Lijia Zhang's Blog, page 13

Live streaming event with women writers

To celebrate the arrival of the New Year, Fem Books, a bookstore in Shanghai dedicated to female writers, organized a live streaming event today. I had the honour to take part, together with five others. It was such a pleasure to meet fellow writers and listen to their stories. One of them is Fan Yusu, a migrant worker struggling to make a living in Beijing. Six years ago, her essay ‘I am Fan Yusu’, detailing her plight as a domestic helper, made her an overnight literary sensation. Thank you for inviting me, Xinjie.

Having fun in Vienna

The trip to Vienna was supposed for work – to give a couple of book talks, organized by my wonderful publisher of the German edition of my memoir. Nora is actually an Austrian, mostly based in Vienna. Both events, one at University of Vienna and the other at a bookstore, went well. More importantly, I had so much fun, reconnecting with old friends and meeting wonderful new friends.

An American friend John who got Austrian roots was flat hunting in Vienna as he is considering relocating to the capital. So I stayed with him and he kindly took me to a fancy restaurant designed by his grandfather and to the opera. Another New Zealand friend Donelle whom I met in Beijing and whom lived in Vienna until recently made a trip there to meet me, combining with other chores. She showed me around. Nonelle also introduced me to a lively Chinese lady Helena who has lived in Vienna for nearly thirty years. Helena and her husband kindly took me and John to lunch at a fabulous restaurant one day. A Brazilian friend Vita, who was my neighbor in Beijing, came to one event with her Austrian partner. They took me to a traditional Viennese restaurant, joined by their family and friends. We partied until small hours.

I am a super rich woman in terms of social capital.

my oped on Sino-Japan relationship

Sino-Japan Relationship

December 13 will see the 86th anniversary of the Rape of Nanjing. As some of you know I hail from Nanjing. So I took the opportunity to write this oped, calling for an improved relationship with our eastern neighbor. Here’s why.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3244109/why-china-should-move-beyond-wartime-past-and-forge-closer-ties-japan

The passing of a great poet

The Passing of Poet Benjamin Zephaniah

Benjamin is dead? I found the news too difficult to take. It reached me and hit me while I was in Vienna. Now I’ve just returned to London. Once home, I checked and read carefully the last email from him. It was dated October 18, some seven weeks ago. If the reports can be believed, then he must have just been diagnosed with brain cancer. In the note, he didn’t mention his illness, saying he was well. He also talked about May, my actress daughter. “Wouldn’t it be great if May ever acted in one of my plays?” he said. Perhaps he didn’t want to tell others about his illness; perhaps he was still hopeful. In the same email, he told me that he was spending time in Birmingham, taking care of his ailing mother, with whom he had a close relationship. He was a filial son. A good man.

I met Benjamin in Beijing some 13 years ago when he went there for a literature festival. Apart from literature festivals, he used to go to China every year to practice Tai Qi.

We became friends. He often came over to our house in Beijing for dinner, entertained the girls with all sorts of stories, and inspired them to read and write poems. When I came over to the UK, I visited him in his house in Lincolnshire, which had a lovely view of the open fields in the front. Once he even drove me around in his race car.

In spring, 2019, he took me to see the Nelson Mandela exhibition in London, for which he was interviewed. While Mandela was in jail, Benjamin had sent his music tapes to him, which was much appreciated. Both men were champions against racism. When the staff members at the exhibition recognized him, everyone wanted to have a photo with him, and he patiently obliged. I had not realized how famous he was in the UK.

Now he’s gone, but I am sure that his remarkable story will stay, inspiring generations to come.

He ended his email by saying: stay good. I will. You, too, my friend.

Feminist art

Women in Revolt! Art and Activism in the UK 1970-1990

This weekend, I went to Tate Britain to see this fabulous exhibition about art, activism and women’s movement in the UK. The first of its kind, it is an exploration of feminist art by over 100 women. Not surprisingly, most visitors were women. Actually, I think this show deserves everyone’s attention as it is a fascination social history. Go to see it before it ends in early April 2024.

The English translation of the German article

European School Dortmund
HOMEOPEN DAYCONSULTATION DAYPEOPLEREGISTRATIONCAD R LIFELIVING EUROPEUNESCOREFECTORYFOUNDATIONCONTACTNEWS

FROM THE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR DIRECTLY TO THE EUROPEAN SCHOOL
10/25/2023 Sixth form News created by Patricia Möller; ST

CHINESE AUTHOR DELIGHTS TEENS IN WAMBEL

Instead of moaning about Shakespeare’s plays in their English class, the 17-19 year old students were able to listen to a fascinating woman.

Lijia Zhang otherwise lectures at renowned universities such as Stanford or Sydney and has published several books.

She ended up in Wambel by a crazy coincidence:

The Chinese author and the English and Spanish teacher Patricia Möller had met in Spain in 2012 while on pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago and had stayed in touch.

This autumn, Lijia Zhang was able to present the German translation of her memoirs at the Frankfurt Book Fair and now came to the European School for a short visit with her incredible biography "Socialism is great".

For 10 long years she worked in a rocket factory in her hometown of Nanjing with the big dream of a life as a journalist and writer.

The Chinese girl simply taught herself English, started working as a translator and made it to London to study in her mid-20s.

The high school students were surprised, because Lijia Zhang was not aloof in her lecture, but humorous, gave compliments on the students’ English and also answered critical questions about China’s social policy.

Bozana Antik aptly remarked: "A self-confident woman, but really down-to-earth."

With a master’s degree in creative writing, Lijia Zhang is now in demand as a China expert, seeing herself as a mediator between the Western world and her home country. The 59-year-old often sits as a guest in the BBC’s TV studio, writes exclusively in English for the New York Times or the Washington Post and is booked as a speaker worldwide.

At the European School, the Chinese author discussed the importance of language learning, experiences abroad and cultural differences with selected students and Geoff Tranter from the German-British Society in Dortmund.

High school graduate Merja Sander was nervous beforehand: "But then the lecture was so funny and now I’m totally happy that I was able to exchange ideas in English with such a great woman in our group."

Journalist Lijia Zhang was also impressed by the language level of the Dortmund comprehensive school students and their experiences, because for Salma Riddal Beqqual, who grew up in Spain and has family roots in Morocco, English is only one of seven languages.

Conclusion of the discussion: Languages broaden horizons, but only if everyone is willing to let go of prejudices against other cultures"

Arin Rajfernando really wanted a photo with guest speaker Lijia Zhang and beamed:

"This woman is really a role model for me because she made it out of the factory as a worker and just took her destiny into her own hands."

And his classmates agreed that they would now like to have regular lectures and discussions in English with inspiring guests.

Author: Patricia Möller

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European School Dortmund
HOMEOPEN DAYCONSULTATION DAYPEOPLEREGISTRATIONCAD R LIFELIVING EUROPEUNESCOREFECTORYFOUNDATIONCONTACTNEWS

FROM THE FRANKFURT BOOK FAIR DIRECTLY TO THE EUROPEAN SCHOOL
10/25/2023 Sixth form News created by Patricia Möller; ST

CHINESE AUTHOR DELIGHTS TEENS IN WAMBEL

Instead of moaning about Shakespeare’s plays in their English class, the 17-19 year old students were able to listen to a fascinating woman.

Lijia Zhang otherwise lectures at renowned universities such as Stanford or Sydney and has published several books.

She ended up in Wambel by a crazy coincidence:

The Chinese author and the English and Spanish teacher Patricia Möller had met in Spain in 2012 while on pilgrimage on the Camino de Santiago and had stayed in touch.

This autumn, Lijia Zhang was able to present the German translation of her memoirs at the Frankfurt Book Fair and now came to the European School for a short visit with her incredible biography "Socialism is great".

For 10 long years she worked in a rocket factory in her hometown of Nanjing with the big dream of a life as a journalist and writer.

The Chinese girl simply taught herself English, started working as a translator and made it to London to study in her mid-20s.

The high school students were surprised, because Lijia Zhang was not aloof in her lecture, but humorous, gave compliments on the students’ English and also answered critical questions about China’s social policy.

Bozana Antik aptly remarked: "A self-confident woman, but really down-to-earth."

With a master’s degree in creative writing, Lijia Zhang is now in demand as a China expert, seeing herself as a mediator between the Western world and her home country. The 59-year-old often sits as a guest in the BBC’s TV studio, writes exclusively in English for the New York Times or the Washington Post and is booked as a speaker worldwide.

At the European School, the Chinese author discussed the importance of language learning, experiences abroad and cultural differences with selected students and Geoff Tranter from the German-British Society in Dortmund.

High school graduate Merja Sander was nervous beforehand: "But then the lecture was so funny and now I’m totally happy that I was able to exchange ideas in English with such a great woman in our group."

Journalist Lijia Zhang was also impressed by the language level of the Dortmund comprehensive school students and their experiences, because for Salma Riddal Beqqual, who grew up in Spain and has family roots in Morocco, English is only one of seven languages.

Conclusion of the discussion: Languages broaden horizons, but only if everyone is willing to let go of prejudices against other cultures"

Arin Rajfernando really wanted a photo with guest speaker Lijia Zhang and beamed:

"This woman is really a role model for me because she made it out of the factory as a worker and just took her destiny into her own hands."

And his classmates agreed that they would now like to have regular lectures and discussions in English with inspiring guests.

Author: Patricia Möller

11mLikeReply

Write a reply…

In a German newspaper

I appeared in a local newspaper in Dortmund. Not a German speaker, I don’t know what the article talks about, but I heard that I was described as a ‘fascinating woman’. Well, that made my day!

Spy princess

This evening, I went to the Imperial War Museum to listen to a talk titled Spy Princess by my Indian writer friend Shrabani Basu. Shrabani wrote a hugely successful book about this spy princess Noor Inayat Khan. A daughter of an Indian prince, Khan became a British agent and was the first female wireless operator to be sent from the UK to the occupied France during the Second World War and one of the most successful one. An eloquent speaker, Shrabani brought the inspiring story to life.

The talk is in conjuncture with the exhibition about spies at the museum. The spy prince is part of the exhibition. Fascinating.

Another bonus was that it was fun to wander around the museum with few people around.

pronatalist policies and individual rights

Amid the plummeting birthrate, the Chinese authorities are promoting pronatalist policies that have a coercive tinge. As the Chinese people are more aware of their rights, I doubt such an approach would work.

https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3239780/marriage-and-babies-maybe-china-should-listen-its-citizens

Düsseldorf

My Event in Dusseldorf

My last event in Germany took place in Dusseldorf, a short train ride south of Dortmund, upon the invitation of the Sino-German Friendship Association. I was interviewed on stage by its senior member Susanne, a sinologist who lived in China and was married to a Chinese. It was a pleasure to chat with someone who knows China intimately well, and I was delighted to see a few Chinese faces among the audience.