed, but it would never stop.

  Hulan let all of her regrets come into her mind. She thought about the way she had denounced her father during the Cultural Revolution and how his time in a labor camp had changed him into a killer. She had been a child then who didn’t know any better, and now she took her regrets about everything that had happened as a result of her actions and tossed them into the river. She thought about her mother and let all of Jinli’s suffering float away on a little wave. Hulan thought about the women in the Knight factory and understood in a way she couldn’t allow herself to before that she had saved more lives than had been lost. She wrapped those mothers and daughters in love and released them into the current. She conjured up the woman she had shot on the square and knew in her heart that she had saved that little girl. They too drifted out of sight. She remembered Hom—his bravery and the terrible pain he’d endured—then let him peacefully swirl and ripple away. Hulan had tried to save all of them, and she forgave herself for the ones she couldn’t. Finally, Hulan let her daughter come fully into her heart. The tragedy of Chaowen’s death could never be forgotten, but Hulan could honor her by loving her and her father forever.

  Hulan looked up into David’s eyes. She saw in them unconditional, unending love. During these last few days, David and Hulan had talked about moving back to Los Angeles. They had also discussed trying to get pregnant again—not to replace Chaowen but to create the family they needed, wanted, and deserved. Hulan truly believed they had a chance at happiness. She squeezed David’s hand, and wordlessly they began the long journey home.

  AUTHOR’S NOTE

  CHINA AND THE YANGZI RIVER HAVE BEEN MUCH WRITTEN ABOUT. I am particularly indebted to the multivolume Science and Civilization in China by Joseph Needham and Shu Ching: Book of History (a modernized edition by Clae Waltham of the translation by James Legge). For those who are interested in life on the river, I highly recommend The River at the Center of the World by Simon Winchester, River Town by Peter Hessler, A Single Pebble by John Hersey, and Golden Inches by Grace Service. For those wishing to visit the Three Gorges, don’t forget to pack The Yangzi River, a brilliant guide by Judy Bonavia, and Yangtze River: The Wildest, Wickedest River on the Earth, an anthology of poetry and other writings compiled and edited by Madeleine Lynn. For those intrigued by the Chinese language, Dr. Léon Wieger’s Chinese Characters is amazing (if you can find it), Oliver Moore’s Reading the Past is a lovely introduction to the subject, and Cecilia Lindqvist’s China: Empire of Living Symbols is both informative and fun. For those who wish to learn more about the impact the Three Gorges Dam will have on the river, the activist Dai Qing has put together a powerful warning in The River Dragon Has Come. The International Rivers Network’s website also offers a wide range of articles from all over the world on issues surrounding the dam. All of these sources have influenced and informed Dragon Bones.

  Dragon Bones benefited greatly from the help of several people affiliated with museums. June Li at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art found and translated supplemental information for me on the history of the ruyi and gui, which Brian McCarthy and other characters in Dragon Bones warped for their own purposes. David Kamansky and William Hanbury-Tenison of the Pacific Asia Museum were delightfully knowledgeable about the international trade in stolen artifacts, provenance, and the darker side of auction house business practices. Anne Shih’s Forbidden City exhibition with the giant lingzhi at the Bowers Museum of Cultural Art made an obvious impression on me, and Anne was most gracious in sharing her expertise. I also had the privilege of working with Michael Duchemin at the Autry Museum of Western Heritage on the “On Gold Mountain” exhibition for six years. He taught me a lot about the ethos and ethics of museums.

  Floridia Cheung let me borrow her Chinese name for Chaowen. David Humphrey gave me more information on the lingzhi, while the art historian Lydia Thompson made a crucial bi correction. Steve Wasserman sent me a wonderful collection of photographs of the Yangzi and the dam site at a moment when I was feeling blue. Andrew Tsao made me laugh with tales of his naughty childhood. Michael Firth of Linklaters offered advice on the Hong Kong legal system. Ge-Qun Wang, an inveterate bachelor, passed on information about marriage procedures in China, while Henry Tang of the Committee of 100 opened many doors for me. Patty Williams took another beautiful author photograph.

  I’m very lucky to have people who write to me through my website from all over the world. Special thanks go out to three of them: Terry Hardison, who sent me some lovely lines from Du Fu; Alice Lu, who offered wonderful insights into David’s character; and Dave Feagans, whose jokes and anecdotes have given me daily encouragement. In addition to these cyberspace friends, there are others who have been invaluable. Kate Cooney and Andy Wohlwend did a lot of legwork, while Alicia Diaz kept life running smoothly. In China, I offer innumerable thanks to all of the people who got me to the places I needed to see, provided extra translation, and told me their stories in the most openhearted way.

  I’m deeply grateful to my agent, Sandra Dijkstra, and all of the wonderful people in her office who work so hard on my behalf. My Random House editor, Bob Loomis, is a true gentleman—smart, kind, an absolute pleasure to work with. At Random House in England, Kate Parkin’s enthusiasm for Dragon Bones was deep, lasting, and profound.

  I’m very lucky to have a family that supports my projects. I’d like to thank my cousin Leslee Leong for her advice on the business of selling Asian antiques and for letting me borrow a $24,000 ruyi to use in my author photo. My gratitude also extends to her husband, Joe Schulman, for spending time with me at auctions and for giving me the inside skinny on what goes on at them. Thanks as well to my father, Richard See, for getting “lost” on Bali (and to “our man on Bali” for not finding him). My father and his wife, Anne Jennings, both anthropologists, also offered the expertise of their fields. My
grandparents Stella and Eddy See not only instilled in me a love of China and Chinese antiques but also left me their incredible collection of antiquarian books on both subjects. I have quizzed my husband, Richard Kendall, on things such as Chinese law, American legal ethics, and what he’d do if he’d just returned to his hotel room in the middle of a typhoon after being beaten up and left for dead over something that could alter contemporary Chinese history. My sister Clara Sturak is a great editor and a great inspiration to me; my brother-in-law Chris Chandler always saves the day when my computer acts up; my mother, Carolyn See, is a daily example; my sons, Alexander and Christopher, are my best advocates, offering both motivation and enlightenment. Thank you!

  A final word on the story: Although there are numerous archaeological sites in the Three Gorges related to the Ba people, Site 518 does not exist. The village of Bashan is a melding of several towns in the gorges. The weather and subsequent flooding in the novel are based on actual events that transpired in the summers of 1996 and 1998. To the best of my knowledge, all statistics on the dam, resettlement, and the great storm of 1975 are accurate. A giant mushroom was found in Oregon in 2000, but so far China has not found a fungus to match it. The All-Patriotic Society does not exist, but the Shu Ching, from which Xiao Da liberally developed his tenets and slogans, does. The martyr Liu Hulan was a real person; however, archaeological proof has yet to be found for the existence of Da Yu. All errors—and fabrications—are my own.

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  LISA SEE’s first book, On Gold Mountain, a memoir/ history of her Chinese American family, was a New York Times Notable Book and national bestseller. The book became the basis for an opera produced by the Los Angeles Opera and an exhibition that traveled to the Smithsonian Institution. Dragon Bones is the third in a series featuring the characters Liu Hulan and David Stark. Lisa See lives in Los Angeles with her husband and their two sons. You can find out more by visiting her website: www.lisasee.com.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright © 2003 by Lisa See

  All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. Published in the United States by Random House, Inc., New York.

  RANDOM HOUSE and colophon are registered trademarks of Random House, Inc.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  See, Lisa.

  Dragon bones : a novel / Lisa See.

  p. cm.

  eISBN: 978-1-58836-270-4

  1. San xia shui li shu niu (China)—Fiction. 2. Antiquities—

  Collection and preservation—Fiction. 3. Dams—

  Design and construction—Fiction. 4. Yangtze River

  (China)—Fiction. 5. China—Antiquities—Fiction.

  6. Americans—China—Fiction. 7. Police—China—Fiction.

  8. Married people—Fiction. 9. Policewomen—Fiction.

  10. China—Fiction. I. Title.

  PS3569.E3334 D73 2003

  813′.54—dc21 2002024871

  Random House website address: www.atrandom.com

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