Changpian 21

Source: Changpian 21 (12/9/18)
长篇 // Changpian // Longform
By Tabitha Speelman

Welcome to the 21st edition of Changpian, a selection of feature and opinion writing in Chinese. With other resources devoted to the many interesting sound bites on Chinese social media, this newsletter focuses on some of the wealth of longer writing that is produced in Chinese, both in traditional news media and on platforms like WeChat. 

Changpian includes any nonfiction writing, from stories and investigations to interviews and blog posts, that I found worth my time — and that you might like as well. It is put together by me, Tabitha Speelman, a Dutch researcher currently based in Shanghai. Feedback is very welcome (tabitha.speelman@gmail.com or @tabithaspeelman). Back issues can be found here.

I’m glad to return to the newsletter from a new location and after a break that was longer than planned. Welcome also to new readers, who found Changpian despite the lack of updates! From now on it should be back to about once a month.

As I put together this issue, I was reminded that – in spite of the depressing media climate – I still come across much more interesting writing than I am able to read. I hope you like this selection.

Tabitha Speelman

干货// Ganhuo // Dry Goods

In this section, I highlight any (loose) themes that stood out in my recent reading.

XJ

As Chinese journalists and social media users cannot make or discuss news about Xinjiang’s mass detention camps, outside state media accounts few stories on the camps and related developments are available in Chinese. I would be interested in suggestions, and for now recommend these six brief stories shared on political scientist Chenchen Zhang’s WordPress blog, a Han Chinese student’s account of his experiences in a Uyghur language major program (now also in English), a blog post by Tibetan author Woeser reflecting on her 2003 trip to Xinjiang (see also the 旧文 part of this newsletter), and Radio Free Asia’s 新疆局势 page.

Many of this year’s stories about Xinjiang in more independent media have been about nationally popular hip-hop artists from the region, such as 中国新说唱 finalist 艾热, who lovingly discusses his family in a recent first-person profile in 人物 magazine. A two–part feature on Xinjiang’s hip-hop scene by 正午故事 reporter Huang Xinyu is well done, with the pictures by 朱墨 of Urumqi’s quiet, camera-lined streets telling a story of their own.

Link Season

To kick off the annual list season (that in Chinese media should last through the next Lunar New Year in mid-February 2019): an overview of the stories nominated for 网易新闻’s second annual non-fiction award selected from 14 publications. China’s 60 best social science books in 2018, according to WeChat public account 社科文献. And to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic ties between the two countries, 澎湃新闻 is publishingas many interviews with well-known figures in China-US relations, from former US president Jimmy Carter and political scientist Susan Shirk to former trade negotiator 龙永图 and well-known ‘US watcher’ 王缉思.

If you write non-fiction, you might want to check out this Swiss ‘true story’ contestaccepting submissions in 12 languages including Chinese (to be reviewed by three renowned 中文评审).

其他好故事 // Gushi // More stories

Some other interesting stories.

1. 我的妈妈，是2800块买来的越南新娘 – 人间 – University student 张汤圆 writes about her mother, a trafficked bride from Vietnam. A moving, unique take on a still underreported issue.

我的妈妈是越南人。1992年，19岁的她被人从中越边境拐卖过来，嫁给大她12岁的爸爸。在家里，亲戚们一般叫妈妈“阿梅”，背地里，偶尔也叫她“越南梅”…“你表伯本来想叫他要个胖一点的，但是他不喜欢，就选了我。”妈妈说这话时，我不懂她这是自豪，还是无奈。那时，她决定先跟爸爸离开农场：“我本来是打算跟他回去，偷他一点钱逃走的。”

1. 张家口爆燃事故背后：被爆炸掀翻的货运人生 – 新京报 – Truck drivers discuss the recent explosion near a chemical factory in Hebei in which 23 people died, most of whom drivers waiting to unload their coal freight.

怀安的货车司机张强(化名)比他们年纪稍长些，50岁上下，油腻的头发贴在头顶，一直念叨着一个名字“二梆子”。“二梆子”和他们一样是怀安县人。“一米八几，五大三粗，四方楞蹬的大长脸，脑袋大眼睛也大，穿着个烂羽绒服。”张强和货车司机赵志国（化名）比划着“二梆子”的个头，又摆摆手，“诶，死咧，没咧，车也着了，睡得根本不知道。”二梆子在27日晚7点左右和张强等人去附近的小饭店吃饭，边吃边抱怨前边还有六七十辆车要等。他的车就排在车队中部，受到爆燃事故影响的范围里。

3.十位残障女性的肖像 – 正午故事 – Ten young women tell about life with a physical disability. Beautiful portrait pictures accompany their accounts.

程利婷1岁时突发小儿麻痹，一天之内四肢就瘫软了。母亲把她抱起来时甚至需要用竹席包裹着，后经过治疗恢复了部分肢体功能，但她永远都无法走路，还要面临脊柱侧弯带来的可能压迫到内脏等问题。9岁时，她跟着父母来到北京，可没有学校愿意接收。程利婷借邻居和姐姐的课本来看，还给自己制定了课程表，甚至安排了晚自习。十几岁的时候有了电脑后程利婷在网上为自己找了一些兼职，第一份工资是60块钱…她觉得能够自己赚钱是一件很重要的事情。“家里有四个孩子，父母最担心的是我，常对他们三个说以后要多照顾我。我不想成为被照顾的角色。我觉得经济独立是能让父母对我放心的一个方式。”程利婷说。

1. 我和我的“非洲儿子”，可我却不能带它回国…… — 人间 TheLivings – Originally published on non-fiction platform 人间, this somewhat strange but compelling human interest story was widely reposted. It is about a Chinese mechanic who befriends a chimpanzee during his three-year stay in Bunia, a city in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

抵达布尼亚以后，我才知道自己竟是那片区域里唯一的中国人。我分到了一辆没有牌照、也看不出品牌的皮卡，凡是机械设备出了任何问题，当地人就会立刻通知我，然后我就开着车前往项目所在地进行“诊断”…日子久了，我也结交了几位当地朋友，交往得最深的一个叫布鲁诺，是我们工程上的后勤司机，负责接送和采购物资，听他说，之前也有中国公司外派人员在布尼亚工作，但基本上都没有待满3年的…遇到平仔的那天，我正百无聊赖地躺在驻地平房的屋顶上看日落，布鲁诺兴奋地找到我，用英语夹着手语比划：“陈，下来，有礼物。”

1. 在澳洲开出租之后，我明白了这里为什么没有碰瓷—故事FM – In this episode of podcast 故事FM, a Chinese student who goes by 三丑 shares his experiences working as a taxi driver in Australia. I liked it from about ten minutes in.

2. 北京菜市场调研（上）：为谁存在？为谁消失？— 食通社 – In-depth, critical story on Beijing’s disappearing street markets and the (government) initiatives replacing them. Originally published on 澎湃, it disappeared there, possibly because “多数菜贩们都将转折点定格在2017年年末”. Also on 食通社, a WeChat public account about sustainable food: the 下 part of this story by 柴潜 on BJ food markets that stay but gentrify, pictures from the capital’s biggest vegetable wholesale market, and a recent story by journalist 任其然on the political economy of street markets in Hong Kong.

在南方人阿紫的记忆中，1990年代在北京读书时，能吃到一顿空心菜，已是极了不起的事；如今，一颗南方人的胃想要在北京得到慰藉，已不是难事。这背后是1990年代以来，其他省市蔬菜大量输入北京的结果。今天北京绝大多数的综合菜市场，其雏形都可以回溯至上世纪九十代初的国家“菜篮子工程”。当时农业部为缓解1980年代出现的副食品供需矛盾加剧和物价上涨过快的问题，逐阶段部署和建设新的副食品生产、流通、消费体系，北京在往后的20年中，大力发展以蔬菜批发市场为中心，集贸市场为辅的食物供销链。

1. 上访者陈裕咸之死 – 新京报— This investigation into the death of petitioner Chen Yuxian, who in June 2017 suffered fatal injuries after being beaten by petitioner interceptors from his home county in Jiangxi goes deep into all sides of the tragedy. Just yesterday the paper posted an update on the case.

据记者了解，陈裕咸致死案中的主要疑犯牛力，也曾是访民的儿子。起诉书显示，牛力户籍地为承德市承德县下板城镇，父母均为普通农民。其母崔桂芝介绍，虽然起诉书上牛力为初中文化程度，实际其在1991年即因家贫而退学，并未读完初中。而1991年也是牛家的多事之秋，牛力之父牛宝华因对一起车祸赔偿不满，也成为访民。

1. 葛剑雄：我经历过的“学生政审” – 大洋网 – Following a recent round of public debate on “政治审查” in China’s education system today, Fudan historian Ge Jianxiong writes about his past experiences checking political files of students. See also this on the history of 政审 in China on 东方历史评论.

在这十年间，经我们之手产生的“政审材料”，更多的是使一些学生从毕业之日起就戴上了无形的枷锁，受到种种限制和不公正的待遇，被打入另册。要不是拨乱反正、改革开放，或许我会一辈子做这样一件名为“坚持政治方向，贯彻阶级路线”，实质伤天害理的事。如今，我作为复旦大学的研究所所长、图书馆馆长，先后接收过很多硕士、博士研究生和新员工。他们都有档案材料，但我从来没有去查过他们的家庭出身或社会关系，我重视的是面试，看重他们的实际能力和表现。

1. 邓飞诉邹思聪案，我的应诉声明  — 邹思聪 – HK-based researcher Zou Sicong writes about being sued by well-known philanthropist Deng Fei over reputation damage. Zou published a friend’s allegations of sexual misconduct against Deng. (See also this 15,000 character GQ-profile of Liu Zhiyu, eccentric math prodigy and former Longquan temple monk discussing another high-profile #MeToo case, against since dismissed abbot Xuecheng.)

在2018年8月1日代朋友女生C发布《邓飞，没有女生是你的“免费午餐”》指邓飞性侵犯女生未遂一文之前，我已意识到法律风险，但思考之后，出于义愤、对C的友谊与信任、在#Metoo中我作为男性的思考、反省和学习，更深入地理解到女性处境与法律保护的缺失，我仍然决定发布此文。

1. 脱欧圆桌（上）：最冒险一战在即，梅姨能否突围 – 欧罗万象 – Also back after a break, the EuroScope podcast on European politics gives an expert overview of current Brexit deadlock. In case you need an update before the UK parliament votes on the issue this week. See also these conversations EuroScope member Wang Qing had with ‘黄背心’ protesting in Paris this weekend (one of them holding a Frexit sign).

旧文// Jiuwen // Classic：

A piece of nonfiction writing that Chinese academics, writers, journalists — or just me – think worth a read months, years or decades after its initial publication.

《一个藏人那年看见的新疆》(Part 1, 2, 3, 4, 5) — 自由亚洲电台 – This travelogue, based on a trip Tibetan author Woeser made to southern Xinjiang with her husband Wang Lixiong in 2003, was reposted on a couple of overseas Chinese-language media over the last half year. Woeser, a first-time tourist to the region, writes that when traveling she “总是要把自己的故乡带在身边…使我每到一个地方就要将它们彼此联系起来.” In Xinjiang she finds much to connect and compare.

记得那晚在距离塔克拉玛干沙漠不远的胡杨林里露营时，漆黑的天一直下着小雨。我们喝酒吃肉吃葡萄，然后各自歇息。狄尼雅尔睡在阿克让出的帐篷里，却没有把帐篷的门封好结果着了凉，第二天一早又是咳嗽又是流鼻涕，从头到脚裹着一张毛毯在胡杨林里走来走去，看上去很像塔里班。

我大声地冲他说出这句话，还加了一句，可惜你没有大胡子，不然更像。狄尼雅尔回答说，我留过胡子的，可是他们不让我们留胡子，说是留胡子的人像恐怖分子，如果要留胡子就不给工作，所以我们只好都剪掉了。我骇然。又以为是笑话，忙追问，这是真的，还是假的？裹着毛毯的狄尼雅尔露出圆圆的脸，反问我，你说会是假的吗？那神情，那语气就像是在讥讽我，未必然连你这个藏人都不相信吗？

Changpian by tabithaspeelman
Cellebroedersweg 5 Kampen, Netherlands