China in Ten Words

Yu Hua examines the changes that have shaped China over the past few decades, centering his narrative on the concept of disparity. He begins by sharing a memory from his adolescence during the Cultural Revolution, a time marked by repression and scarcity. Yu Hua recounts how a shy classmate, once the meekest member of their gang, underwent a dramatic transformation after inappropriately touching a girl’s breasts during a fight. This incident, which the classmate recounted with a sense of pride and fulfillment, imbued him with a newfound courage that propelled him to become the gang’s fearless leader.

Yu Hua then discusses the material deprivation that characterized the 1970s, an era when food and clothing were strictly rationed, and he and his classmates, fueled by revolutionary zeal, would mercilessly confiscate oil coupons from peasants attempting to sell them illegally to make ends meet. He recounts an incident when they viciously beat a young peasant, leaving him bloody and distraught, for trying to sell coupons to finance his wedding. The peasant, who had borrowed most of the coupons from relatives and whose family had forgone oil for months to save the rest, was forced to write a confession in his own blood. Yu Hua expresses deep remorse for his actions.

Shifting his focus to the present day, Yu Hua exposes the stark disparities that have emerged as a consequence of China’s rapid development. He juxtaposes the extravagant lifestyles of the wealthy, epitomized by the proliferation of luxury brands and the insatiable appetite for high-end goods, with the abject poverty endured by those struggling to survive on the margins of society. Yu Hua illustrates this chasm with stories of families pushed to the brink of despair, such as an unemployed couple whose young daughter, unable to bear the shame of asking for money to see a doctor, took her own life, and a jobless husband and wife whose inability to afford a banana for their son drove the father to suicide. Yu Hua also critiques the indifference displayed by some segments of Chinese society towards this pervasive inequality, citing a student’s callous remark during a talk in Vancouver that money is not the sole determinant of happiness.

Yu Hua further explores disparity by highlighting the discrepancy between China’s status as the world’s second-largest economy and its relatively low per capita income, a contradiction that underscores the uneven distribution of wealth within the country. He also contrasts the vastly different dreams and aspirations held by Chinese children from divergent backgrounds, ranging from a Beijing boy’s wish for his own Boeing jet to a Northwest girl’s humble desire for a simple toy.

Yu Hua concludes his essay with an anecdote that encapsulates the desperation born of poverty and the capacity for empathy in the face of adversity. He recounts the story of a kidnapped boy in a southern Chinese city who, upon his rescue, pled with the police to release his impoverished kidnappers, recognizing the despair that drove them to commit such a crime.