|
|
|
|
|
|
Resources |
|
|
|
In Trouble Again
| Article
# : |
16635 |
|
|
Section : |
BOOK WORLD
|
| Issue
Date : |
10 / 1989 |
4,401 Words |
| Author
: |
Michael S. Duke
Michael S. Duke is professor and head of the Department of
Asian Studies at the University of British Columbia. |
"Bai Hua is in trouble again." Those are the first words I heard Bai Hua say. He had just come into the lounge of the Jin Shan Peterochemical Company guest house where the Chinese Writers Association was holding its First International Conference on Contemporary Chinese Literature. Jin Shan is a small company town a two-hour bus ride--down narrow, bumpy roads--from Shanghai.
As Bai Hua came into the room, a number of Chinese writers and foreign scholars were sitting around a large, rectangular table drinking beer and getting acquainted or renewing old friendships. Leo Ou-fan Lee and Howard Goldblatt were there from the United States. Wang Zengqi, a writer some fifteen years older than Bai Hua, and several other Chinese writers were present at the time. One of them said something about Bai Hua as he came through the door. It was a jocular remark about his "stirring up trouble again" and was intended as a compliment to a friend and fellow literary reformer.
Bai Hua heard his name mentioned and made his reply with a self-depreciating smile as he sat down at the table with the rest of us. His self-deprecation was poor camouflage for his obvious satisfaction at being hailed once again for being "in trouble." Someone else then went on to make the half-joking, half-flattering remark that "Bai Hua wouldn't be Bai Hua if he wasn't in trouble."
There was no Second International Conference on Contemporary Chinese Literature. Scheduled to be held this past august at Peking University, it was canceled due to the Tiananmen massacre. The Jin Shan conference was the brainchild of Bai Hua's friend and fellow literary reformer Wang Meng, who was minister
... (1999 of 25897 Characters)
Read Full Article
|
|
