Ting-Xing Ye - A Leaf in the Bitter Wind

Copyright 1997 Ting-xing Ye
Hardcover reprinted 1997
Paperback first published in 1998
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of Doubleday Canada Limited.

Canadian Cataloguing in Publication Data

Ye, Ting-xing, 1952
A leaf in the bitter wind

eISBN: 978-0-385-67414-0
1. Ye, Ting-xing, 1952- . 2. China - Social conditions - 1976- . 3. China - Social conditions - 19491976. 4. Women - China - biography. I. Title.

DS779.29.Y4A3 1997 951.05092 C96-032241-0

Maps by William Bell
Photo layout by Heidy Lawrance Associates

Published in Canada by Anchor Canada, a division of Random House of Canada Limited

v3.1

This book is dedicated to the memory of

my mother, Li Xiu-feng
my father, Ye Rong-ting
my great-aunt, Chen Feng-mei

Choosing the title was just a tiny part of William Bells enormous contribution to this book. In a long, hard, sometimes tearful process, his gentle push and profound understanding helped me across the finish line. A writer himself, his love of words and solid knowledge of his craft inspired me to put down the first sentence, and his trust and confidence in me made this book possible.

I was fortunate to be befriended by John Pearce, who believed in, encouraged and guided this project. His judgment and expertise have been invaluable. My gratitude also goes to Gail Pearce for her careful reading of the manuscript and thoughtful advice.

I want to thank all my friends here in Canada for their support. My heart particularly goes to William Talbot, without whose assistance in bringing a stranger to this land in the first place this story would still be only a painful memory.

I also want to thank the Canada Council for assistance.

My last tribute is to my brothers and sisters in China, for their care and love, for their stories and research. I hope this book has done justice to the memory of our parents and great-aunt and to what the five of us have been through together.

I have used the han yu pin yin system of romanization. A few names such as Yangtze and Chiang Kai-shek have been left in the older spelling because pin yin forms might be unfamiliar. English-speaking readers will find that most letters in pin yin are pronounced more or less the same as those in English. Some exceptions are:

c = ts, as in pets
q = ch, as in church
x = hss
z = dz, as in adze
zh = j, as in juice

The words Lao (Old, Venerable) and Xiao (Young) when used with a surname are common terms of respect in China. Thus, I was usually addressed as Xiao Ye by persons outside my family.

With the exception of public figures and members of my family, I have disguised the names of all Chinese persons in this book.