The Little Red Guard: A Family Memoir (21 page)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

This book represents my effort to make up for my foolish reticence at Father’s funeral in November 1988. It is also my attempt to rescue an obscure family story that I believe speaks universally to the contradictions that are thrown in our paths as we grow up. More important, researching and writing this book have given me new insights into my relationship with my parents, Wang Guiying and Huang Zhiyou, whose teachings have continued to shape my character.

The Little Red Guard
would not have been possible without the help of my relatives, especially my sisters, Huang Wenxia and Huang Wenjing, as well as my brother, Huang Wenjie, my brother-in-law, Wu Zhiyi, my cousins, Geng Jianping and Hu Honglian, and my nieces, Ren Xiaoyu, Wu Fei, Geng Mingsha, and Geng Mingfei, all of whom have enthusiastically shared with me their memories of our parents. Also in Xi’an, many thanks go to my close friend Liang Li.

In 1988, I met Dr. Robert Crowley, who was a visiting professor in Shanghai. Our short meeting turned into a lifelong friendship. Dr. Crowley reached out to me after the government crackdown on the student pro-democracy movement in 1989 and paved the way for my studies at what was then the Sangamon State University in Springfield, Illinois. Over the years, Dr. Crowley has served as a tireless mentor and advocate, reading and editing almost every article and book that I have written.

I am very fortunate to have Peter Bernstein and his wife, Dr. Amy Bernstein, as my agents. They took me under their wing and assisted me in every possible way with patience and encouragement. I also want to express my gratitude to Philip Gourevitch, who continues to be a champion of my work, and to Esther Allen whose help has enabled me to embark on my career as a literary translator and writer.

I appreciate the help from Chris Wood and Tim Cribb, who first edited and published an excerpt of the book “Grandma’s Longevity Wood” in the
Asia Literary Review
. Tim also provided valuable suggestions and editorial assistance to the first draft. My thanks also go to Christopher Cox and Caitlin Roper, who published an excerpt of the book in
The Paris Review
. In addition, many of John Siciliano’s suggestions have also helped shape the book.

I want to thank Patrick Tyler, the former chief at
The New York Times
, Beijing, for those adventurous months we spent in China. That experience changed the focus of my writing.

Chai Guoxing was my dorm mate at Fudan University. Since then, we have never parted. Chai and I ended up in the same school in Springfield, Illinois, and with the same company for several years in Chicago. In the first few years in the United States, he and his wife, aka “cousin” Jane Wang, helped me tremendously, and we spent the most challenging yet happy years together.

In Springfield, Illinois, I was fortunate to have the friendship and help from my professors and mentors Mary and Brent Bohlen, the late Bill Miller, Mike Klemens, Richard and Judy Shereikis, Charlene Lambert, aka Granny, and brother Bruce Kinnett. There is no way I can forget Bill Brown for his generosity over the past twenty years. Wish you a good life in Indonesia, Bill.

I have incorporated into my book many of the heated discussions over TCS and Nietzsche with Maria and Warren Tai. I want to thank the following close friends who have become part of my family: Monica Eng, Colin McMahon, Linda Yu (I’m waiting for your book), Tao Zhang (my close friend and fellow Xi’anese who has taken the photograph for the cover), Michael Bradley of the Chicago Archdiocese (thanks for your editorial assistance), Tish Valva in the UK, Jim and Laurie Nayder, Lih and Frank Wang, Xiaoping Chen, Susan Harris, Juju Lien, Cindy Savio, Kate Durham and the lovely Miss A, the talented Hou family, especially Dong Mama (thank you for the noodles), Andrea Dunaif aka my beloved W, David Alexander, Eiko Terao, Mike and Lynne Coyne, Ho Pin, Yunfei Zhang, and, of course, Caren and Dale Thomas. I want to thank Scott and Caroline Simon as well as my beautiful goddaughter, Lina Simon, and her sister, Elise. I’m indebted to Gerhard Dierkes in Germany for his tireless efforts to help me with my books and translations.

Of course, I’m grateful to my editor, Megan Lynch, for publishing this book, for her great editorial insights, and for granting me creative freedom.

Last, I want to thank a group of supportive friends at work—Thaddeus Woosley (publicist extraordinaire), Hans Van Heukelum (thank you for the little red book), Andrew Delaney, Jessica Wojanis, Cara McCall, William Seyfarth aka Jimmy Annex, Kelly Drinkwine, Tory Neff, and George Zsolnay.