In this post, famed Chinese writer Ding Ling expressed her discontent at the Anti-Rightist Campaign occurring in China.
I cannot help but think that the government has gone completely against itself. A mere year later from when Chairmen Mao had encouraged the Chinese people to speak their minds in the Hundred Flowers campaign, I have been penalized for my thoughts. As a writer I feel obligated to share my ideas with the public. My story, Miss Sophia’s Diary, although it was written close to 30 years ago, is still receiving less than glowing reviews. My only goal was to express feelings that haven’t always been commonly accepted in the Chinese community. But to be penalized and be under surveillance by a government who doesn’t understand my ideas or me is absolutely preposterous.
I shouldn’t be surprised, though. After all, I should be accustomed to this. My brief time spent under house arrest from 1933 to 1936 left me with multitudes of mixed feelings about my country. But to be sent to a working camp for such a simple thing as following the rules mystifies me. I fail to understand how a simple woman such as myself could be accused of being a traitor. My only solace is that I am not alone in this greatly confused country. Other people, people with fantastic ideas, are also being deemed as traitors. I realize it is hard for our government to understand that some people living in China have differing views on society. I have heard rumors that tens of thousands of intellectuals have been sent to the same fate I have.
The work here is treacherous. The combination of menial work and sadness overwhelms me. My expulsion from the writer’s union and communist party has upset me greatly. I miss my old life, the life in which I held various government positions and was free to write what I wish. My writing has been my only way of showing what I truly feel. The government expects that by simply shoving away all of the non-brainwashed Chinese, they can regain the communist idea that they so frequently chase. They also wish to hold complete control over all legal issues. But I have faith that these intellectuals will not be so easily put down.
Today I met a woman who had been separated from her husband and even he declared her a “class enemy.” She was devastated that someone she loved so much could also not defend her when she needed it the most. She told me that this has been happening all over China; couples turned against each other by the government. I sympathized with her. Yet I secretly wished that I still had a husband to lose. I had lost my husband, Hu, to the nationalist party in 1931. Since then, I have done all I can to support the communists. Thus it strikes me as surprising that I would be labeled as a traitor.
The weeks here pass by unbearably slow. My only hope is that the Chinese people realize what is going on. I hope they can see past the brightly colored façade known as Mao and see the work we are being forced to do. It is unfair to all the innocent people to lose the only connection they have to the outside world. China can only go downhill from here. It will take some serious reorganization to get things back on track. Mao is power hungry. He feeds off the control he has over China. I know that somehow we will get through this. The Chinese people are strong enough to overcome this oppression.
Ding Ling
丁玲
