New Chinese writings

Press, 2 June 1984, Page 20

New Chinese writings

Mao’s Harvest. Voices From China's New Generation. Edited by Helen F. Siu and Zelda Stern. Oxford University Press, 1983. 231 pp. $33.25.

(Reviewed by

John Wilson)

Events in China continue to perplex many people. This anthology goes a long way towards dispelling such perplexity. For many hundreds of years literature has had an intimate and distinctive relationship to politics in China. Now, to these works of literature a non-Chinese can turn for a better understanding of the political surface of China. That in itself says much about what changed in China in 1949, and what did not. The short stories and poems in this collection were written by younger Chinese — of what the editors call, somewhat awkwardly, “the Mao generation” — who have grown up since 1949 and who took advantage of the slight thaw in China in 1979-81 to write with greater freedom and on a greater range of subjects than are permitted by the canons of “orthodox” socialist literature. They are not anti-socialist works, but convincingly depict the personal and emotional perplexities and complications of life in socialist China. Western readers will be impressed by the “common humanity” of people under a different social system which these stories and poems reveal, a

humanity which no political system, it seems, can change. It would be wrong, therefore, to read these works solely for what they reveal of China’s recent political or social history. They may be sometimes awkward or maudlin, and are steeped in politics in a way some Western readers may feel disqualifies them as literature. But they all have, at least, some qualities of real literature, including authentic characterisation and illuminating images which expand the reader’s understanding of human behaviour and the human condition. The works are preceded by a general introduction which sets the works in their political context and which is one of the best succinct accounts available of the Cultural Revolution and its aftermath. Each section also has a few paragraphs of introduction. Specific references in the texts which might be obscure to those not familiar with certain aspects of modern Chinese life are footnoted. This editorial assistance does not obtrude on the works themselves, but makes them more accessible by smoothing the way of the reader. This book is among the handful which should be read by those who, while not aspiring to become specialists on China since 1949, are concerned to know where China has been and where it is heading. That the works are also moving and worthy literature is an added bonus.