The Corpse Walker

Reading about life during the Mao years of China is fascinating.  It truly wasn't that long ago.

I am always interested in learning about other cultures, and, for whatever reason, I am fascinated with certain cultures and time periods.

My MA thesis advisor was Chinese (and probably still is, actually), and his knowledge of American literature and English grammar/mechanics was far superior to anyone I had ever met.  I learned so much from him in the year I spent under his wing.

About two years ago, we hosted two Chinese boys for three weeks.  My sons idolized them, and it was truly a great cultural exchange.  The little I knew about China was derived from the all-you-can eat Chinese Buffet in my hometown of Bethlehem, PA.  But, these two boys lit an interest to learn more about the culture.  We learned about what they really eat (although, it must be said, all boys love cereal and LOTS and LOTS of it!).  We learned about what schools were like, and why they wanted to study in the US.

In exchange for their culture, we took them on their first hike (OMG, that was a disaster, but a totally funny story now), and we took them to their first St. Patrick's Day Parade and Wake (Chinese boys doing a jig is much to remember).

Their stay with us has prompted me to learn more about the history and culture of China.  I read Confessions: An Innocent Life in Communist China by Kang Zhengguo, and I am now reading Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories: China from the Bottom Up by Liao Yiwu.  Both texts are brutally honest and amazing.

What both texts share an incredible sense of resilience.  How can I possibly complain about Google Chrome's laggishness when people became cannibals during the 3 year famine?  Villagers ate little girls, for Pete's sake. People stole children from other villages to EAT THEM.  You can't even complain about eating leftovers when you learn that this happened less than 100 years ago!!!!

So, this is what I learned...complain less.  You could have it a LOT worse.

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