Workshop on East Asia: Politics, Economy and Society Presents:

“From China’s Cultural Revolution to the Current Economic Boom”

Jennifer Kwong

Author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China

Mulberry Child is the true story of a childhood before, during, and after the Cultural Revolution in China. Jian Ping’s father, a high-ranking government official, was falsely accused of treason during the Cultural Revolution—he was detained, beaten, and publicly shamed. Her mother Gu Wenxiu, a top administrator of a middle school, was paraded in public and imprisoned by the Revolution Committee and the Red Guards—both driving forces of the Cultural Revolution. Facing abuse and deprivation, Jian Ping’s family stands steadfastly together, from her aging grandmother, a frail woman with bound feet, to her parents and siblings. The traumatic impacts of their experiences shape the course of their lives forever. Based on her own memories, as well as interviews and exhaustive research, Mulberry Child is a family saga and a tale of resilience, a coming of age story told through the eyes of an innocent child. Mulberry Childallows us an insider’s look into a closed-off world and is written with compassion in honest and intimate language.

4:00-5:30pm, Tuesday

January 26, 2010

Pick Lounge, 5828 South University Ave.

Workshop website: http://lucian.uchicago.edu/blogs/eastasia/

Student coordinator: Jean Lin (jeanlin@uchicago.edu), Faculty sponsors: Dali Yang, Cheol-sung Lee, Dingxin Zhao        The workshop is sponsored by the Center for East Asian Studies and the Council on Advanced Studies in Humanities and Social Sciences. Persons with disabilities who believe they may need assistance, please contact the student coordinator in advance.