Life has a funny way of pulling disparate elements all together suddenly into one neat package. First, we had the emergency landing of our airplane, its nose cone and propellers whapped by a hotdog of a Chinese pilot. Then, the sorry -- very sorry -- letter followed up this week by the meeting in Beijing with both Chinese and Americans playing the tough card, while we all wait to see just how tough a critter our president may prove to be.

Today we went to a luncheon given by the Center for Security in Washington to see Paul Wolfowitz, newly appointed deputy secretary of defense, pop in between two meetings to award the 2001 "The Mightier Pen" award to Mark Helprin, distinguished novelist and Wall Street Journal columnist. Having served in the Israeli Defense Force's infantry and air arms, problems of war, peace and defense often come up in his writing. He also was an adviser in defense and foreign relations to Republican presidential candidate Robert Dole in 1996.

Set at our places were printouts of his last year's article -- March 20, 2000 -- from the National Review: "China on the March," which of course was written long before all this new hullabaloo broke forth, but extraordinarily appropriate, and even prescient. If you don't think we have something major to worry about over China, track down this article and start thinking deep and hard.

Compressing Helprin's main points, we come to this: "China understands that the source of its modernization and empowerment will initially be the West, from which it must take what it needs. It understands and anticipates a lag time of 50 to 75 years. Its task is to win the next war, whenever that may be, and its determination is not to be dismissed."

Helprin buttresses his case with many extremely pertinent and disturbing economic and military figures. He comes to the conclusion that if China is to be the great challenge of the 21st century, the United States must at least double the strength of its navy. He blasts the Clinton administration for being "capitulationist by action and by default," adding defining adjectives like "cowardly, craven, and venal" for Clinton and company.

He does leave hope in his article things can change if America is roused. He wound up his speech at the luncheon, hoping we were now facing a time to again build up our defenses, without specifically addressing what may be going on in Beijing. The mood, incidentally, at the luncheon among its guests was definitely playing it tough with Beijing.

All of which brings me around to the book I found earlier last week at Borders, reading it as China led the news every day: "Death of a Red Heroine" (Soho Press, Inc) by Qiu Xiaolong, who's been living here since 1989. Born in Shanghai, he was selected for membership in the Chinese Writers' Association and published poetry, translations and criticism in his native land. Currently a professor at the University of Washington, he teaches Chinese literature there.

"Death of a Red Heroine" was nominated for an Edgar for best mystery novel and, of course, it has all the requisite ingredients: Murder of a beautiful woman, sex, suspense, clever detective work -- but it has so very much more. Interested in China? Then is this ever the book for you, for author Qiu Xiaolong sets his story in Shanghai, the year after Tiannamen Square, during a time when, economically, life was easing up in the country for its people.

Young Chief Inspector Chen is head of the special case squad of the Homicide Division and, in the course of an investigation into the murder of a model worker, you get to see how people at all levels of Chinese society live, the role that politics play and the often ominous effect they can have on individual lives. Chief Inspector Chen -- the author perhaps drawing on his own life experiences -- writes poetry on the side, having some of his work published.

One of his poems happens to have the word "square" in it. An Old Guard superior, who has his own concerns that Chen is rising too fast in the police department, writes a letter to another well-placed Old Guard friend to hint the use of "square" was very suspect. A reference to Tiannamen Square perhaps? Along with trying to discover the murderer, we find ourselves getting worried lest the Old Guard elements may thwart our hero. The author makes all his career moves and worries extremely convincing and vivid.

You also get generous -- even mouthwatering -- discussions of Chinese cooking plus citations from Chinese verse from centuries long past. Qiu Xiaolong brings the city and life of Shanghai wonderfully alive. All the auxiliary characters each have their own individuality. And there is humor as well. It's a real gem.

You can read it, of course, just as a first-rate, exciting detective novel. But, you'll also get an excellent look at what Chinese life is like for its people, at least for its city dwellers. Not a book to miss, above all, right now.