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SEPTEMBER 27, 1999 VOL. 154 NO. 12
To help tell these stories, we mobilized an all-star list of writers from inside and outside the magazine. Many provide moving, first-hand accounts of the half-century's key events. Ma Feng, the celebrated short-story writer, recalls his thrill at being invited to attend the new nation's founding ceremonies on Oct. 1, 1949. Yu Shan, alias Jiang Fang, describes life in the prison camp in a northeastern wasteland where he labored for 18 years. The Dalai Lama writes of his painful decision to leave Lhasa in 1959 and the loneliness he has endured in exile. Fang Lizhi recalls his experiences helping to develop China's first atomic bomb and how the country's woeful equipment shortage forced the team of nuclear physicists to rely for computation on simple abacuses. Wei Jingsheng captures the electricity of the Democracy Wall movement that elevated him to star--and criminal--status. Chen Kaige, the world-famous director, writes of the passion that his generation of movie makers radiated at the Beijing Film Academy. Rock star Cui Jian recounts the birth of Chinese rock 'n' roll. Wang Dan replays his experience as a leader of the 1989 student movement at Tiananmen. And author Jan Morris sums up the ironic 156 years that Hong Kong enjoyed detached from the mainland. We also offer remarkable essays from two of China's most unusual young writers. Mian Mian, better known to friends as Kika, provides a highly personal walk on the wild side of the Shanghai she and her cutting-edge friends inhabit. Wang Shuo, the renowned novelist and short-story writer, provides a wry account of what was happening in his own small life as the People's Republic celebrated some earlier birthdays. For example, the 30th anniversary, a celebration of Deng's reforms, inspired Wang to quit the navy--and go into business smuggling electronic goods. Our lead essay is by Ying Ruocheng, the talented actor who starred in both Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor and Arthur Miller's Chinese-language production of Death of a Salesman. He provides a highly personal account of how the ups and downs of China's past 50 years have rocked the worlds of intellectuals like himself. This issue is a labor of love, the product of many long hours put in by many talented people. Art director John White designed the package, with an elegant assist from deputy Cecelia Wong. Picture editor Lisa Botos and assistant Judy Tan tirelessly combed archives around the world to assemble some of the best photography to emerge from China in the past 50 years. Reporter Lori Reese contributed a bit of everything, from chasing down information to brow-beating tardy contributors to writing three stories herself. Chief reporter Hannah Beech coordinated all our efforts and wrote three of the articles. And our skilled production team--Karen Fu, Rita Choi, Ester Wensing, Dennis Wong Cheuk Fung and Queenie Cheung--somehow managed to make the whole package fit seamlessly and go to press on time. In China, our star trio of Jimi FlorCruz, Terry McCarthy and Mia Turner tapped their unparalleled network of contacts to help enlist some of the country's best literary talent. They also found time to contribute first-class reporting and writing. And whenever anything threatened to fall between the cracks, Beijing staffers Guo Baoqi and Huang Yong saved the day. We hope this package, the product of all that brainpower, adds up to an entertaining and informative read on Asia's biggest, most important nation--and the remarkable half-century it now celebrates. TIME Asia home | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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