From the Publisher:
Through the life of a remarkable woman—based on pioneering stage director Sun Weishi (1921–1968)—this novel immerses the reader in the multifaceted history of China’s Communist Party.
As a promising young actress, Sun Weishi made the critical decision to pursue her studies in Moscow—with the blessing of her influential adoptive father, Zhou Enlai, and Mao himself. The valuable insights she gained there during World War II would enable her to excel back in China, where she produced works by Chekhov and Gogol, and other socially progressive dramas. Her striking career as China’s first female director of modern spoken drama (Huaju) would be derailed with the advent of the Cultural Revolution in 1966, however, which put her once again at odds with an old enemy—Jiang Qing, a fellow actress who schemed her way to the top as Mao’s fourth and final wife.
Through the decades-long rivalry between these two complex women, and their differing approaches to the men in power who shaped their lives, Ha Jin deftly explores the ideals of communism and the reality of the Chinese Communist Party. At the same time, the novel captivates us with Sun Weishi’s personal struggles and triumphs, as she navigates friendship, love, art, and politics amidst the great events of the twentieth century.
About the Speakers:
Ha Jin grew up in mainland China and served in the People’s Liberation Army in his teens for five years. He left his native China in 1985 to attend Brandeis University. He is the author of eight novels, four story collections, four volumes of poetry, a biography of Li Bai, and a book of essays. He has received the National Book Award, two PEN/ Faulkner Awards, the PEN/Hemingway Award, and the Flannery O’Connor Award for Short Fiction. In 2014 he was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He is a professor in the creative writing program at Boston University.
Yiyun Li is a professor of creative writing at Princeton University and director of the University’s Program in Creative Writing at Princeton’s Lewis Center for the Arts. Her works include “Wednesday’s Child,” “Where Reasons End” and “Dear Friend, from My Life I Write to You in Your Life.” Her work has been translated into more than 20 languages and she is the recipient of many awards, including the PEN/Faulkner Award for fiction in 2022 for her most recent novel “The Book of Goose.”
Presented with support from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Any views, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this programming do not necessarily represent those of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
This event was recorded on December 6, 2023.