The woman back from mosc.., p.1
The Woman Back from Moscow, page 1
ALSO BY HA JIN
Between Silences
Facing Shadows
Ocean of Words
Under the Red Flag
In the Pond
Waiting
The Bridegroom
Wreckage
The Crazed
War Trash
A Free Life
The Writer as Migrant
A Good Fall
Nanjing Requiem
A Map of Betrayal
The Boat Rocker
A Distant Center
The Banished Immortal
A Song Everlasting
Copyright © Ha Jin, 2023
Stalin excerpts on This page from Speech at the Red Army Parade, November 7, 1941, translated by Andrew Rothstein, copyright © 1948 Hutchinson & Co. (Publishers) Ltd.
Painting on This page by Wang Dejuan.
Production editor: Yvonne E. Cárdenas
Text designer: Jennifer Daddio / Bookmark Design & Media Inc.
This book was set in Mrs. Eaves OT and Poiret One by Alpha Design & Composition of Pittsfield, NH
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without written permission from Other Press LLC, except in the case of brief quotations in reviews for inclusion in a magazine, newspaper, or broadcast. For information write to Other Press LLC, 267 Fifth Avenue, 6th Floor, New York, NY 10016.
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The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:
Names: Jin, Ha, 1956- author.
Title: The woman back from Moscow : in pursuit of beauty / Ha Jin.
Description: New York : Other Press, 2023.
Identifiers: LCCN 2023006309 (print) | LCCN 2023006310 (ebook) | ISBN 9781635423778 (paperback) | ISBN 9781635423785 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Sun, Weishi—Fiction. | Theatrical producers and directors—China—Biography—Fiction. | China—History—20th century—Fiction. | Zhongguo gong chan dang—Fiction. | LCGFT: Biographical fiction. | Historical fiction. | Novels.
Classification: LCC PS3560.I6 W66 2023 (print) | LCC PS3560.I6 (ebook) | DDC 813/.54—dc23/eng/20230424
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023006309
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2023006310
Ebook ISBN 9781635423785
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
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For Lisha
Contents
Cover
Also by Ha Jin
Title Page
Copyright
Dedication
Characters
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-One
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chapter Twenty-Three
Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chapter Twenty-Six
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Chapter Thirty
Chapter Thirty-One
Chapter Thirty-Two
Chapter Thirty-Three
Chapter Thirty-Four
Chapter Thirty-Five
Chapter Thirty-Six
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Chapter Thirty-Nine
Chapter Forty
Chapter Forty-One
Chapter Forty-Two
Chapter Forty-Three
Chapter Forty-Four
Chapter Forty-Five
Chapter Forty-Six
Chapter Forty-Seven
Chapter Forty-Eight
Chapter Forty-Nine
Chapter Fifty
Chapter Fifty-One
Chapter Fifty-Two
Chapter Fifty-Three
Chapter Fifty-Four
Chapter Fifty-Five
Chapter Fifty-Six
Chapter Fifty-Seven
Chapter Fifty-Eight
Chapter Fifty-Nine
Chapter Sixty
Chapter Sixty-One
Chapter Sixty-Two
Chapter Sixty-Three
Chapter Sixty-Four
Chapter Sixty-Five
Chapter Sixty-Six
Chapter Sixty-Seven
Chapter Sixty-Eight
Chapter Sixty-Nine
Chapter Seventy
Chapter Seventy-One
Chapter Seventy-Two
Chapter Seventy-Three
Chapter Seventy-Four
Chapter Seventy-Five
Chapter Seventy-Six
Chapter Seventy-Seven
Chapter Seventy-Eight
Chapter Seventy-Nine
Chapter Eighty
Chapter Eighty-One
Author’s Note
Acknowledgments
• Characters •
Ah Jin, Deng Xiaoping’s ex-wife, who perished in the Battle of Moscow
Alya, Russian woman employed by the Comintern
Bo Gu, top Party leader, educated in the Soviet Union and in charge of the Chinese Red Army’s political work
Bogdanov, head of the International Red Aid in Moscow
Otto Braun, German officer, sent by the Comintern to China as a military adviser to the Red Army, summoned back to Moscow in 1939
Budyonny, Soviet marshal who commanded the Red Square parade in November 1941
Burhan, Sun Yomei’s schoolmate at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts, who helped her and Lily flee Moscow
Chen Boda, Mao Zedong’s political secretary, who actively collaborated with the Gang of Four during the Cultural Revolution
Chen Changhao, one of the Twenty-Eight and a Half Bolsheviks in Yan’an. He went to the Soviet Union on the same planes with Yomei and later became a translator in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Chen Xiaoda (Little Tiger), Chen Boda’s son, who went to the Soviet Union at age six in 1939
Cheng Yuan-gong, Premier Zhou Enlai’s chief of guards
Valko Chervenkov, Bulgarian Communist, the principal of the Party school outside Ufa
Chiang Kai-shek, the head of the Nationalist government
Deng Xiaoping, top leader in the CCP
Deng Yingchao, Zhou Enlai’s wife and Yomei’s adoptive mother
Nikolai Fedorenko, Soviet orientalist who often served as a Chinese translator for Soviet leaders
Nikolai Gorchakov, Yomei’s professor at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts
Grania, illiterate Soviet woman who was Chen Changhao’s wife
Guo Moruo, pro-Communist poet and man of letters
Ho Zi-zhen, Mao Zedong’s third wife (1930–37), who gave him three children. She went to the Soviet Union for medical treatment in 1938 and returned to China in 1947. From then on she lived in Shanghai for recuperation until 1984.
Hou Min, head of Yomei’s interrogators
Hsiao Chih, an actress who played Cassy in Yomei’s production of Black Slaves’ Hate
Hsiao Yuehua, Otto Braun’s first Chinese wife
Hsiaolin (Lin), Lin Biao’s daughter
Huang Zongying, movie star and Zhao Dan’s wife
Jiang Ching, actress who used to be associated with Yomei. She later became Madame Mao and started the Cultural Revolution.
Jin Minju, spoken drama actress in Harbin
Jin Shan, Yomei’s husband, a movie star and stage actor and director
Kang Sheng, ideologue in the CCP, active in persecuting others. He died in 1975 and was stripped of all his titles and influences posthumously.
Lisa Kishkin, Li Lisan’s wife and Yomei’s friend
Kiushin, Soviet official at the Comintern, in charge of Chinese affairs
Ivan Kovalev, Soviet official in charge of Mao’s accommodations in Moscow
Katina Lestov, lecturer at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts, Yomei’s teacher
Li Lilian, movie star and Otto Braun’s second Chinese wife
Li Lisan, a founder and a top leader of the CCP, Yomei’s friend
Li Tianyou, a three-star general, Yomei’s schoolm
Liao Chengzhi, active in propaganda work in the CCP. Later he headed the Youth Union of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). He hired Yomei as the stage director in chief at the National Youth Art Theater.
Lin Biao, marshal and minister of defense in PRC. During his stay in Moscow, he fell in love with Yomei and was later still obsessed with her.
Lin Bochü, Lily’s father, who was in charge of the Red Army’s finances in the 1930s, known for his honesty and integrity. He was one of the Five Grandpops in Yan’an.
Lin Lily (Lin Li), Yomei’s close friend in the Soviet Union and in the PRC. She served as a translator, from Chinese into Russian.
Lin Mohan, propaganda official in the CCP who helped Jiang Ching produce her revolutionary model plays
Linlin (Lin Lin), Lily’s younger sister, who grew up and was educated in the Soviet Union
Liu Aichin, Liu Shaoqi’s daughter, educated in the Soviet Union
Liu Ch’un-hsian, Bo Gu’s wife. Perished in the Battle of Moscow.
Liu Shaoqi, top leader of the CCP and president of the PRC
Liu Yalou, a schoolmate of Yomei in Moscow, he pursued her passionately. Later he became the founder of the PRC’s air force, which he also commanded.
Liu Yunbin, Liu Shaoqi’s son, who went to the Soviet Union as a student and married a Russian woman
Lu Ju, cowgirl at the oil field in Daqing
Luo Rui-ching, minister of public security in the PRC, a four-star general
Mao Anqing, Mao’s second son, who became mentally unstable due to stress and anxiety
Mao Anying, Mao’s oldest son, who was killed in Korea in November 1950
Mao Zedong, the head of the CCP, Chairman Mao
Anastas Mikoyan, Soviet statesman and top leader of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU)
Reslie Mironov, Yomei’s classmate at the Russian Institute of Theater Arts. He shared the stage with her in Three Sisters.
Vyacheslav Molotov, Soviet foreign minister (1939–49)
Niu Lang, high-school history teacher in Harbin, an amateur stage director
Ryo Nosaka, Sanzo’s wife, stranded in Moscow
Sanzo Nosaka, founding figure of the Japanese Communist Party
Oyang Fei, Yomei’s friend, nicknamed Feifei. She grew up in the Soviet Union and served as a Russian translator in the CCP.
Oyang Yuchien, dramaturge who was Yomei’s neighbor and theater colleague
Peng Dehuai, marshal, the commander of the Chinese army in Korea
Ren Bishi, active leader of the CCP, staying at the Comintern as the representative of the CCP
Ren Fukun, Yomei’s aunt, who adopted her little sister, Yolan
Ren Jun, Yomei’s sixth aunt, who grew up together with her
Ren Rui, Yomei’s mother
Nikolai Roshchin, Soviet diplomat, ambassador to China (1949–52)
Eva Sanber, Jewish German woman working at the Comintern. She married poet Hsiao San and moved to Yan’an in the mid-1940s.
Shao Yan-hsiang, poet who, with Yomei, adapted Vsevolod Kochetov’s novel The Brothers Yershov into the play of the same name
Sheng Shicai, warlord in Xinjiang in the 1930s and early 1940s
Shih Chee, Sun Yang’s wife, Yomei’s sister-in-law
Shi Zhe, Mao’s Russian secretary
Joseph Stalin, the head of the Soviet Union
Sun Bing, Yomei’s niece, daughter of Sun Yang and Shih Chee
Sun Bingwen, Yomei’s father, who joined the CCP in 1925, after being recommended by Zhou Enlai, and who was murdered by the Nationalists in 1927
Sun Jishi, Yomei’s second brother, who remained in Sichuan
Sun Ming, Yomei’s nephew, son of Sun Yang and Shih Chee
Sun Mingshi, Yomei’s younger brother
Sun Ning, Yomei’s nephew, son of Sun Yang and Shih Chee
Sun Yang, Yomei’s elder brother, who served as Zhu Deh’s assistant and later wrote his biography
Sun Yolan (Sun Weixin), Yomei’s younger sister
Sun Yomei (Sun Weishi), adopted by Zhou Enlai. She went to Moscow to study theater arts for seven years, and later became an eminent stage director in China.
Sun Zaoli, amateur actor for Yomei in Daqing Oil Field
Tian Cheng-ren, actor who played Uncle Tom in Black Slaves’ Hate
Vilkov, head of the International Red Aid
Vitaley, midlevel official at the International Red Aid
Wang Dongxing, head of general affairs in Zhongnanhai compound, Mao’s butler of sorts
Wang Jia-hsiang, top official of the PRC, the first ambassador to the Soviet Union
Wang Jin-hsi, model worker (driller) and friend of Yomei’s, nicknamed Iron Man Wang
Wang Yida, Ren Jun’s husband
Wang Ying, movie star, Jin Shan’s first wife
Xu Yi-xin, Yomei’s first lover, and also her teacher in Yan’an. He was the “half” of the Twenty-Eight and a Half Bolsheviks, the runt. In the new China, he served as ambassador to Albania, Syria, Norway, and Pakistan, and eventually became a vice foreign minister of the PRC.
Yang Shangkun, in charge of political work in the CCP. In the late 1980s he became president of the PRC.
Yang Zhicheng, friend and schoolmate of Yomei’s in Moscow, nicknamed Grandpa
Yeh Jian-ying, a major leader of the CCP, and later a marshal in the People’s Army
Yeh Qun, Lin Biao’s wife and Yomei’s persecutor
You Benchang, comic actor for Yomei
Zeng Yongfu, petty Chinese official who remained in the Soviet Union and who ran after Lily for a while
Zhang Mei, Lin Biao’s wife before 1941, also Yomei’s friend
Zhang Wentian, top leader in the CCP. He lived in both America and Russia and served as the first foreign minister of the PRC.
Zhao Dan, movie star and Jin Shan’s longtime friend
Zhang Guonan, Jiang Ching’s personal Russian translator
Zhang Ruifang, actress and movie star, and Jin Shan’s second wife
Zhen-yao Zheng, actress directed by Yomei in The Little White Rabbit and The Storm
Zhong Chibing, Yomei’s schoolmate in Moscow. Although disabled, he managed to graduate from the Frunze Military Academy. A two-star general in the PRC, in charge of China’s civil aviation.
Zhou Enlai, a major leader of the CCP. He was the premier of the PRC, and Yomei’s adoptive father.
Zhou Yang, cultural official and translator of Anna Karenina, in charge of propaganda and literary theories in the CCP
Zhu Deh, marshal and founder of the Red Army
Zhu Ming, Lin Boqu’s fourth wife, Lily’s stepmother
Zongchang (Li), Sun Yolan’s husband, chemist educated in the Soviet Union
Zutao (Chen), Changhao’s son, who went to study in the Soviet Union in 1939
• One •
Yomei was wondering why Jiang Ching wanted to meet after the evening class. They were both at Lu Hsun Academy of Literature and Arts in Yan’an, the legendary Communist base in the remote Shaanxi Province. Ching was an instructor, Yomei a student. Both had come to this place the previous year, 1937.
Yomei was seventeen and Ching twenty-four. But their seven-year age gap set them as apart as if they belonged to different generations, especially when they were onstage and in the arena of love. They had known each other since four summers before in Shanghai, when they were in the Oriental Troupe of Modern Drama—Yomei had been an apprentice there and even taken an acting class taught by Ching. At that time the girl was still too green to perform in plays, while Ching, called Lan Ping then, was a burgeoning actress seeking her place in the metropolitan’s theater circle. In The Government Inspector, the Gogol comedy, Ching played only a minor role, a locksmith’s wife, despite her moderate success as a starlet in several movies. That same year, however, she had managed to snatch a leading part—Nora, in Ibsen’s A Doll’s House—and then another major role—Katherina in Ostrovsky’s The Storm. But here in Yan’an, Yomei, younger and more talented, could easily outshine Ching onstage. A few months before, they had acted together in The Blood Sacrifice in Shanghai, which commemorates that city’s fight against the Japanese invasion six years earlier. Yomei performed the leading female role—the daughter of a rich capitalist—whereas Ching had to settle for a secondary part—the rich man’s concubine. The play had been so successful that it was performed twenty times in the town of Yan’an alone, watched by more than ten thousand people. Some even perched on the trees around the platform to get a better view. Numerous Communist leaders saw it and praised the performance. It was said that Ching had met Mao Zedong personally at one of her performances. Mao was so impressed by the troupe’s recent productions that he suggested establishing Lu Hsun Academy of Literature and Arts, and his colleagues unanimously supported the idea. After the performance season, both Yomei and Ching became well known—even children in the streets would call Yomei “the Miss” and Ching “the Concubine.” To a degree, Ching was annoyed by such notoriety, and she knew that as far as acting went, Yomei may have been getting ahead of her—in recent years, after her apprenticeship and before coming to Yan’an, the girl, Yomei, had acted in several movies and plays in Shanghai and earned a name for herself. She was already like a professional.
