By Jay Scott Kanes
HONG KONG -- As the world’s most populous nation, China has plenty of grim history and many stories to tell, sometimes against the wishes of its Communist leaders.
Sharing personal experiences, including some (like the difficulties of wartime and the Cultural Revolution) long deemed “sensitive”, may be the best way to build understanding between generations in China and between nations.
That’s the heartfelt message from Xinran Xue, a Chinese-born author now based in London. Her fifth book, China Witness: Voices From a Silent Generation, appeared recently.
“My book makes a tiny hole in the big wall that’s China,” Xinran told an admiring audience at the Hong Kong University. “But even with a tiny hole, just needle-sized, there’s a chance that people can see each other. No matter what’s good or bad in the past, as a rule of today, we must respect it for the sake of the future.”
In China, where the government tightly controls information, most people refuse to discuss unpleasant memories or to tell stories as they really happened. Parents and grandparents share little about personal and family histories.
As one student told the author, “I don’t know about their stories. We never have that conversation.”
Another added, “If they tell me, I will be interested in their stories.”
Xinran says, “There’s a huge generation gap. As Chinese, we’re taught never to question anyone above us in age, rank or the classroom…. The older generations went through so much, but didn’t pass on the anger and sadness to the next generation. That’s part of why China can stand up and succeed. Without this past, we wouldn’t have the foundation for today’s China.
“Not many young Chinese really understand what happened to the past two generations,” she said. “It’s not their fault. If you look at Chinese history books, about 80 per cent is about the time before 1950. Only 20 per cent deals with China’s modern history. Maybe the Cultural Revolution gets just one page.”
China Witness emerges from the author’s two decades of research about the country of her birth. In 2006, she traveled with a team of students to interview senior citizens in 12 provinces.
During the Cultural Revolution, many historical records burned. Except for rare projects like China Witness, true stories from the seniors who lived through wars and tumult will be lost forever.
Xinran contacted hundreds of worthy interview subjects. All turned her down until she “sweet-talked” some into changing their minds. The intriguing results led to fascinating chapters:
-- Yao Popo, Medicine Lady;
-- Love With Double-Gun Woman;
-- World’s Biggest Prison For Prisoners of War;
-- Pioneers of China’s Oil;
-- Chinese National Grade One Acrobatic Performer;
-- News Singer and the Oldest Teahouses;
-- The Oldest Lantern Makers;
-- A Witness to the Long March;
-- The Woman General Born in America; and
-- Shoe Repair Woman.
“We got something – not just shocking or sad stories, but a lot of pride and a better understanding of past generations,” Xinran said. After writing more than 800,000 words, she spent months slashing down to about 300,000 words.
Born in Beijing 50 years ago, Xinran lived with her family until separated at age seven by the Cultural Revolution. Much later, she became a radio-host. On a talk-show, Words On the Night Breeze, she invited women to call and share their life stories.
In 1997, Xinran traveled to London, where she lives with her husband, literary agent Toby Eady. There, she began to write down the stories she’d heard, leading to her first book, The Good Women of China, published in 30-plus languages.
Her other books, all non-fiction, include: Sky Burial (soon to be a film) about a woman’s search for a lost husband; Miss Chopsticks, about migrant workers coping in China’s big cities; and What the Chinese Don’t Eat, a collection of newspaper columns first published in Britain.
The Good Women of China briefly secured a publisher on the Chinese mainland. Then Xinran’s books were declared “too sensitive”.
Xinran visited Hong Kong after promoting China Witness in New Zealand and Australia. “It’s the right time for more people to understand China,” she said.
“I try to build understanding between people, including different generations, and about people,” she said. “This involves knowledge about China. I want to share this passion.”
Western journalists often ask her “big questions” about democracy and human rights. “But I’m not a politician,” she said. “I’m not an expert on those topics.”
With a 5,000-year-old culture and 56 ethnic groups, China’s full of complexities. Even so, Xinran’s definite on this: “If we don’t address questions about the past, then it’s nearly impossible to understand today’s China.”
ARCHIVES
|
