As a fading Chinese-American aristocrat meets the mainland’s nouveau riche, they discover that the more things change, the more they stay the same
Author: Lynn Zhao 密斯赵
A native of Beijing, Lynn Zhao moved to Hong Kong at the age of 18 and later to New York. She writes two personal columns on Douban, where she has also published novellas and short-story collections. Her essays have appeared in Sanlian Life Weekly and The Feminist Voice. Her English-language non-fiction has appeared in the Shanghai Literary Review. She is an art professional at Christie’s auction house.
Zhenzhen
Since she took the call for the interview, Zhenzhen had been imagining all kinds of crazy things about Mrs. Wong’s residence. It was in Manhattan, after all—no matter how luxurious it was, even if it was a penthouse on Central Park, she’d have seen something like it on TV.
“It’s not like I haven’t seen the world! There’s nothing I can’t handle!” Zhenzhen was pumping herself up.
She felt discouraged the next second—this was the closest she’d ever come to a “socialite” like those in China’s Republic era. Ever since she was little, becoming a socialite had been her only dream.
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Fiction: The Socialite (Paywalled) is a story from our issue, “Curiosities and Quests.” To read the entire issue, become a subscriber and receive the full magazine.
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