Sensational adventure stories were all the rage in Shanghai in the early 20th century and Murder in the Maloo: A Tale of Old Shanghai represents an excellent example of this most popular of popular fiction categories. Translated into English and published here for the first time, this historical novel tells of the exploits of Ma Yongzhen, a martial artist and gangster who was ruthlessly murdered by rival gangs in 1879.

The story takes the reader into the world of the Shanghai gangster and the opium dens, courtesan houses, and teashops they frequented. It is very loosely based on a true story, as Ma Yongzhen was in fact an historical figure, who rode the horses of his native Shandong province and walked the streets of Shanghai in late Qing dyansty China.

The book follows Ma’s rivalry with local gangland bosses, the unscrupulous Scrofulous Bai and the ruthless opium fiend and murderous mastermind, Cheng Zimin. For much of the story, Ma Yongzhen appears to be unstoppable in his quest to dominate the Shanghai underworld, until a dastardly plan is laid to attack him unawares.

In addition to translating the novel, Paul Bevan has written an illuminating introduction and an essay that vividly describes the city of Shanghai as Ma Yongzhen would have known it. .