Best known for his series of Inspector Chen Cao crime thrillers, Shanghai-born writer Qiu Xiaolong recently released a collection of linked short stories that were printed in French newspaper Le Monde in 2008. Like Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City that were serialized in the San Francisco Chronicle, Qiu’s stories chart the daily lives of the residents of Red Dust Lane–a nongtang between the Bund and People’s Square–from the most mundane gossip and squabbles to the big, life- and city-changing events of the Cultural Revolution, Opening and Reform and early 21st century economic boom.

The lane dwellers who turn up throughout Qiu’s narrative, like the matchmaking Auntie Jia, stalwart Old Root and the somewhat sinister Old Hunchback Fang, are colorfully named and artfully realized. And as much as Red Dust Lane is the backdrop for their stories, it’s also the protagonist. The introduction is a beautifully woven monologue from a landlord, which introduces the reader to the alley.

Despite the cheerfulness of the narrator’s tone and the often upbeat nature of the stories, there is an undertone of melancholy, even tragedy, among the pages. The hopefulness of the early Communist years shines in the optimistic newsletters of the ’50s, only to be dashed by the horrors of what was to come with the Cultural Revolution, when neighbor was pitted against neighbor and lanes were divided by loyalty and suspicion.

One of the most moving tales is “Return of POW 1 (1954).” Bai Jie, a young nurse who was a member of the Chinese People’s Volunteers in the Korean War, went missing and was presumed dead. Elevated to the status of a revolutionary martyr, she was honored with a red flower on her parents’ front door and became the posthumous pride of her family.

However, Bai Jie appears again in “Return of POW II (1992)” when Xue Zhiming returns to Red Dust Lane. Xue had been in the same prison camp as Bai, but had escaped to Taiwan and become a billionaire. On his return to the lane many years later, he was given a hero’s welcome, not least because he promised to open a business in the area and create jobs and wealth. The contrast between Bai’s initial glory through martyrdom, when she was presumed dead, and Xue’s heroism through wealth is telling.

The story charting Nixon’s 1972 visit to China is one of the most interesting pieces of social commentary. Despite being written before the Expo, the tale of the pre-visit clean-up has amusing parallels with the city’s 2010 facelift: “…the beggars on the streets had to be made invisible. So would be the dripping clothes on the bamboo poles outside the shikumen houses, as well as the peeling big-character posters on the walls and the spiraling smoke from the woks.”

Qiu Xiaolong, who appeared at this year’s Shanghai International Literary Festival, now lives and works in St. Louis, Missouri. He moved to the US in 1988 to conduct research on the work of T. S. Eliot, but was prevented from returning in 1989. Qiu writes in English, and his style is spare but colourful. Like his Inspector Chen novels, Years of Red Dust is as poignant as it is compelling.

DETAILS

What: Years of Red Dust

Published by: St. Martin's Press

Where: Available on Taobao

How much: RMB164.10 plus RMB6 shipping