{"title":"Diane Wei Liang","description":null,"products":[{"product_id":"eye-of-jade-book-diane-wei-liang-9780330447720","title":"The Eye of Jade","description":"Mei is a modern, independent Chinese woman. She runs her own business in Beijing, working as a private investigator; she owns a car; she even has that most modern of commodities, a male secretary. One day, `Uncle’ Chen, no relation but a close friend of her mother, comes to Mei with a case to investigate. He asks her to find a Han dynasty jade of great value. The jade was taken from its museum during the years of the Cultural Revolution when Red Guards swarmed the streets, destroying many remnants of the past. Mei’s investigations reveal a story that has far more to do with the past, and her own family history, than she could ever have expected. The story forces her to delve into that dark, brutal part of China’s history, Mao’s labour camps and the countless deaths for which no one was ever held responsible. It exposes the agonizing choices made during the Revolution, to kill or be killed, to love or to live.   The Eye of Jade is a fascinating glimpse of city life in modern China. Liang captures vividly Beijing’s bustle and noise, from seedy gambling dens and cheap noodle bars to the splendour of the Forbidden City. With a rich cast of characters, spanning immigrant workers and government officials, she examines the sometimes uneasy relationship between China’s brutal communist past under Mao and its increasingly capitalist present.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49593288818961,"sku":"GOR005513695","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ LIKE_NEW \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49603866362129,"sku":"GOR012832582","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49636829004049,"sku":"GOR012676472","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0330447726.jpg?v=1765447084"},{"product_id":"eye-of-jade-book-diane-wei-liang-9781416549550","title":"The Eye of Jade","description":"\u003ci\u003eHaving her own detective agency would give her\u003cbr\u003e the independence she had always longed for. It\u003cbr\u003e would also give her the chance to show those people\u003cbr\u003e who shunned her that she could be successful. People\u003cbr\u003e were getting rich. They owned property, money, \u003cbr\u003e business, and cars. With new freedom and opportunities\u003cbr\u003e came new crimes. There would be much that\u003cbr\u003e she could do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Present day, Beijing. Mei Wang is a modern, independent woman. She has her own apartment. She owns a car. She has her own business with that most modern of commodities -- a male secretary. Her short career with China's prestigious Ministry for Public Security has given her intimate insight into the complicated and arbitrary world of Beijing's law enforcement. But it is her intuition, curiosity, and her uncanny knack for listening to things said -- and unsaid -- that make Mei Beijing's first successful female private investigator. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mei is no stranger to the dark side of China. She was six years old when she last saw her father behind the wire fence of one of Mao's remote labor camps. Perhaps as a result, Mei eschews the power plays and cultural mores -- \u003ci\u003eguanxi\u003c\/i\u003e -- her sister and mother live by.for better and for worse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mei's family friend Uncle Chen hires her to find a Han dynasty jade of great value: he believes the piece was looted from the Luoyang Museum during the Cultural Revolution -- when the Red Guards swarmed the streets, destroying so many traces of the past -- and that it's currently for sale on the black market. The hunt for the eye of jade leads Mei through banquet halls and back alleys, seedy gambling dens and cheap noodle bars near the Forbidden City. Given the jade's provenance and its journey, Mei knows to treat the investigation as a most delicate matter; she cannot know, however, that this case will force her to delve not only into China's brutal history, but also into her family's dark secrets and into her own tragic separation from the man she loved in equal parts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The first novel in an exhilarating new detective series, \u003ci\u003eThe Eye of Jade\u003c\/i\u003e is both a thrilling mystery and a sensual and fascinating journey through modern China.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49623301030161,"sku":"GOR001285373","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50374007947537,"sku":"CIN1416549552G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50952520007953,"sku":"CIN1416549552VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1416549552.jpg?v=1750825794"},{"product_id":"paper-butterfly-book-diane-wei-liang-9780330447768","title":"Paper Butterfly","description":"Deep in the outback of China, prisoner 3424 is released from camp and seven years of gruelling work in the mines. A young man named Lin, he was imprisoned for activism in the protests at Tiananmen Square. His student ideals were crushed, and now he makes his long way back to Beijing.   In the heart of the city, private detective Mei Wang is hired on the case of a missing person by talent magnate Mr Peng, a contact of her glamorous sister Lu. The subject in question is Kaili, a gorgeous young pop star, whose life was not as glittering as it first appeared.   As the case rapidly slides into murder, Mr Peng chooses a corporate cover-up over the risk of finding out too much of the messy truth. But Mei is compelled by her instincts to do just that, and is drawn on a trail that takes her from the high rises and boulevards into the old hutong district, where superstitions are very much alive.   Following a mysterious clue in a beautiful handmade paper butterfly, she uncovers events that take her back to her own memories of the heady days of Tiananmen that ended so brutally. Mei was lucky – Lin not so – but she plunges into the risky game of investigating the truth in a new society still catching up with the secrets of its past.   Praise for The Eye of Jade:   `With her snappy intelligence and sharp intuition, Diane Wei Liang’s private investigator Mei could give Alexander McCall Smith’s No1 Ladies’ Detective Agency a run for its money’ South China Morning Post    `Bridget Jones meets Val McDermid’ Tribune","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49630587388177,"sku":"GOR003723251","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0330447769.jpg?v=1765448120"},{"product_id":"lake-with-no-name-book-diane-wei-liang-9780755311934","title":"Lake with No Name","description":"As a student at Beijing University in the 1980s, Diane Wei Liang took part in and witnessed one of the truly momentous political events of the decade: the Tiananmen Square massacre. In the same year that saw the collapse of the Soviet Bloc, the world stood by in horror as the full might of the Chinese military state fell on thousands of defenceless students demonstrating for freedom and democracy. Part historical and political document; part love story; part remembrance of a loving family and childhood dreams shattered for ever, this moving memoir is a personal account of one of the most traumatic and shameful passages in China's recent history. All along, as a symbol of hope, stands 'the lake with no name' - Weiming Lake - which lies at the heart of Beijing University campus. Famous for its beauty, for centuries it has been an inspiration to poets, lovers and those seeking a better future.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ WELL_READ \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49638411862289,"sku":"GOR002791323","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49643355078929,"sku":"GOR003590315","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":53270434480401,"sku":"GOR004245805","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0755311930.jpg?v=1750817293"},{"product_id":"paper-butterfly-book-diane-wei-liang-9780330447775","title":"Paper Butterfly","description":"In the outback of China, a political activist, arrested after the Tiananmen massacre, is judged to be a reformed character and released. But Lin is a changed man in more ways than one; haunted by memories of his time in prison, and the events (and people) that put him there, he heads for the country’s capital, where he hopes to confront his demons once and for all. Mei Wang, meanwhile, is struggling to juggle the desires and demands of her family alongside the pressures of running her detective agency, and when her sister recommends her for a new case – the disappearance of a gorgeous young starlet called Kaili – she feels obliged to accept. It’s a risky business, however, investigating the truth in a society that is still catching up with the secrets of its past.   'Mei Wang is a splendid heroine, brave and sensible. As she interviews witnesses and makes her deductions she shows her readers a fascinating glimpse of the China visitors don’t see' Literary Review","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":49651620610321,"sku":"GOR001308393","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/0330447777.jpg?v=1765448792"},{"product_id":"eye-of-jade-book-diane-wei-liang-9781416549567","title":"Eye of Jade","description":"\u003ci\u003eHaving her own detective agency would give her\u003cbr\u003e the independence she had always longed for. It\u003cbr\u003e would also give her the chance to show those people\u003cbr\u003e who shunned her that she could be successful. People\u003cbr\u003e were getting rich. They owned property, money, \u003cbr\u003e business, and cars. With new freedom and opportunities\u003cbr\u003e came new crimes. There would be much that\u003cbr\u003e she could do.\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Present day, Beijing. Mei Wang is a modern, independent woman. She has her own apartment. She owns a car. She has her own business with that most modern of commodities -- a male secretary. Her short career with China's prestigious Ministry for Public Security has given her intimate insight into the complicated and arbitrary world of Beijing's law enforcement. But it is her intuition, curiosity, and her uncanny knack for listening to things said -- and unsaid -- that make Mei Beijing's first successful female private investigator. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mei is no stranger to the dark side of China. She was six years old when she last saw her father behind the wire fence of one of Mao's remote labor camps. Perhaps as a result, Mei eschews the power plays and cultural mores -- \u003ci\u003eguanxi\u003c\/i\u003e -- her sister and mother live by.for better and for worse. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e Mei's family friend Uncle Chen hires her to find a Han dynasty jade of great value: he believes the piece was looted from the Luoyang Museum during the Cultural Revolution -- when the Red Guards swarmed the streets, destroying so many traces of the past -- and that it's currently for sale on the black market. The hunt for the eye of jade leads Mei through banquet halls and back alleys, seedy gambling dens and cheap noodle bars near the Forbidden City. Given the jade's provenance and its journey, Mei knows to treat the investigation as a most delicate matter; she cannot know, however, that this case will force her to delve not only into China's brutal history, but also into her family's dark secrets and into her own tragic separation from the man she loved in equal parts. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e The first novel in an exhilarating new detective series, \u003ci\u003eThe Eye of Jade\u003c\/i\u003e is both a thrilling mystery and a sensual and fascinating journey through modern China.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50145511473425,"sku":"CIN1416549560G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ VERY_GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50381035405585,"sku":"CIN1416549560VG","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51024984178961,"sku":"NIN9781416549567","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1416549560.jpg?v=1751051316"},{"product_id":"lake-with-no-name-book-diane-wei-liang-9781439136867","title":"Lake with No Name","description":"Diane Wei liang, creator of the mei Wang literary mystery series, brings us a tale as spellbinding as any she could invent: her own love story, intertwined with the dramatic history of modern china, including the international trauma of tiananmen square. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- Shedding a new light on history: Liang fled Tiananmen Square in June 1989 and returned to Beijing six years later in an attempt to find her sweetheart, from whom she had been separated once the troops rolled in. With her graceful, confident voice, Liang is the perfect author to shine a light on this moment in history, telling her true, dramatic story at a time when the world's eyes are focused once again on China. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- The real-life drama behind the mysteries: Liang drew deeply from her life story in creating the protagonist of her novels: mei Wang is a female private investigator who has been living in Beijing since before the violent clash around Tiananmen Square. readers will be intrigued by how mei's life reflects and differs from the author's own turbulent experience in China. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- International phenomenon: rights for The Eye of Jade have been sold in twenty-two countries. Lake With No Name was published in the u.K. in 2003. This will be the first time that American readers will have access to Diane Wei Liang's memoir. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- Timely and engaging: China is already the new world superpower. ms. Wei Liang's novels have given readers an opportunity to learn about Chinese culture at a time when curiosity about China is at fever pitch.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"US \/ GOOD \/ SBYB","offer_id":50376998813969,"sku":"CIN1439136866G","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"US \/ WELL_READ \/ SBYB","offer_id":50383221358865,"sku":"CIN1439136866A","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50555427062033,"sku":"GOR013994673","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":50950756598033,"sku":"GOR010029058","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1439136866.jpg?v=1751431998"},{"product_id":"paper-butterfly-book-diane-wei-liang-9781416549581","title":"Paper Butterfly","description":"- International phenomenon: Diane Wei Liang is the ideal international author: a native of China, she has lived and taught in the U.S. and the UK. Her compelling detective series, like Alexander McCall Smith's \u003ci\u003eThe No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, \u003c\/i\u003e has already captured attention around the globe. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- An authentic and skillful storyteller: Diane Wei Liang fled Tiananmen Square in June 1989 and returned to Beijing six years later to find the sweetheart she lost when the troops rolled in, separating them but never severing their bond. In the \u003ci\u003eMei Wang\u003c\/i\u003e mystery series, she draws deeply from her life story, filling her books with vivid details that only someone who has lived it firsthand can know. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e- An unusual heroine with a growing reputation: Mei Wang is the first successful female private detective in Beijing, and after capturing readers' hearts in \u003ci\u003eThe Eye of Jade\u003c\/i\u003e, a Book Sense Pick for February 2008, she now turns her attention to the next challenge. When beloved Chinese pop music star Kaili disappears, Mei must unravel a mystery filled with family secrets and the shadowy truth behind China's labor camps. As Mei follows a trail of clues, Wei Liang takes readers on an adventure through China that will leave them looking forward to part three.","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51024898064657,"sku":"","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"US \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":51024900718865,"sku":"NIN9781416549581","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/1416549587.jpg?v=1751146325"},{"product_id":"eye-of-jade-book-diane-wei-liang-9781447259657","title":"The Eye of Jade","description":"A detective story with a difference","brand":"WoB","offers":[{"title":"- \/ - \/ -","offer_id":51795604537617,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"GB \/ VERY_GOOD \/ INTERNAL","offer_id":51795607060753,"sku":"GOR014405497","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":false},{"title":"GB \/ NEW \/ INGRAM","offer_id":52583581679889,"sku":"NLS9781447259657","price":0.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0784\/4072\/6801\/files\/9781447259657.jpg?v=1752140746"}],"url":"https:\/\/www.worldofbooks.com\/en-gb\/collections\/author-books-by-diane-wei-liang.oembed","provider":"World of Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}