Growing Up Chinese
by
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No matter what, the Japanese Occupation meant snuffing out the fire of hopes, dreams and aspirations of many young people like my brother, who was seventeen at the time. It meant the untimely termination of Chinese education, snatching away the key to their future and dreams. For my brother it was a fatal blow to his ambitions, like being struck by a sudden, irreversible terminal illness. Brother never fully recovered to pursue his education after the defeat and retreat of the Japanese at the end of World War II. Not lack of ambition, but dire poverty had crippled our family. And many other hard-working innocent families around us. And brother, an innocent victim of a widespread economic collapse the Japanese left behind, like a havoc caused by a devastating storm. He rightly blamed the Japanese for his lack of education, which forever doomed him to a life of servitude. He never forgave the Japanese for his sudden descent into despair and meaninglessness. And hell.
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About the Book
GROWING UP CHINESE is a lively book with a funny, thoroughly enlightened author doing his best to tell his story and the story of one Chinese village in Malaya with tremendous insight, detail and compassion. The diverse culture in the land has emerged through multiple voices that the author struggled with in this coming-of-age memoir. He orchestrates all these voices to depict the complex life of growing up in a truly multicultural world. Most remarkably, this is the story of the American dream an ocean away from America. A young man born into poverty seeks a better life for himself by working hard and developing his innate talents to their fullest. He seeks to create and define his own life. Shades of Horatio Alger and Oliver Twist, this is an indelibly unforgettable story of one young man’s quest for freedom, an education and a new life, a struggle by one undaunted by life’s hurdles and vicissitudes.
About the Author
Stephen Ling studied journalism and economics at The University of Texas. He lives outside Seattle. After 7 years as a visiting professor in China, he hopes to use his experiences in his book, THIS IS CHINA, his 6th book, to talk about the role of China and its inevitable impact on world peace and prosperity.