Language is the soul of cultural expression. For a multilingual writer, the most fundamental decision is about which language to write in. Many non-native speakers of English are drawn to it for its practical advantages and artistic possibilities.
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As a native Chinese writing in English, I remain fascinated by this matter, for it touches the very essence of culture and identity.
I was born and raised on the banks of the Yangtze River and my tongue bathed in the cadences of Nanjing dialect; I didn’t start learning English until I was 22.
Why write in English then, you may ask. More than 30 years ago, when I was living in Oxford, England, a Chinese publisher invited me to write a book about the Western image of Mao Zedong, which was planned to coincide with the centenary of his birth. I eagerly accepted, excited to discover if and how Western views of the chairman would mirror broader Western perceptions of China.
Painstaking research ensued as I spent countless hours in the Bodleian Library and interviewed Westerners from various walks of life. However, my completed manuscript didn’t make it past Chinese censors, for being “too negative”. While grieving for my stillborn brainchild, I came to a decision: from that moment on, I would write in English, a language that would free me from the grip of censorship. To seal my decision, I even began keeping a diary in English.
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And writing in English turned out to be a liberation – politically and creatively. My adopted language allowed me to explore and express thoughts and ideas in ways that Chinese didn’t always permit. For example, in my memoir “Socialism is Great!”, a sex scene would have been far less explicit had I written it in Chinese.