Mr. China's Son: A Villager's Life

Rating:
Summary: A Village Peasant Tells His Story
Review: I think I vaguely remember seeing this book at some point in the States, before I moved to China. But if I had not walked into the author's coffee shop in Dali (Yunnan Province), I probably would not have read this book.

This book is unique in several respects. First of all, it is written in English by a man who is not a native speaker, using the English he learned in University. That is quite an achievement, given the fact that he was a village peasant who did not have much money, and spent most of his life working in the fields. Another very useful feature of this book is the fact that He Liyi was detained as part of the Anti-Rightist campaign, rather than the Cultural Revolution. He was all but untouched by the Cultural Revolution, but the Anti-Rightist campaign affected him profoundly. I have long been interested in the connection between the two events, because disdain of and even abhorrence for the Cultural Revolution is established orthodoxy in China now, but I am not sure China has ever quite come to terms with the Anti-Rightist campaign.

His detention seems to have broken his spirit. He relays a relationship with three women in this book. The first was the girlfriend he almost married, the second was the "ignorant" village girl he did marry, and soon divorced, and the third was the peasant woman who ultimately became his wife. The first woman disappears early in the book, but the other two figure almost throughout. Only one could be his wife, but the other remained his friend, and the warmth of their friendship underlines the pathos of a life lived in the crucible of a world gone mad.

I was mad at him for marrying his first wife. Then I was mad at him for divorcing her. Then I was mad at him for refusing to take her back. My sense of pathos was brought full circle when he finally married a peasant woman and basically became her servant. Slowly the realization hit me that he really had been "emasculated" by the trauma he had suffered. I have certainly read stories of people who went through greater suffering than he did during his time of confinement. But it is not so much what he suffered, but the complete humiliation of his position, and what it did to his spirit.

Mr. China's Son is a good writer. He writes in a simple, personable style that is fun to read, and very absorbing. The book is full of "Chinglish" expressions, which can be a bit misleading if you don't know a little bit of Chinese. For example, he talks about the point when their son becomes a "big school" student. He gets this expression from the literal translation of the characters. The Chinese word for "university" is daxue. The first character means "big," and the second character means "school." So in a literal sense, the term "big-school" is an accurate translation, but a bit misleading. For native speakers of Mandarin, this term does not produce a picture in the mind's eye of a big school. Rather, it induces a picture of a university, because it is, in fact, the Chinese word for university. The equivalent word in English which produces the same picture for native speakers is, of course, the word "university." So using the term "big-school" makes them sound a little bit like country bumpkins, which they were, but not for that reason.

Still, I do like the Chinglish expressions. They add an interesting dimension to the book, which would be missing if they had been edited out. And the folksy style of Mr. China's writing produces a work which is unique in the English language. It actually becomes a contribution to the language, because he has found interesting ways to phrase things that native speakers may not have thought about, but which are perfectly "legal" in the grammatical sense of the term.

This book is published in the United States, and I don't think it is generally available in China. While I was in Dali, I recommended it to a young Chinese lady, and told her how to get to the coffee shop. She went there, but they would not sell her a copy. They did not actually say that she could not buy it because she was Chinese, but they told her that the book was published in the United States. In other words, it is published for foreigners, not Chinese people. My suspicion is that they are being allowed to sell the book out of their store, as long as they only sell it to foreigners. I don't know that for sure; I am just guessing, but I suspect that this is the case.

I would recommend this book to anyone who has an interest in that dark period of China's history. But I want to stress that this book is not just another "complaint" about the evils of the Cultural Revolution. It is a window into the nature of village life in China. Some of it of course, deals with the particulars with the Bai minority culture. But much of it is just a simple story about what it is like to live as a village peasant in China. Read it. It will give you a unique view of the lifestyle of folks who are usually disinclined to write about themselves.

Rating:
Summary: A story that takes you through a LOT!
Review: I thoroughly enjoy reading about Chinese life. I learn quite a bit about a life away from home! I prefer these types of books that whisk me to different parts of the world, chronologically, socially, and culturally. The lives that other people experience elsewhere are fascinating, and one can become engulfed in the stories. I feel as if the author sat down and TOLD me all about his life, something I didn't know about. Like I had an interesting friend over for lunch. This was a superb book to the end!

Rating:
Summary: A Humble and Kind Man
Review: I was travelling around Yunnan reading my guidebook and came across an entry for a small cafe run by a local author. I wandered into the cafe and met with the author. He was very kind. He offered me a drink and we sat and talked about his cafe and his book. I was fascinated at the posters on the walls and the reviews for his book so I had to buy a copy and find out myself.

I have deep admiration for Mr. He. He suffered so much and yet perservered. I can't find any palpable animosity in his writing toward those who mistreated him. It's just amazing how humble and kind this man is.

If you are interested in Chinese culture, communism, or the Cultural Revolution, you should check out Mr. China's Son. I hardly read but this book really got me on many levels.

Rating:
Summary: A most moving account of a villager's life in China
Review: Mr He Liyi has written one of the most moving accounts of life during the cultural revolution in China. From his normal life of a government servant through the indignitiy moving to the countryside to live as a peasant, his reform through labour and his utter determination to learn English. He Liyi's writing style is simple and personal, the book was written by him in English, no small feat for someone living in the middle of China and with little formal English training. I met He Liyi in the small town of Dali where he lives by chance in the post office. Myself and friend spent many hours at his little cafe in Dali enjoying his company and his stories. For someone whom China has done no favours during his life, he is determined to make things better and continue living his life to the full. I cannot recommend this book highly enough.

Rating:
Summary: A story that takes you through a LOT!
Review: The most remarkable thing that struck me about this book was the forever positive outlook Mr. He continued to have through his many trials of being and intellectual during the Cultural Rev. And an English speaking one at that. He was ill suited to the farm life he was banished to endure but his peasant wife (arranged marriage) stood by him while his true love was lost through circumstances beyond anyones control. It a story of survival that anyman could be faced with and one wonders how we would have fared. Mr. He and I have been friends and correspondents for over l0 yrs. and I have been to his home in Dali and Kunming. He is ever the positive, smiling gentleman that comes across through his pages and a credit to cross cultural friendships. A must read!

Rating:
Summary: A small man in stature, humble but with a presence to behold
Review: This book conveys so many emotions, from all of this one is left almost numb. But having met the man, He LiYi, I can say that this book is a mirror of the man in real life. All that comes out in this book is so exact, in his mannerisms and gentle voice. He is so unassuming and modest, and does not appear to be capable of such strength and determination. This book lets you see that we are all capable of making a difference if only small. I had no knowledge of this book untill I visited his cafe in Dali, I purchased the book directly from him and now pass it to all who are interested. A truly powerful book full of what these people, the Bai, have had to endure at the hands of the ever present "Mr China".