Set against the vibrant and intrigue-laden backdrop of 1930s China, Mingmei Yip's enthralling novel explores one woman's defiant pursuit of independence.Spring Swallow was promised in marriage while still in her mother's belly. When the groom dies before a wedding can take place, seventeen-year-old Spring Swallow is ordered to become a ghost bride to appease his spirit. Under her in-laws' protection, she will be little more than a servant, unable to know real love or bear children....

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...

From the author of Secret of a Thousand Beauties and Peach Blossom Pavilion comes a beautifully written novel of self-discovery and intrigue.Chinese-American assistant professor Eileen Chen specializes in folk religion at her San Francisco college. Though her grandmother made her living as a shamaness, Eileen publicly dismisses witchcraft as mere superstition. Yet privately, the subject intrigues her.When a research project takes her to the Canary...

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 B...

Torn from her family. Destined to become the most desired courtesan in China.A seductive and evocative debut that opens the doors on life as a Chinese courtesan in the Peach Blossom Pavilion…Behind the doors of the pavilion, a world of sensuality and intrigue awaits…Falsely accused of murder, Xiang Xiang's father is executed, and her mother forced into a Buddhist nunnery. Xiang Xiang, alone and friendless at thirteen years old, is tricked into entering the Peach Blo...

Did you love Memoirs of a Geisha? Want to be swept away by an epic tale of intrigue, forbidden love and deadly rivalries?A poor orphan girl is saved by a rich man and brought Shanghai.She becomes a beautiful and sophisticated singer, the talk of the town, wanted by every man.But her destiny is not to be so simple – lies, seduction and a terrible choice must follow…For fans of Anchee Min and Memoirs of a Geisha, this is a gripping story that will seduce and e...

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 p...

Watch a mischievous monkey learn his lesson, float along with a colorful butterfly, and visit a village with a mouse mayor.Chinese Children's Favorite Stories is a collection of thirteen timeless Chinese folktales told and charmingly illustrated by Yip—whose inspiration for retelling them came from her father's nightly storytelling when she was a child.Some of the selections are a thousand years old, including:The Mou...

Chinese Children's Favorite Stories is a delightful selection of thirteen Chinese folktales as retold by author and illustrator Mingmei Yip. Inspired by her beloved father's nightly story-telling when she was a child, Yip hopes that by retelling some of these thousand-year-old Chinese stories she can pass along Chinese folklore and fables to international readers of all ages.These beautifully illustrated tales give children in other countries a glimpse int...

""A unique and enthralling style. . .flawless." --Baltimore Books ExaminerIn this mesmerizing new novel, Mingmei Yip draws readers deeper into the exotic world of 1930s Shanghai first explored in Skeleton Women, and into the lives of the unforgettable Camilla, Shadow, and Rainbow Chang.When Shadow, a gifted, ambitious magician, competed with the beautiful Camilla for the affections of organized crime leader Master Lung, she almost lost everything. Hiding out in Hon...

With classic Chinese fairytales and folk stories, Grandma Panda's China Storybook introduces children to Chinese culture in a fun, adventurous way!Grandma Panda is a wonderful teacher, a wonderful storyteller and a wonderful cook! Her grandchildren, Baobao and Lingling, love staying with her every summer because, at Grandma Panda's house, each day is an adventure. This summer, with the help of celebrated novelist and artist Mingmei Yip, Grandma will take t...

The gripping story of a Chinese woman's journey through a criminal underworld of intrigue and opulence from the author of Peach Blossom Pavilion.Once upon a time in China, the most beautiful and gifted women were known as “skeleton women”—the ultimate femme fatales who could bring a man to his knees, or to his doom . . .When Camilla, a young orphan girl in Shanghai, is adopted and brought to live in luxury, it seems like a stroke of luck. But as Ca...