This book is the memoir of Chinese economist's Yang Xiaokai. It tells the stories of more than two dozen characters he met while imprisoned in Changsha during the Cultural Revolution. Published in 1994, it was reprinted in 1997 and 2016. The English version is titled *Captive Spirits: Prisoners of the Cultural Revolution*, published by Stanford University Press in 1997.
When the Cultural Revolution broke out, Yang Xiaokai was a senior high school student at No. 1 Middle School in Changsha. On January 12, 1968, he published an article entitled "Where is China Going?" which systematically put forward the ideas of the "ultra-leftist" Red Guards, criticized the privileged bureaucratic class in China, and advocated for the establishment of a Chinese People's Commune based on the principles of the Paris Commune. Yang Xiaokai recalled that his parents were beaten because they sympathized with Liu Shaoqi's and Peng Dehuai's views, and that he was discriminated against at school and could not join the Red Guards. As a result, he joined the rebel faction to oppose the theory of descent. Yang Xiaokai was later sentenced to 10 years' imprisonment for this article. Yang Xiaokai died in 2004. This article is a retrospective of his life.
The author of this book, Yang Jisheng, is a veteran journalist with 35 years of experience in journalism at Xinhua News Agency, China's official news organization. He knows a great deal about the ups and downs of Chinese politics after the end of the Cultural Revolution as well as the intricate power struggles at the top and has a lot of first-hand information. He personally interviewed Zhao Ziyang, Zhu Houze, Li Rui, Ren Zhongyi, An Zhiwen, Tian Jiyun, and other important people. “Political Struggles in China's Reform Era”, first published in Hong Kong in November 2004, was the subject of a series of crackdowns by the authorities against Yang Jisheng. It was republished in 2010 by Hong Kong's Cosmo Books.
This article is taken from six accounts by Mr. Liang Zhiyuan. Mr. Liang Zhiyuan was the deputy director of the Bo County People's Committee (i.e., the government) office during the Great Famine. He also served as the head of the Production and Welfare Section of the County Party Committee's Rural Work Department and the deputy director of the County Party Committee's Living and Welfare Office, where he was responsible for a lot of things. In 2002 and 2005, based on three years of rural work notes and relevant historical information, Mr. Liang Zhiyuan wrote a number of articles describing the Bo County famine, including "A Painful Lesson in History - The Unnatural Deaths of the Rural Population in Bo County." and several other articles. Due to the sensitivity of the matter, these have not been published publicly, and many of these materials are released to the outside world for the first time in this article.
The Great Famine in China in the 1960s was a rare famine in human history. From 1958 to 1962, according to incomplete statistics, 36 million people died of starvation in China; due to starvation the birthrate is estimated to have dropped to around 40 million. The number of people who died of starvation and the lowered birthrate due to starvation totaled more than 70 million, which is not only the largest number of deaths among all the disasters that occurred in China's history, but also the most painful and unprecedented tragedy in the history of mankind today. Was this a natural disaster or a man-made disaster? Officials deliberately covered it up and tried to minimize it, forbid any public discussion or expression about it. Yang Jisheng, a senior reporter of Xinhua News Agency, personally experienced the death of his father in the famine. Since then, he has devoted his heart and soul to this story. He has spent several years on it, running through a dozen or so provinces where the disaster was the most serious, and personally checking countless archives and records, both public and secret. He has interviewed the people involved and checked the evidence over and over again. Thus, he felt confident that he could, with the heart of the historical pen and the conscience of the news reporter, make a number of drafts, and truly recapture this tragic history of the human race and analyze the causes of this tragedy with a large amount of facts and data. With a wealth of facts and figures, he identifies the main cause of the famine as the totalitarian system. This is a book carries the collective memory of many ordinary Chinese people, and is a tombstone for the 36 million victims.
This book is published by Tiandi Books in Hong Kong. The English version of <i>Tombstone: The Great Chinese Famine, 1958-1962 </i> was translated by American author Stacy Mosher and can be purchased <a href= "https://www.amazon.com/Tombstone-Great-Chinese-Famine-1958-1962/dp/0374533997">here</a>.
<i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i> is a children’s book in the <i>Sheep Village</i> series. This book describes the incident in 2020 where twelve Hong Kong youths fled the city by boat but were intercepted by Chinese authorities and found guilty in Mainland Chinese courts.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> Series Children’s Picture Books
The <i>Sheep Village</i> series is a group of six children's books published by the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists. The six books are titled <i>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i>, <i>Voting Day in Sheep Village</i>, <i>Sheep Village Daily</i>, and <i>The Architects of Sheep Village</i>.
<i/>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, and <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i> were published in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2021, while the other three were not formally published and were mainly distributed on the Internet.
On July 22, 2021, the national security unit of the Hong Kong Police arrested five board members of the Hong Kong General Union of Speech Therapists, including its president Lai Man Ling and its external vice president Yeung Yat Yee Melody, as well as the union's three other board members, Ng Hau Yi Sydney, Chan Yuen Sum Samuel, and Fong Tsz Ho, on the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications. The five defendants were denied bail and remanded in custody for nearly a year before trial. On September 10, 2022, Judge Kwok Wai-kin sentenced the five defendants to 19 months in prison.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> case was the first case involving the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997.
<i>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i> is a children’s book in the <i>Sheep Village</i> series. This book outlines Hong Kong’s 2019 social movement and the relationship between Hong Kong and Mainland China by describing Hong Kong as a sheep village and Mainland China as a wolf village.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> Series Children’s Picture Books
The <i>Sheep Village</i> series is a group of six children's books published by the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists. The six books are titled <i>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i>, <i>Voting Day in Sheep Village</i>, <i>Sheep Village Daily</i>, and <i>The Architects of Sheep Village</i>.
<i/>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, and <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i> were published in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2021, while the other three were not formally published and were mainly distributed on the Internet.
On July 22, 2021, the national security unit of the Hong Kong Police arrested five board members of the Hong Kong General Union of Speech Therapists, including its president Lai Man Ling and its external vice president Yeung Yat Yee Melody, as well as the union's three other board members, Ng Hau Yi Sydney, Chan Yuen Sum Samuel, and Fong Tsz Ho, on the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications. The five defendants were denied bail and remanded in custody for nearly a year before trial. On September 10, 2022, Judge Kwok Wai-kin sentenced the five defendants to 19 months in prison.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> case was the first case involving the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997.
<i>The Architects of Sheep Village</i> is a children’s book in the <i>Sheep Village</i> series. This book describes the building of civil society in Hong Kong and the authorities’ crackdown on Hong Kong’s civil society after the 2019 social movement.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> Series Children’s Picture Books
The <i>Sheep Village</i> series is a group of six children's books published by the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists. The six books are titled <i>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i>, <i>Voting Day in Sheep Village</i>, <i>Sheep Village Daily</i>, and <i>The Architects of Sheep Village</i>.
<i/>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, and <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i> were published in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2021, while the other three were not formally published and were mainly distributed on the Internet.
On July 22, 2021, the national security unit of the Hong Kong Police arrested five board members of the Hong Kong General Union of Speech Therapists, including its president Lai Man Ling and its external vice president Yeung Yat Yee Melody, as well as the union's three other board members, Ng Hau Yi Sydney, Chan Yuen Sum Samuel, and Fong Tsz Ho, on the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications. The five defendants were denied bail and remanded in custody for nearly a year before trial. On September 10, 2022, Judge Kwok Wai-kin sentenced the five defendants to 19 months in prison.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> case was the first case involving the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997.
<i>Voting Day in Sheep Village</i> is a children’s book in the <i>Sheep Village</i> series. This book outlines Hong Kong’s pro-democracy primaries in 2020 and the subsequent jailing of the primaries’ organizers.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> Series Children’s Picture Books
The <i>Sheep Village</i> series is a group of six children's books published by the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists. The six books are titled <i>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i>, <i>Voting Day in Sheep Village</i>, <i>Sheep Village Daily</i>, and <i>The Architects of Sheep Village</i>.
<i/>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, and <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i> were published in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2021, while the other three were not formally published and were mainly distributed on the Internet.
On July 22, 2021, the national security unit of the Hong Kong Police arrested five board members of the Hong Kong General Union of Speech Therapists, including its president Lai Man Ling and its external vice president Yeung Yat Yee Melody, as well as the union's three other board members, Ng Hau Yi Sydney, Chan Yuen Sum Samuel, and Fong Tsz Ho, on the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications. The five defendants were denied bail and remanded in custody for nearly a year before trial. On September 10, 2022, Judge Kwok Wai-kin sentenced the five defendants to 19 months in prison.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> case was the first case involving the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997.
<i>Sheep Village Daily</i> is a children’s book in the <i>Sheep Village</i> series. This book describes the loss of press freedom in Hong Kong and the forced shutdown of Hong Kong’s <i>Apple Daily</i>.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> Series Children’s Picture Books
The <i>Sheep Village</i> series is a group of six children's books published by the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists. The six books are titled <i>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i>, <i>Voting Day in Sheep Village</i>, <i>Sheep Village Daily</i>, and <i>The Architects of Sheep Village</i>.
<i/>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, and <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i> were published in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2021, while the other three were not formally published and were mainly distributed on the Internet.
On July 22, 2021, the national security unit of the Hong Kong Police arrested five board members of the Hong Kong General Union of Speech Therapists, including its president Lai Man Ling and its external vice president Yeung Yat Yee Melody, as well as the union's three other board members, Ng Hau Yi Sydney, Chan Yuen Sum Samuel, and Fong Tsz Ho, on the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications. The five defendants were denied bail and remanded in custody for nearly a year before trial. On September 10, 2022, Judge Kwok Wai-kin sentenced the five defendants to 19 months in prison.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> case was the first case involving the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997.
<i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i> is a children’s book in the <i>Sheep Village</i> series. This book outlines the tension between Hong Kong’s healthcare workers and the Hong Kong government at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic in February 2020.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> Series Children’s Picture Books
The <i>Sheep Village</i> series is a group of six children's books published by the General Union of Hong Kong Speech Therapists. The six books are titled <i>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i>, <i>Voting Day in Sheep Village</i>, <i>Sheep Village Daily</i>, and <i>The Architects of Sheep Village</i>.
<i/>The Guardians of Sheep Village</i>, <i>The Twelve Warriors of Sheep Village</i>, and <i>The Street Cleaners of Sheep Village</i> were published in Hong Kong between 2020 and 2021, while the other three were not formally published and were mainly distributed on the Internet.
On July 22, 2021, the national security unit of the Hong Kong Police arrested five board members of the Hong Kong General Union of Speech Therapists, including its president Lai Man Ling and its external vice president Yeung Yat Yee Melody, as well as the union's three other board members, Ng Hau Yi Sydney, Chan Yuen Sum Samuel, and Fong Tsz Ho, on the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications. The five defendants were denied bail and remanded in custody for nearly a year before trial. On September 10, 2022, Judge Kwok Wai-kin sentenced the five defendants to 19 months in prison.
The <i>Sheep Village</i> case was the first case involving the charge of conspiracy to print, publish, distribute, display and/or reproduce seditious publications since Hong Kong’s handover in 1997.