This is a novel set in China during the Cultural Revolution. Surpassing the so-called "scar literature"-a writing style commonly employed to present that time period, this novel revives that perverse era of political turmoil vividly through the pure eyes and innocent comprehension of a little girl-Xia Xiaolei. A series of absurd reasons compels Xia to live with her grandfather, far away from parents. Despite that Xia, an eight year old, is at the crucial threshold of forming her values and beliefs, the confluence of education from school, society, and family nonetheless abandons traditional values altogether. She is fed with distorted moral and aesthetical views instead. In turn, she learns how to deceive, hate, avenge, and betray, and becomes involved in a case of murder at the end. I have drawn on large parts of my personal experience to complete this novel. This effort to restore that time period is my desire to evoke you, my dear readers, to contemplate the grim reality: children like Xia from that time period are now the salt of the earth in China; what is the underlying connection between China's degeneration in social ethics now and the education then? Even a child is capable of contributing to the evil in politics, who can claim they are merely an innocent victim? When this novel was nearing its completion, an astounding tragedy from my hometown shook the entire China. A two year girl, Xiao Yueyue, was hit by a car in a busy marketplace. She fell to the ground and was rolled over by an ensuing car. She was left unattended despite 18 pedestrians passed by her body at different times. She passed away. It was more disturbing to learn that this tragedy was only one out of many. This misfortune marks the bankruptcy of ethics, management, and trust in China's society-and as the old saying goes, "Rome was not built in a day." I have come to the conclusion that the invisible virus that devours morality has mutated. This novel presents a cross-section in history, displaying the invasion and infection of this virus. Its deadly symptoms are what we are suffering under today...
About the Author: Li Yu-Ping is a board member of the Canadian Chinese Author's Association (CCAA). She finished secondary school in 1981, and worked as a printing worker, textile handler, accountant, and office secretary before immigrating to Canada in 2003. In 2011, she published her first novel Tu Wei which has been appreciated in many circles. This novel was specially recommended by the Richmond Public Library on Fairchild Radio in April 2015. Her works concentrate on fictions, short stories, and commentaries, some of which have been published in renowned Chinese literature platforms such as the World Journal (newspaper), Hong Kong Literature (magazine), and the Global Chinese Press (newspaper). Her short stories are highly complimented by the famous Chinese poet Ya Xuan. He says her prose is "graceful, extraordinary, and pure in the Chinese literature bloodline. Such fine work is rare to me in my decades of editor career." Two of her essays, the Capilano Suspension Bridge and Autumn, are selected into the CCAA Short Stories Collections. Her commentary master piece of Contemplating Existentialism - An Analysis on Ya Xuan's Long Poem "Abyss" has earned Ya Xuan's significant admiration as he affirms, "Never before has someone understood my thoughts so deeply." This commentary was published in Hongkong Literature Edition 343.