Event Details
WHAT: Author Paul French introduces "The World of the Peking Aesthetes" during a small-group RASBJ dinner in the former residence of Peking opera star Mei Lanfang
WHEN: Monday, Oct 27, 2025, from 7:00-9:00 PM Beijing Time. Doors open at 6:45 PM.
WHERE: Qingyun Huai 49 Yan Laofangu Master Ji (or "Banquet 1949"). Tel: 13001152969
Address in English: Qingyun 23 Artistic Center, Neiyuan, Dongcheng.
Name in Chinese: ้ไบๆทฎๅไนๅฎด่้ฅญ้ชจๅคงๅธๆ
MORE ABOUT THE EVENT: Between the world wars Peking was home to many long-term sojourner aesthetes: European, American and Japanese men and women sensitive to art and beauty. Writers, artists, translators and scholars, though often dilettantes, and occasionally fabulators and frauds. They were invariably of the "lost generation" -- often gay, the men independently wealthy and the women newly independent of bad and boring marriages. They made hutongs and former temples their homes, they cultivated their appreciation of Chinese art, style and opera. They wrote, painted and collected. Their fabulous friends visited. They made alliances and close friendships with like-minded Chinese. And they recorded their experiences in memoirs, novels, plays and letters. They were the Peking Aesthetes. (The most famous Chinese stage performer during this era was Mei Lanfang; his former residence near Qianmen is our dinner venue.)
ABOUT THE SPEAKER: Born and currently based in London, Paul French lived and worked in Shanghai for many years. After a career as a widely published analyst and commentator on China he is now a full-time author, focusing on China and Asia in the first half of the twentieth century. His true crime book "Midnight in Peking" was a New York Times Bestseller, a BBC Radio 4 Book of the Week, a Mystery Writers of America 'Edgar' award winner for Best Fact Crime, and a Crime Writers' Association (UK) 'Dagger' award for non-fiction. His Kirkus-starred book "City of Devils: A Shanghai Noir" focused on the dancehalls, casinos and cabarets of wartime Shanghai. French is also a regular contributor and book reviewer for various publications including The South China Morning Post, Financial Times Weekend, Mekong Review, CNN, Ponto Final (Macao), and Crime Reads. In 2024 he published "Her Lotus Year: China, the Roaring Twenties, and the Making of Wallis Simpson".
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HOW MUCH: RMB 400 for members of RASBJ and of RAS branches in London, Shanghai and Hong Kong; RMB 500 for non-members. You may find payment by Alipay easier than by Wechat; you can also pay by credit card. The dinner menu includes Chinese dishes from famous state banquets, prepared by apprentices of the chefs who created them. Kindly note that RASBJ does not issue fapiao .
HOW TO JOIN THE EVENT: Please click "Register" or "I Will Attend" by noon on Oct. 25, and follow the instructions. After successful registration you will receive a confirmation email. If you seem not to have received it, check your spam folder.
Seating will be limited. When the event reaches maximum capacity, aspiring registrants should sign up for the waiting list in case seats become available. Sign-ups by those who have not paid by Oct. 25 will be annulled. RASBJ members enjoy priority as a membership benefit. Regrets in advance if you cannot be accommodated. Do you want to become an RASBJ member and improve your chances of attending popular events such as this? Please sign up at rasbj.glueup.cn/org/rasbeijing/memberships/
Members of partner RAS Branches: Please register 72 hours in advance to allow time for membership verification. You'll receive emails regarding payment and registration; please check your spam folder to ensure you see all RASBJ details.
REFUNDS POLICY: Attendees will be refunded in full if RASBJ cancels the event.
