Media

Author Night - Xinran Xue: “China Witness: Voices from A Silent Generation”

16 Sep 2008

 

The Hong Kong University Libraries Reading Club and Swindon Book Group are excited to present to you - Ms Xinran Xue - the highly praised author of "The Good Women of China" and "Sky Burial" - at the ONLY free book talk which Ms Xue will be participating in during her tour in Hong Kong!

Xinran will be sharing with the audience regarding her newest publication - "China Witness: Voices from A Silent Generation" - an extraordinary work of oral history that illuminates the diverse ways in which the Chinese perceive and understand their own modern history.

Date:    September 17, 2008 (Wednesday)
Time:   7:30 - 9:00 pm
Venue:  Special Collections, 1/F Main Library, The University of Hong Kong, Pokfulam Road
Admission: FREE ADMISSION*

About the Book
While the West has commonly viewed the last one hundred years in China through the single narrative lens of Mao's rise and rule, the experience of this same period for the Chinese themselves has been infinitely more complex, and little understood. And perhaps no one is more capable of tapping into the true narrative of this time than Xinran, a national celebrity and beloved figure in China by virtue of her hugely popular radio show, which aired in the 1990s.

In 2005 and 2006, Xinran traveled across China seeking out the nation's grandparents and great-grandparents, the men and women who have experienced change in the modern era firsthand. In cities and remote villages, Xinran spoke with members of these generations from all tiers of society, interviewing them for the first and perhaps last time. And though most of them continue to harbor a fear of repercussions for speaking freely, they spoke to Xinran with stunning candor about their hopes, fears, and struggles, and about what they've witnessed: from the Long March to land reform, from Mao to marriage, from revolution to Westernization.

In the same way that Studs Terkel's Working and Tom Brokaw's The Greatest Generation gave us the essence of very particular times, China Witness gives us the essence of modern China--a portrait more intimate, nuanced, and revelatory than any we have had before.

About HKU Libraries Reading Club
HKU Libraries Reading Club was established in 2001 to promote the cultural and intellectual life of Hong Kong.  The Reading Club sponsors a series of book talks featuring leading members of the Hong Kong intellectual community. At these book talks, we invite interesting people to talk about books that interest them.