Banned book revisits 'bloodhead' scandal in China

Chinese author Yan Lianke / Photo from Consonant & Vowel

Dissident writer scrutinizes China's dark past to right wrongs

By Kang Hyun-kyung

Award-winning Chinese writer Yan Lianke's novel "Dream of Ding Village," which was published recently in Korea by the local publishing house Consonant & Vowel, still resonates with readers, although 13 years have passed since it was released in China in 2006 and then banned.

The book, based on the true story of the "bloodhead" scandal in the 1990s in the poverty-stricken central Chinese province of Henan, conveys different political messages these days, maybe because of China's greater status on the global stage.

Back in 2006, China was a rising economy and other countries were wary of its possible implications on their economies. Amid China's domination in media reports, there were some skeptics who remained unconvinced about the potential of China to become a global powerhouse, albeit the number of skeptics might have not been so striking.

China debunked the naysayers, replacing Japan in 2011 as the world's second-largest economy. Now China, being called half of G2 with the United States, is literally a world economic powerhouse and in a rivalry with the United States.

Such a discernible change in China's status fuels fresh interpretations about the key message of Yan's "Dream of Ding Village."

In 2006, "Dream of Ding Village" was regarded as a critical piece on domestic problems, such as corruption involving Chinese health officials who initiated the blood selling campaign at the risk of locals' health to earn kickbacks, self-serving middlemen who mobilized locals to join the blood campaign to make money, and uneducated farmers who sold blood for money without knowing its deleterious fallout on their health and consequently were infected with HIV that causes the incurable disease AIDS.

In 2019 when China is clashing with the United States in every key security and economic issue in an attempt to secure a tight grip on global leadership, "Dream of Ding Village" is being read as a story about China's dark past which signifies that its economic growth came at the risk of public health.

Despite different implications of the book, author Yan's intention seems to leave little room for different interpretations between 2006 and 2019.

He described himself as "a bird striving to fly high against all odds." After sending his manuscript to the Chinese publisher, Yan said he had intense feelings over his deep despair which he considered as "a rite of passage" in the wake of the completion of his hard work.

"Dream of Ding Village" was translated into Korean and first published by Asia publishing house in 2010, and published again recently by Consonant & Vowel as the author's contract with the former publishing house ended. Consonant & Vowel signed a contract to publish the book again to respond to Korean readers' growing interest in the Chinese writer after the success of his previous work "Serve the People" in Korea.

"Serve the People" was published in Korea in 2008 and became a bestselling book, helping the Chinese writer earn fame in Korea. Yan was mentioned as one of the strong candidates to win the 2016 Nobel Literature Award, which also helped him broaden his reader base in Korea.

Blood sale for money, which peaked in central China in the early 1990s and led to outbreaks of HIV infections due to unhygienic blood collection, is the dark past that the Chinese government tried to hide.

The magnitude of the HIV outbreak was not made public but activists familiar with the manmade calamity speculate it could have spread to as many as 800,000 people.

The scandal was disclosed in the early 2000s by Chinese female gynecologist Gao Yaojie who examined a female patient who had a mysterious but severe condition in central China in 1996 upon the request of the local health authorities. She later became an AIDS educator and campaigner.

The whistle-blower irritated the Chinese authorities who tried to hide the epidemic and put her under house arrest.

"Dream of Ding Village" by Yan Lianke

Writer Yan picked up the case for his new fiction and released his book in 2006, years after the bloodhead scandal rattled China and shocked the rest of the world.

The author said his book deals with both the harsh reality and dream. "It is about darkness and also about brightness. It's about disgust and also about daybreak," he wrote. "What I wanted to write about was love and caring minds, fragility of life and the power of greed."

Author Yan faced a situation similar to what Gao went through.

His book was banned. The dissident Chinese writer was no stranger to censorship. His previous books "Serve the People" and "The Four Books" were also banned after they were published.

But this time, his trying times didn't end there. Yan was embroiled in a lawsuit as his Chinese publisher sued him for causing a serious economic damage to them.

"I was sued just because I wrote a book. After becoming a defendant and standing trial, I gradually came to understand what kind of crime I committed with the book and what I was guilty of," he said. "I realized I am like a bird struggling to fly high and my book and my writing show my struggles and maneuvering."

Yan was portrayed as a problematic writer who "gravely damaged the honor of China" by bringing the shameful history back in the spotlight.

He said "Dream of Ding Village," which he called the best piece that he has ever produced, has a slightly different fate compared to his previous banned book "Serve the People."

"Unlike 'Serve the People' which was banned from the get-go of its release, 'Dream of Ding Village' faced the same fate after many Chinese people read it, so the latter was far better in terms of its fate," he wrote.

Kim Tae-sung, who earned a Ph.D. in China Studies from Hankuk University of Foreign Studies and translated "Dream of Ding Village," said Yan tries to heal the wounds of China by exposing problems as they are.

"Back in 2008 during a forum in Seoul, a Chinese writer put forth the idea of literature as an instrument to heal wounds," he said. "He said literature and writers together can play a role to heal the wounds of the people and the nation. His idea is great but too naive to be true because I think it's going to be very difficult to prove if literature can perform such a role."

However, Kim said there is a certainly role that literary works can do with regard to the past wounds of a society. "They can expose the dark past and frustration the public had felt and let the public know about it," said Kim. "This is what Yan did in his work. He didn't deem himself as a healer. But he exposed the poignant issues through his work."