[Moment in Peking] by Lin Yutang is a book set in the early decades of the 20th century in China. The novel follows the life of Yao Mulan (last name, first name) and her relatives and friends through the turbulent decades before and following the fall of the Qing Dynasty all the way to the beginning of WWII, with the Sino-Japanese war.

I really enjoyed this book. Sadly it took me absolutely forever to find it. Unfortunately, this great book is out of print. There is a tv series starring Vicki Zhao Wei. The tv series is actually quite different from the book, but the book is better because it's less soap-operay??. The only way to get this book is through ebay, another online seller, or bookstores that sell used books. Also, the book is about 700 pages long, so this is only for serious readers.