Red Poppies

Red Poppies (Chinese: 尘埃落定) is a 1998 Chinese-language novel by the Tibetan Chinese writer Alai, whose theme is based on the Tibetan custom and traditions. The novel consists of 12 chapters with a total of 481,000 Chinese characters. It won the Mao Dun Literature Prize in 2000.[1]

For the Georgia O'Keeffe painting, see Oriental Poppies.

Summary

Set in Ngawa, Sichuan, the novel chronicles the stories of a Tibetan Tusi and his family from the 1920s to 1949, which gives a general introduction to the economic development in Ngawa, the territorial disputes among Tibetan chieftains, and the fights for throne succession.

Main characters

Family of Tusi Maiqi
  • The first-person narrator: considered as an 'idiot', the second son of Tusi Maiqi, mother is a Han Chinese
  • Tusi Maiqi: father of the first-person narrator
  • Mother: the second wife of Tusi Maiqi, a Han Chinese woman as a gift given to Maiqi by a merchant trading furs and herbs
  • Brother: the eldest son of Tusi Maiqi, son of Maiqi's first wife, considered as the successor of Tusi Maiqi
  • Sangji Zhuoma: maid of the first-person narrator
  • The lame butler
  • Weng Bo Yi Xi: Lama of Gelug
  • Suo Lang Ze Lang: attendant of the first-person narrator
  • Yang Zong: used to be the woman of the chieftain Zhazha, belongs to Tusi Maiqi after Zhazha's death
  • Lama Menba
  • Sister: half-blooded, shares the same father with the narrator, lives in London
  • Uncle: Tusi Maiqi's younger brother, trades in India
  • The silversmith: later marries Sangji Zhuoma

Other characters
  • Special commissioner Huang: an official of the national government
  • Tusi Ronggong: a female Tusi
  • Tana: the beautiful daughter of Tusi Ronggong
  • Tusi Laxueba
  • Tusi Wangbo

Reception

Comments by the selection committee of the Mao Dun Literature Prize: "The novel narrates from a unique viewpoint, with a rich connotation of Tibetan culture. A slight of fantasy enhances the artistic expression. The writing style is light, charming and poetic".[2]

Adaptations
  • TV series: a television adaptation of Red Poppies was first shown in 2003.
  • Dance drama: Red Poppies was adapted into a dance drama by Hong Kong Dance Company in 2006.

References
  1. "茅盾文学奖"尘埃落定"(Red Poppies won the Mao Dun Literature Prize)". china.com.cn.
  2. "论《尘埃落定》的象征意蕴 (The symbolical implication of Red Poppies)". www.xzbu.com. 11 May 2012. Archived from the original on 22 March 2017.
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