This paper explores the connection between personal memory and national history in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "Our Orphans", and analyzes the importance of Shanghai's historical context and international relations in understanding the work. Existing research often focuses on explaining the basic historical facts of the Shanghai International Settlement, while neglecting the influence of the specific historical context of the Shanghai International Settlement on the key characters, plot, and critical themes of the novel. The article is based on the real Shanghai history reference book, notes, and initial draft of Shi Hei's notes, and elaborates on the necessity of a deep understanding of the history of the Shanghai Concession and related historical figures for accurate interpretation of the novel. Examining the process of novel creation helps to reveal the root of the "evil" that Shi Hei aims to express and the relationship between the British Empire's intervention in international affairs, as well as the writing context and profound significance around the theme of "reason and emotion".

The deleted detective stories in the original manuscript

In 'Our Orphans', Banksy's first person narrative is considered to have a' narrative failure ', particularly in his disjointed description of the 1936 Cornyn Town children's murder case. British scholar Benin pointed out that there is a lack of causal connection between the disappearance of Banksy's parents and the 1937 Japanese invasion of China, indicating a loophole in narrative strategy. Kazuo Ishiguro provided a detailed description of the "Koning Mystery Case" in the initial draft of the novel, but ultimately deleted nearly 110 pages because he found it impossible to coexist the cardboard characters in traditional detective novels with the "real" characters in the story. The deleted "Koning Mystery Case" tells the story of Stephen, the 12-year-old son of the Bledsorp family, who was kidnapped and his brother was killed. Banks eventually uncovered the truth: Stephen killed his brother because he couldn't tolerate his bullying, and his mother fabricated the story of the kidnapping to protect him. Stephen later became a helper of the tyrant, and after capturing him, Banks realized that rational logic does not serve kindness, but serves self-interest. Shi Hei demonstrated Banksy's transition from rationality to sensibility and his emotional resonance with Stephen through the "Koning Mystery Case". Banksy ultimately recognized his mother through emotional identification rather than rational logic, distancing himself from the imperial logic represented by Uncle Philip. Shi Hei criticized the British detective Philip and the imperial logic represented by him, who acted under the guise of reason, rather than the obvious atrocities of Nazi or Japanese invasion of China. Only by connecting the past and present through emotions and empathetic cognition can we discern good and evil in the ever-changing world.

The Shanghai villain in the notebook

When creating 'Our Orphans', Kazuo Ishiguro conducted in-depth research on the social conditions of the Shanghai Concession in the 1920s and 1930s, especially the history related to the leaders of the' Green Gang ', Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong. He originally planned to expose the hypocritical logic of imperialism through Du Yuesheng, but he finally expressed this theme through Philip, an Englishman. Shi Hei referred to Wickman's "Shanghai Police History 1927-1937" and used newly collected information to recreate the history of the Shanghai Concession from the perspective of the leaders of the Green Gang. Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong played an important role in the blurred boundary between policing and crime, and their influence penetrated into various levels of society. Shi Hei constructed the core plot of Banksy's parents' disappearance in Shanghai through these historical figures and events, and explored the connection between imperialist rational logic and the source of evil in the novel. He ultimately did not directly use Du Yuesheng as a character in the novel, but created the character of Philip to depict the concealment of "evil" and reveal the truth of the world's chaos to Banksy through him.

A mystery reconstructed from history and imagination

In depth exploration of the character of Uncle Philip and his connection with Shanghai in Kazuo Ishiguro's novel "Our Orphans" reveals that the prototypes of Philip and Shanghai detective Kun are Du Yuesheng and Huang Jinrong, respectively. By incorporating historical figures and events into the novel, Shi Hei constructs complex historical and emotional clues, making it difficult for readers who are unfamiliar with this period of history to fully understand the truth behind the disappearance of Banksy's parents. The deleted "Koning" section in the original manuscript is crucial for understanding the Banksy parents' disappearance case and Philip's dual detective identity. Philip's role is complex and changeable. He is not only an Englishman, but also the operator of the charity "Holy Tree Society". At the same time, he betrayed the revolutionaries, colluded with the warlords and the Kuomintang government, and contributed to the monopoly of the opium trade. Banksy's father was mistakenly identified as a revolutionary and kidnapped, but in reality, he ran away from home because he couldn't meet his wife's expectations. Philip secretly sold Banksy's mother to warlord Wang Ku in exchange for cooperation and Banksy's upbringing in England. Through this narrative technique, Shi Hei criticized Philip's historical prototype and the actions of the British Empire during the two World Wars, pointing out the constituent elements of evil in the modern world, including lack of accountability, apathy and rationality, and preemptive strikes born of doubt. Shi Hei's works typically explore the balance between reason and emotion, as well as the impact of this balance on individuals and society. Our Orphans "marks Shi Hei's expansion of criticism of" blind rationality "from individuals to social collectives, as well as his attention to global and all human issues. Through Banksy's character, Shi Hei demonstrates a shift from logical rationality to empathetic and emotional cognition, as well as a reflection on classic Western detective narratives.