China In Ten Words
Yu Hua is a grand master of subversion. Just as his title 鈥� China In Ten Words 鈥� promises, Yu 鈥渃ompress[es] the endless chatter of China today into ten simple words ... to finally clear a path through the social complexities and staggering contrasts of contemporary China.鈥� Through laconic reduction, Yu exposes a China far beyond current Western assumptions based on adoptable baby girls, fears about Chinese 眉berstudents out-performing America鈥檚 own, and the looming US-to-China foreign debt.
Yu is well known for his internationally award-winning novels 鈥� including 鈥淭o Live鈥� (which became a lush Zhang Yimou film), 鈥淐hronicle of a Blood Merchant,鈥� and 鈥淏rothers鈥� 鈥� but 鈥淐hina in Ten Words鈥� is his first nonfiction work in English translation.
Here, he combines history, sociopolitical analysis, economic observations, with his own personal experiences to illustrate for readers the contrast between the deprivation that defined the Cultural Revolution of his youth and the extravagance of contemporary China.
Yu begins almost nostalgically with 鈥渢he first words [he] mastered鈥�: 鈥渢he people.鈥� During Mao鈥檚 rule, 鈥渢he people鈥� projected power and gravitas, from Mao鈥檚 directive to 鈥溾�榮erve the people,鈥欌�� to the People鈥檚 Republic of China, to the country鈥檚 most important newspaper, People鈥檚 Daily. Three decades later, Yu muses, 鈥淚 can鈥檛 think of another expression in the modern Chinese language that is such an anomaly 鈥� ubiquitous yet somehow invisible.鈥� In a new China 鈥渨here money is king,鈥� 鈥榯he people鈥� have been 鈥渄enuded of meaning by Chinese realities.鈥�
Yet even more than 鈥榯he people,鈥� 鈥渢he word that has lost the most value the fastest during the last thirty years ... would surely have to be 鈥榣eader,鈥欌�� Yu鈥檚 word #2. 鈥淢any years after the 1976 death of a genuine leader鈥� 鈥� Chairman Mao 鈥� today鈥檚 Chinese are in the midst of cutthroat competition for mere survival: 鈥渢he strong prey on the weak, people enrich themselves through brute force and deception, and the meek and humble suffer while the bold and unscrupulous flourish.鈥澛犅�
Yu balances such vehemence with three chapters of personal reflection on 鈥渞eading鈥� (word #3), 鈥渨riting鈥� (word #4), and 鈥淟u Xun鈥� (word #5). In 鈥渞eading,鈥� Yu recalls the oppressive scarcity of books during the Cultural Revolution only to have books become worth less than wastepaper three decades later.
In 鈥渨riting,鈥� he shares some of his own literary history, from his early career as a small-town dentist to his aspirations toward 鈥渁 loafer鈥檚 life in the cultural center鈥� as a writer; he laughs off the critical praise he eventually receives for his 鈥減lain narrative language鈥� as little more than the result of his untrained, limited vocabulary.
Yu confesses to his youthful disrespect toward China鈥檚 most influential 20th-century prose writer, Lu Xun, who was revered then reduced to a mere 鈥渃atchphrase.鈥� As a mature, acclaimed author himself, Yu is finally able to recognize and reclaim Lu Xun鈥檚 literary potency.
Continuing on through the second half of his 10 words, Yu鈥檚 sharp gaze proves unrelenting. He traces the evolving violence of 鈥渞evolution鈥� (word #6) over a span of 30 years, and examines the resulting 鈥渄isparity鈥� (word #7) between those who absconded with ill-gotten luxuries and those who remain trapped in 鈥渄esolate ruins.鈥� He captures the ruthless determination of 鈥済rassroots鈥� (word #8) citizens, 鈥渨ho have nothing to lose, since they began with nothing at all,鈥� who don鈥檛 allow concerns about morality or legality to obstruct their unwavering path toward financial gains.
When such ends seem to justify any means 鈥� methods employed can be described by words such as 鈥渃opycat鈥� (#9) and 鈥渂amboozle鈥� (#10) 鈥� then 鈥淗arvard Communications鈥� can use President Obama to sell their 鈥淏lockberry Whirlwind 9500,鈥� and the penthouse allegedly leased by Bill Gates during the Beijing Olympics will 鈥渃onvert an obscure housing development into an apartment complex famous all over the country.鈥�
Chapter by chapter, word by word, Yu drolly pulls off the proverbial white gloves, exposing one finger at a time until the guilty hands are stripped bare. Unblinking, Yu muses at the 鈥測ou-can鈥檛-make-this-stuff-up鈥� reality that is today鈥檚 China: 鈥淗ere, where everything is tinged with the mysterious logic of absurdist fiction, Kafka or Borges might feel quite at home.鈥� As a consummate author, Yu contemplates 鈥渨rit[ing] such a story myself. Bamboozletown might be its title.鈥澛�
Terry Hong writes , a book review blog for the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Program.
Join the Monitor's book discussion on and .
