Beginning ~ with a temper tantrum

Ming: A Novel of Seventeenth-Century China ~ by Robert B. Oxnam, 1994, fiction (China)

"I won't wear ir.  I won't!  It looks stupid!"

I've had this book on my shelf for several years, and — if my bookmark is any indication — at some point I have already read (and forgotten) the first two chapters.  I know already, from that same first page, that the speaker of these words is a boy named Longyan.  His mother was amused, but tried "to maintain her stern demeanor."

How could you punish a three-year-old, looking so impish in his underwear, a tiny rascal who charmed all the ladies in the red chamber?  Besides, time was too short for a real scolding.  She had less than ten minutes to make Longyan polite and presentable.

I think it's time for me to find out what's going on here.

Gilion at Rose City Reader hosts Book Beginnings on Fridays.
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