China Witness

Starred review from December 1, 2008
Beijing-born, London-based writer Xinran, traveling across the expanse of the Chinese Republic over the years, sought out those who had witnessed the rise of communism more than half a century ago. The result is this stirring, startlingly honest account of life under Chairman Mao and the current reformers revamping the socialist state. If the reader wants proof of how resilient and tough the Chinese people are, witness the incredible stories related by Lin Xiangbei, a loyal Communist later branded a counterrevolutionary, or Teacher Sun and her husband, former political prisoners, or Mr. Changzheng, a survivor of the infamous Long March. Xinran (The Good Women of China
) does not leave out the average people who were the backbone of the republic, such as an acrobat, an oil explorer, a tea-house news singer, all of whom reveal a rich, multifaceted national history that celebrated individualism as well as collective achievement. Along with a series of love letters from comrades on the political front, the author puts a bow on these candid interviews with a final set of astute observations in an especially noteworthy book. Illus., maps.

Starred review from February 15, 2009
Theres an art to oral history. Xinran, radiating kindness and keenly sensitive to the profound reticence of Chinese men and women who survived the harshest ordeals of Communist tyranny, asks small, safe questions to gently unlock matters of historic significance. Apopular radio journalist while still in China (she now lives in London), Xinran gathered the previously untold stories of Chinese women in The Good Women of China (2002). In this epoch-defining collection, Xinran overcomes myriad obstacles to meet with elders all across China and coax forth never before shared recollections of the paradoxes and brutality of mid-twentieth-century Chinese Communism. Speaking with people of diverse backgrounds, includinga shoe mender, a renowned acrobat, and a policeman, Xinran has collected unimaginable stories of broken family life, labor camps, and factories, and arresting insights into such long-forbidden subjects as the Double-Gun Woman, a legendary revolutionary; the worlds largest prison, in the Gobi Desert province of Xinjiang; and the Long March. There is epic suffering here but also astonishing strength and pride, humor and forgiveness. Xinran has created a map of the Chinese spirit in this many-voiced, life-affirming history, redeeming pain and preserving truth.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2009, American Library Association.)