Marrying Buddha
Encyclopedia
Marrying Buddha is the second novel
by Chinese
author
Wei Hui
and is a sequel
to her first published novel, Shanghai Baby
.
from Shanghai
, now aged 29. The plot intersperses Coco's adventures in New York
, and later in Madrid
, Barcelona
and Buenos Aires
, with her journey in China
from Shanghai
to the Buddhist monastery
on Mount Putuo
, (Putuoshan).
In New York, Coco meets a Japanese
-Italian
documentary filmmaker named Muju, and after a short romance moves in with him. Muju is a divorcee
with strict ideas about women's roles and behaviour. He prefers his girlfriends, for example, to be competent cooks and willing to demonstrate their expertise for him. Coco, who cannot cook, finds it difficult to adapt to life with Muju. After a few months, Coco meets another man, the all-American
Nick. When she travels to Spain
without Muju, she resists embarking on an affair
with Nick, who coincidentally visits the same cities and stays in the same luxury hotels as Coco. In Buenos Aires, Coco and Muju meet again, but Muju is disappointed with what he feels is Coco's snobbery and arrogant, self-centred behaviour. The two argue, and soon after returning to New York, Coco travels home to Shanghai without knowing whether she and Muju are still lovers.
In Shanghai, after resuming her old, pleasure-filled life, Coco travels to the place of her birth, Mount Putuo, where she spends time with an elder in a Buddhist monastery. Later, Nick pays a surprise visit to Coco in Shanghai, and Coco finally relents and sleeps with him. After he leaves, Muju pays a surprise visit to Coco in Shanghai, and Coco sleeps with him, too. Shortly afterwards, Coco learns she is pregnant, but she does not know who is the father, Muju or Nick.
. The novel is set in various locations, but mainly New York, Shanghai and Mount Putuo, site of Coco's birth and a Buddhist monastery. Although there is some mention of the events and people from Shanghai Baby
- in Marrying Buddha, Coco embarks on a tour of Spanish
-speaking countries to promote that novel - some key characters and plot points, including the suicide of Coco's then boyfriend Tian Tian are not referred to at all. In addition, new facts that were not mentioned in Shanghai Baby
emerge: including that shortly before the events of Shanghai Baby, Coco attempted suicide
by slashing her wrists and that she had a boyfriend with Mafia
connections.
In New York, Coco is a student at Columbia University
, an observer of American life and an avid consumer of American brands and culture. She visits Chinatown
, shops at Barneys New York
, Barnes and Noble, and Bloomingdales, and is perplexed by the American men she dates. Soon, she meets Muju, a half Japanese, half Italian documentary
filmmaker. At first, Coco is not impressed: Muju buys her a humidifier
as a gift. However, Coco is soon won over by Muju's knowledge of tantric sex practices and Eastern wisdom. After a few months, Coco moves into his apartment. Things do not always run smoothly though: Muju expresses his deep respect for women who can cook delicious meals, just like his ex-wife, who one day turns up and does just that. When Coco tries to cook Chinese food in Muju's kitchen, disaster occurs - she burns the shrimp and a drop of fat jumps out of the frying pan and burns her cheek, temporarily marring her complexion. Muju and Coco fight, and when Coco throws a jar of designer face cream into the toilet, Muju is disappointed by her immaturity. Later, Coco and Muju try out new tricks in the bedroom, and Muju displays his knowledge of Eastern wisdom by refusing to ejaculate and sharing a variety of Japanese traditional sex aids. Coco suggests a threesome, and Muju is impressed when she is not jealous of the American prostitute whom they invite to their bed.
The two are happy, although the relationship is not perfect. It is shadowed by the fact that Muju has some faults that Coco cannot reconcile. For example, he refuses to ever accompany anyone to the airport
, he refuses to ejaculate, and he is missing a joint on one of his fingers. Muju is similarly frustrated by Coco's lack of self-control, her inability to cook, and her desire for a baby despite her immaturity.
Whilst out one evening in New York with her visiting Chinese cousin Zhu Sha, Coco meets Nick, a middle-aged but very attractive New Yorker:
Initially, Coco refuses to embark on an affair
with Nick, rejecting his advances despite her attraction to his magnetic, ice-cream voice. When Coco travels to Madrid to promote her now best-selling novel, she bumps into Nick in a restaurant. Coincidence following coincidence, Nick is also traveling on to Barcelona at the same time as Coco, and is staying in the same hotel. Coco is very attracted to Nick, but manages to reject all his advances. After Barcelona, she leaves for Buenos Aires with only his contact details.
In Buenos Aires, Coco meets up again with Muju. Things seem to be going well, until Muju criticises Coco for her behaviour towards the wait staff in the hotel:
Coco is extremely upset at Muju's criticism, and although the two are reconciled in New York, Coco decides to return to Shanghai to start work on her new novel. In Shanghai, she is surprised to learn that Nick is also in the city. Coco is delighted, and the two meet in the Shanghai Ritz-Carlton hotel, where Nick is staying. To impress Coco, Nick buys her a very expensive Ferragamo Christmas tree
. Back in his hotel suite, Coco is overwhelmed by this purchase and lets Nick make love to her without contraception
. The very next day, Nick flies back to New York.
Shortly afterwards Muju flies to Shanghai to see Coco. The two make love in her apartment, without using contraception. Muju ejaculates for the first time, surprising Coco.
After Muju leaves, Coco discovers that she is pregnant. She decides to keep her baby, although she is not certain which of her two lovers is the father.
The novel is interspersed with the story of Coco's visit to her birthplace on Putuo Island. There, she gains wisdom from her discussions with a Buddhist elder at the monastery in which she was born. It is this wisdom that allows her to cope with her pregnancy.
and Social Sciences
of the University of New South Wales
, Australia
, said of her translation project that:
Wei Hui's second novel received contrasting reviews. Some reviewers praised the book for its daring, erotic and modern content, considering it to be groundbreaking because it explored subjects taboo
in China. Marie Claire
magazine praised Wei Hui for being an 'intelligent and passionate spokeswoman for the women of modern China'.
Other reviewers criticized the novel's lack of coherence, its shallow content, the lack of growth of its narrator, and its cliches. In The Adelaide Review, Gillian Dooley criticized the book for its 'cringefully tacky' moments, and wrote that:
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Wei Hui
Wei Hui
Zhou Weihui is a Chinese writer, living and working in Shanghai and New York. Her novel Shanghai Baby was banned in the People's Republic of China as "decadent". Her latest novel Marrying Buddha was censored, modified and published in China under a modified title...
and is a sequel
Sequel
A sequel is a narrative, documental, or other work of literature, film, theatre, or music that continues the story of or expands upon issues presented in some previous work...
to her first published novel, Shanghai Baby
Shanghai Baby
Shanghai Baby is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Chinese author Wei Hui. It was originally published in China in 1999. The English translation was published in 2001.-Plot introduction:...
.
Plot
Set four years on from the events of Shanghai Baby, Marrying Buddha continues the story of Coco, a writerWriter
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
, now aged 29. The plot intersperses Coco's adventures in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, and later in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Barcelona
Barcelona
Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of...
and Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
, with her journey in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
from Shanghai
Shanghai
Shanghai is the largest city by population in China and the largest city proper in the world. It is one of the four province-level municipalities in the People's Republic of China, with a total population of over 23 million as of 2010...
to the Buddhist monastery
Monastery
Monastery denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of monastics, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in community or alone .Monasteries may vary greatly in size – a small dwelling accommodating only...
on Mount Putuo
Mount Putuo
Mount Putuo is an island southeast of Shanghai, in Zhoushan prefecture of Zhejiang province, China. It is famous in Chinese Buddhism, and is considered the bodhimanda of Avalokitesvara , a revered Bodhisattva in many parts of East Asia...
, (Putuoshan).
In New York, Coco meets a Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
-Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
documentary filmmaker named Muju, and after a short romance moves in with him. Muju is a divorcee
Divorcee
Divorcee, refers to a person whose marriage has ended in divorce, a legal dissolution of marriage before death by either spouse. The feminine form is "divorcée", and the masculine "divorcé". At one time the term had negative cultural and religious associations...
with strict ideas about women's roles and behaviour. He prefers his girlfriends, for example, to be competent cooks and willing to demonstrate their expertise for him. Coco, who cannot cook, finds it difficult to adapt to life with Muju. After a few months, Coco meets another man, the all-American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
Nick. When she travels to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
without Muju, she resists embarking on an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with Nick, who coincidentally visits the same cities and stays in the same luxury hotels as Coco. In Buenos Aires, Coco and Muju meet again, but Muju is disappointed with what he feels is Coco's snobbery and arrogant, self-centred behaviour. The two argue, and soon after returning to New York, Coco travels home to Shanghai without knowing whether she and Muju are still lovers.
In Shanghai, after resuming her old, pleasure-filled life, Coco travels to the place of her birth, Mount Putuo, where she spends time with an elder in a Buddhist monastery. Later, Nick pays a surprise visit to Coco in Shanghai, and Coco finally relents and sleeps with him. After he leaves, Muju pays a surprise visit to Coco in Shanghai, and Coco sleeps with him, too. Shortly afterwards, Coco learns she is pregnant, but she does not know who is the father, Muju or Nick.
Details
Marrying Buddha is supposedly a continuation of the Wei Hui's semi-autobiographical story of Nikki/Coco, a young Shanghainese author of erotic literatureErotic literature
Erotic literature comprises fictional and factual stories and accounts of human sexual relationships which have the power to or are intended to arouse the reader sexually. Such erotica takes the form of novels, short stories, poetry, true-life memoirs, and sex manuals...
. The novel is set in various locations, but mainly New York, Shanghai and Mount Putuo, site of Coco's birth and a Buddhist monastery. Although there is some mention of the events and people from Shanghai Baby
Shanghai Baby
Shanghai Baby is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Chinese author Wei Hui. It was originally published in China in 1999. The English translation was published in 2001.-Plot introduction:...
- in Marrying Buddha, Coco embarks on a tour of Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
-speaking countries to promote that novel - some key characters and plot points, including the suicide of Coco's then boyfriend Tian Tian are not referred to at all. In addition, new facts that were not mentioned in Shanghai Baby
Shanghai Baby
Shanghai Baby is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Chinese author Wei Hui. It was originally published in China in 1999. The English translation was published in 2001.-Plot introduction:...
emerge: including that shortly before the events of Shanghai Baby, Coco attempted suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by slashing her wrists and that she had a boyfriend with Mafia
Mafia
The Mafia is a criminal syndicate that emerged in the mid-nineteenth century in Sicily, Italy. It is a loose association of criminal groups that share a common organizational structure and code of conduct, and whose common enterprise is protection racketeering...
connections.
In New York, Coco is a student at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, an observer of American life and an avid consumer of American brands and culture. She visits Chinatown
Chinatown
A Chinatown is an ethnic enclave of overseas Chinese people, although it is often generalized to include various Southeast Asian people. Chinatowns exist throughout the world, including East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Americas, Australasia, and Europe. Binondo's Chinatown located in Manila,...
, shops at Barneys New York
Barneys New York
Barneys New York is a chain of luxury department stores headquartered in New York City. The chain owns large stores in New York City, Beverly Hills, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Dallas, Las Vegas, and Scottsdale, and smaller stores in other locations across the United States.Brands sold include...
, Barnes and Noble, and Bloomingdales, and is perplexed by the American men she dates. Soon, she meets Muju, a half Japanese, half Italian documentary
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
filmmaker. At first, Coco is not impressed: Muju buys her a humidifier
Humidifier
A humidifier is a household appliance that increases humidity in a single room or in the entire house. There are point-of-use humidifiers, which are commonly used to humidify a single room, and whole-house or furnace humidifiers, which connect to a home's HVAC system to provide humidity to the...
as a gift. However, Coco is soon won over by Muju's knowledge of tantric sex practices and Eastern wisdom. After a few months, Coco moves into his apartment. Things do not always run smoothly though: Muju expresses his deep respect for women who can cook delicious meals, just like his ex-wife, who one day turns up and does just that. When Coco tries to cook Chinese food in Muju's kitchen, disaster occurs - she burns the shrimp and a drop of fat jumps out of the frying pan and burns her cheek, temporarily marring her complexion. Muju and Coco fight, and when Coco throws a jar of designer face cream into the toilet, Muju is disappointed by her immaturity. Later, Coco and Muju try out new tricks in the bedroom, and Muju displays his knowledge of Eastern wisdom by refusing to ejaculate and sharing a variety of Japanese traditional sex aids. Coco suggests a threesome, and Muju is impressed when she is not jealous of the American prostitute whom they invite to their bed.
The two are happy, although the relationship is not perfect. It is shadowed by the fact that Muju has some faults that Coco cannot reconcile. For example, he refuses to ever accompany anyone to the airport
Airport
An airport is a location where aircraft such as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and blimps take off and land. Aircraft may be stored or maintained at an airport...
, he refuses to ejaculate, and he is missing a joint on one of his fingers. Muju is similarly frustrated by Coco's lack of self-control, her inability to cook, and her desire for a baby despite her immaturity.
Whilst out one evening in New York with her visiting Chinese cousin Zhu Sha, Coco meets Nick, a middle-aged but very attractive New Yorker:
He looked very like George Clooney, but even more handsome, slim and stylish, dressed entirely in black Armani. He seemed about forty-five years old...When he spoke I was startled by his magnetic voice. Hearing him talk was like ice-cream to the ears
Initially, Coco refuses to embark on an affair
Affair
Affair may refer to professional, personal, or public business matters or to a particular business or private activity of a temporary duration, as in family affair, a private affair, or a romantic affair.-Political affair:...
with Nick, rejecting his advances despite her attraction to his magnetic, ice-cream voice. When Coco travels to Madrid to promote her now best-selling novel, she bumps into Nick in a restaurant. Coincidence following coincidence, Nick is also traveling on to Barcelona at the same time as Coco, and is staying in the same hotel. Coco is very attracted to Nick, but manages to reject all his advances. After Barcelona, she leaves for Buenos Aires with only his contact details.
In Buenos Aires, Coco meets up again with Muju. Things seem to be going well, until Muju criticises Coco for her behaviour towards the wait staff in the hotel:
Muju took a sip of tea. "Perhaps you weren't aware of it, but for a second there you demonstrated unnecessary arrogance".
I nearly spat the bread out of my mouth. "I've no idea what you're talking about." My voice trembled and my hands clenched themselves into fists.
Coco is extremely upset at Muju's criticism, and although the two are reconciled in New York, Coco decides to return to Shanghai to start work on her new novel. In Shanghai, she is surprised to learn that Nick is also in the city. Coco is delighted, and the two meet in the Shanghai Ritz-Carlton hotel, where Nick is staying. To impress Coco, Nick buys her a very expensive Ferragamo Christmas tree
Christmas tree
The Christmas tree is a decorated evergreen coniferous tree, real or artificial, and a tradition associated with the celebration of Christmas. The tradition of decorating an evergreen tree at Christmas started in Livonia and Germany in the 16th century...
. Back in his hotel suite, Coco is overwhelmed by this purchase and lets Nick make love to her without contraception
Contraception
Contraception is the prevention of the fusion of gametes during or after sexual activity. The term contraception is a contraction of contra, which means against, and the word conception, meaning fertilization...
. The very next day, Nick flies back to New York.
Shortly afterwards Muju flies to Shanghai to see Coco. The two make love in her apartment, without using contraception. Muju ejaculates for the first time, surprising Coco.
After Muju leaves, Coco discovers that she is pregnant. She decides to keep her baby, although she is not certain which of her two lovers is the father.
The novel is interspersed with the story of Coco's visit to her birthplace on Putuo Island. There, she gains wisdom from her discussions with a Buddhist elder at the monastery in which she was born. It is this wisdom that allows her to cope with her pregnancy.
Western reactions to Marrying Buddha
The English translator of Marrying Buddha, Larissa Heinrich, a lecturer in Chinese Studies and 'Transnational Chinese Media' in the Faculty of ArtsARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and Social Sciences
Social sciences
Social science is the field of study concerned with society. "Social science" is commonly used as an umbrella term to refer to a plurality of fields outside of the natural sciences usually exclusive of the administrative or managerial sciences...
of the University of New South Wales
University of New South Wales
The University of New South Wales , is a research-focused university based in Kensington, a suburb in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, said of her translation project that:
"It was an exciting opportunity to translate Marrying Buddha," says Heinrich. "The book is an important cultural artefact, it's at the front line of a new genre of semi-autobiographical popular writing being produced by young Chinese women authors."
Wei Hui's second novel received contrasting reviews. Some reviewers praised the book for its daring, erotic and modern content, considering it to be groundbreaking because it explored subjects taboo
Taboo
A taboo is a strong social prohibition relating to any area of human activity or social custom that is sacred and or forbidden based on moral judgment, religious beliefs and or scientific consensus. Breaking the taboo is usually considered objectionable or abhorrent by society...
in China. Marie Claire
Marie Claire
Marie Claire is a monthly women's magazine first published in France but also distributed in other countries with editions specific to them and in their languages. While each country shares its own special voice with its audience, the United States edition focuses on women around the world and...
magazine praised Wei Hui for being an 'intelligent and passionate spokeswoman for the women of modern China'.
Other reviewers criticized the novel's lack of coherence, its shallow content, the lack of growth of its narrator, and its cliches. In The Adelaide Review, Gillian Dooley criticized the book for its 'cringefully tacky' moments, and wrote that:
It’s a little difficult to know how to approach this book. Presumably it has been translated into English from the original Chinese, though no translator is acknowledged, and this might account for some passages which read strangely. However, there’s no disguising the vapidity and self-indulgence of Marrying Buddha.