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AUTHOR'S NOTE Like most writers who deal with contemporary China, I've disguised some people. Wu Fusan is not the man's real name, nor is Song Hua, Mr. Fu, or Sam Samson. All the other major characters appear under their actual names. Throughout, I've used standard Pinyin spelling—"Beijing , Hangzhou"—except where long usage dictates older forms—"Peking Hotel." For support, information, and valuable opinion, I am grateful to the National Endowment for the Arts, to the National Committee on United States-China Relations, to Irving Lo (Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures , Indiana University), Jeannette Hopkins (Wesleyan University Press), Perry Link (Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures, UCLA), Robert Rees, Donald Ellegood, my husband Gary Clevidence, Andre Schiffrin (Pantheon Books), and Phyllis Rose. This page intentionally left blank ...

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