“China Night:” Jiang Yun, Li Rui, Liu Jun (Xi Chuan), Hualing Nieh Engle
The tape begins while the readings are already in progress. Jiang Yun is speaking, but what she is reading is inaudible. After Jiang Yun reads in Chinese, Christopher Merrill reads the same work in English. Her work is about women being executed in China. The next speaker is Li Rui who reads from his novel Silver City in Chinese and then a translator reads the work in English. Li Rui reads about the Chinese experience of suffering and struggle in the past century and how rational people get stuck in irrational situations. Liu Jun reads two of his poems “Premonition” and “Twilight” in both Chinese and English. Liu Jun then reads an excerpt from his longer poem “What the Eagle Says,” but he only reads this in English. Liu Jun then reads from the poems “Salute” and “The Monster” in Chinese and English. Christopher Merrill introduces Hualing Nieh Engle as the next speaker and he also presents her with a framed copy of the poem “A Story that Could Be True.” Hualing Nieh Engle reads from her novel Two Women of China, Mulberry and Peach a fable on the cultural and political split personality of China. The story is told in the form of letters and diaries and divided into four parts. After the first hour and a half of the recording, the speakers take questions from the audience.
In: International Writing Program Archive | Fiction | Poetry
Authors: Yun Jian , Rui Li, Jun Liu, Hualing Nieh Engle
Date Recorded: September 14, 2002
Program: --
Format: reading
Contributors: Christopher Merrill
Topics: Executions; war; revolution; China; death