The White Tiger (Nathan novel)

The White Tiger is a novel by Robert Stuart Nathan, first published in 1987. The story takes place in China, after the rule of Mao Zedong. The book is divided into four parts, the titles of which are Chinese proverbs.

Plot summary

Lu Hong, a policeman in Beijing finds himself in trouble after the death in strange circumstances of his mentor, Sun Sheng. Sheng was a friend of Hong's parents, and originally met them during the Long March with Mao Zedong from 1935 to 1948. Hong suspects that something is hidden behind his mentor's sudden death. He begins to look for the true story of what happened forty years ago, when his parents, Sheng and the Three Tigers were in the city of Yan'an with Mao Zedong. However, the silence of people who know, and subsequent deaths, impede his investigation.

Main characters

• Lu Hong, policeman
• Sun Sheng, mentor of Hong
• Liu Chan, Hong's assistant
• Cui Chun, Hong's mother
• Lu Yaomin, Hong's father
• Ma Sufei, widow of Sun Sheng
• Wei Ye, director of Hong
• Peter Ostrander, an American doctor

Locations

• Beijing
• Guangzhou
• Zhoukoudian, an archaeological site where the Peking Man was discovered
• Nanning