Secret of a Thousand Beauties by Mingmei Yip

Mingmei Yip’s new novel, Secret of a Thousand Beauties, follows the tumultuous life of a young woman in 1930s China. Spring Swallow is only seventeen when she becomes a ghost bride. Determined to avoid a passionless life of servitude and deference, she devises an escape from her vicious aunt and conspiring in-laws. Her journey takes her to Soochow and a house full of women who create sweeping embroideries. Under the watchful eye of the admonishing matriarch, Aunty Peony, Spring Swallow unlocks a hidden talent for embroidery, and slowly she begins to build her life anew. But her quiet existence is soon interrupted when Aunty Peony’s mysterious past catches up with them all and new tragedies begin to impact Spring Swallow’s life. Memories of her ghost husband seem to linger ominously, even after she meets handsome revolutionary Shen Feng. As the trajectory of her life begins to tilt in overwhelming new directions, taking her from rural Soochow to the bustling city of Peking, Spring Swallow must rely on her own courage and newfound skills to overcome the odds.

Secret of a Thousand Beauties combines an intriguing story with the unique history of China in the 1930s. With her sparse writing style, Mingmei Yip strips the narrative of any deep historical pretext, but she keeps the historical atmosphere within the novel through her details of the era’s culture and lifestyle. This was a unique approach to historical fiction; I enjoyed that it allowed the reader to ultimately connect with the timelessness of the emotions woven through Spring Swallow’s story, as well as the stories of the other women she meets on her journey, though devoted fans of the genre may wish for a more elaborate narrative.

The many female characters of the story – from Aunty Peony to embroiderers Purple, LeiLei, and Little Doll – come alive across the pages with the depth of their personal tragedies and triumphs. While they often transition between being likable and vexing, the emotions that drive them are clear and understandable. Through each unique woman the author explores some of the struggles Chinese women faced in this era, from forbidden romances to the difficulties of earning a living. One of the most intriguing aspects of the story is Spring Swallow’s ghost marriage, which Yip portrays with engaging detail. I was at turns fascinated and shocked by the ancient tradition. In our protagonist’s case, she was promised at birth to a boy who died before either were of an age to marry, and because a promise was considered sacred, she was forced to symbolically marry his ghost (yes, really). One of the less admirable traditions of the culture’s history, to be sure, but nonetheless a very real one. Yip also uncovers the elaborate tradition of embroidery, particularly during the time of the Qing dynasty. The setting of her novel is evoked almost entirely from these traditions, superstitions, and beliefs. As a result, Secret of a Thousand Beauties draws us into a China on the brink of change as we witness one woman’s remarkable journey through unbearable grief and fragile fortune.

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