If You Have Love, Even

As A Child, My Idea Of The West Was That It Was A Miasma Of Poverty And Misery, Like That Of The Homeless 'little Match Girl'in The Hans Christian Andersen Story. When I Was In The Boarding Nursery And Did Not Want To Finish My Food, The Teacher Would Say:'think Of All The Starving Children In The Capitalist World!

For Anyone To Open Their Heart, They Need The Right Atmosphere, And Something To Prompt Them. For My Mother It Was Her Trip Abroad: She Was In A Very Relaxed, Understanding Environment. I Was Very Sympathetic Towards Her.

I Was Not Allowed To Take Notes But My Friend And I Memorised Those Two And A Half Pages. Most People Talked To Me Because Of The Warning. They Knew This Book Was Not Going To Be The Official Line.

My Grandmother's Feet Had Been Bound When She Was Two Years Old. Her Mother...first Wound A Piece Of White Cloth About Twenty Feet Long Round Her Feet, Bending All The Toes Except The Big Toe Inward And Under The Sole. Then She Placed A Large Stone On Top To Crush The Arch.

My Father Said He Was Going To Write To The Jinzhou City Party Committee Asking For Permission To 'talk About Love'...my Mother Supposed It Was A Bit Like Asking Permission From The Head Of The Family...the Communist Party Was The New Patriarch.