This novel is an attempt to capture the feel of a time and place in fiction. Particular difficulties arose around the issue of romanization, as different styles of transliteration have been in play at different times in Hong Kong’s history. Rather than standardize to any one system, I have chosen to spell Chinese transliterations idiosyncratically, in favour of what feels right—that is, in favour of the spellings that evoke time, place, and character. These are often, though not always, Wade-Giles spellings. Though pinyin spellings are more accepted these days, Wade-Giles was the accepted mode for the milieu addressed in this novel. Hence, “Chungking” rather than “Chongqing,” “Nanking” rather than “Nanjing.”

In terms of character names, for Chinese names, I’ve followed the family-name-first order, e.g., Cheung Chiu-Wai, where Cheung is the family name and Chiu-Wai is the given name. Many names in Hong Kong, however, include both Chinese and Western given names. In this case, I’ve followed the convention of listing the Western given name first, then the family name, then the Chinese given name, e.g., Violet Mah Wai-Man. All-Western names use family-name-last order, e.g., Kathy Duffy. Chinese names with only Western given names use family-name-last order, e.g., Sutton Ngai. Some Chinese names also use the family-name-last order if they are historical figures who are best known that way, e.g., Shouson Chow.

Note that it is traditional for married women in Chinese families to keep their maiden names. Hence, Kwan Siu-Wai still uses the family name Kwan even though she is married to Lee Cho-Lam. Note also the tradition of uxorilocal marriage, which allows a man to marry into his wife’s family and take the wife’s family name, if both parties agree. This is the case for Grandfather Cheung, who marries into the family of his wife, Cheung Wan-See.

In Chinese systems of naming, children of the same generation share a name with all the others of the same gender and generation in the same family, and have a personal name of their own. Hence Tak-Wing and Tak-Tam.

When they are speaking, thinking, or writing letters, my characters take up terms that may strike readers as dated—for example, “Negro” rather than “Black,” “coolie” rather than “labourer.” In this context, I hope readers will not find these terms offensive, but will recognize the need in fiction to be accurate (within reason) to the speech conventions, ways of knowing, and habits of people inhabiting a particular historical time and place.

All of the characters in this novel are fictionalized, including the ones based on historical figures. While for the most part I’ve attempted to stay true to historical trajectories, some have been altered in the service of narrative logic and fictional truth.