https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7 Freedom Swimmer - Wai Chim en-us 2022-01-07 13:29:53 UTC 2026-03-14 01:10:12 UTC hello@padlet.com kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980498984 I chose this book (Freedom Swimmer - Wai Chim) because it tells an interesting new perspective on peasant life during the Cultural Revolution, under the Communist Party. In addition, the reviews were very good.

]]> 2022-01-07 13:30:39 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980498984 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980501766 "Ma is gone. I fought back tears, griping hte handle of the wheelbarrow tighter so her body wouldnt tip out too soon. I was taking her to the river to join the other villagers who had passed." (Pg.1, Prologue)

The author begins in a shocking setting which hooks the reader, with the main character dumping his mother's body in a river. She had starved along with many other villagers. This would be common during the setting of the Great Leap Forward, where millions starved.

]]> 2022-01-07 13:32:24 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980501766 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980513519 "'That's beautiful." I didn't fully comprehend the intentions behind the words, but I knew they were true. There was something else. 'It's not about Fei, is it?' ... 'It's about Hong Kong.'" (88)

This is the first time Ming mentions how he adores Hong Kong to Li, a city-slicker Communist who would've reported his disloyal thoughts immediately earlier in the book. Li's character begins to change from the other city boys here.]]> 2022-01-07 13:39:58 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980513519 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980531937 "'The only way to stay the true course is to study Mao's teachings and to recite his work daily. I've memorized the whole Red Book, but I still recite passages every day so I can be certain I am thinking with a Communist mind and that my thoughts and actions are in the best interests of the Party.' 'Wah, I can't imagine knowing a whole book,' ... 'It would take me a whole week just to read a page.'" (44)

Feng, a city boy who has been transferred to a small village in order to learn to be a farmer, speaks first. He shows his strong ideology and learned background (being that he's memorized an entire book of Mao quotes). In contrast, Tian can barely read. This contrasts the city-boys (ideological and optimistic) and the locals (practical and less communist), and forewarns the conflict between the two later in the book.]]> 2022-01-07 13:52:04 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980531937 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980543532 "'So, where are the rest of the villagers?' [Li] 'They eat at home,' Tian said with his mouth full. "I thought the villagers would all eat together. Communal dining in the true spirit of Communism." [Ah-jun] 'That was stopped ages ago,' I muttered into my bowl. 'Surely a village like this is the perfect place for Communism, the commune, to thrive?' Feng said." (41)

The above quote is only one example of the irony of the Communist former Red Guard (from the city) assuming what would be best for villagers, and chanting slogans to "help" the villagers, while the actual people who they are "helping" don't follow the policies out of practicality.]]> 2022-01-07 13:59:25 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980543532 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980566701 "The next week dragged on. Out in the fields, my mouth was full of the bitter taste of sickness. I managed to keep going, knowing Fei would be waiting for me at the end of the week" (193)

"My dear friend Ming, 

I shouldn't be writing to you-my husband, Lo, would be very angry with me if he discovered me exchanging letters with a man... I don't want you to worry about me, Ming. I miss the village very much, but I know that there is no point in holding on to the past. You showed me taht. Instead, I will try to build new memories. 
Take care of yourself, Ming. I hope with all my heart that you can one day be free.
May your heart be forever true,

Fei

There was no return address. I read the letter once, twice, and then crumpled up the page and flung it into the grass. Fei was gone." (197-198)

Late in the book, Ming's love of Fei is the last strand holding him in Longgang. Her disappearance moves Ming to agree to leave with Li.]]> 2022-01-07 14:13:20 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980566701 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980737582 "'We should do the swim, Ming. You and me, we should go to Hong Kong.'" [Li] (199)

"'I've made up my mind already. I'm not staying to be beaten every night.' He opened his mouth to protest, but the words never came. I already knew what he was thinking. Fei was gone... It was over. There was nothing left for Ming here." [Li] (202)

"'Okay,' he [Ming] finally said. 'I'm in.' A tiny flutter of excitement twisted in my stomach, and I momentarily forgot our sorrows. We were going to Hong Kong." (202)

Here, Li and Ming finally agree to try and swim to Hong Kong. Fei's abduction earlier comes into play here, as Ming now had nothing left for him in Longgang.]]> 2022-01-07 15:46:34 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980737582 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980813782 "The poster read, ANNIHILATE ALL THE MONSTERS AND DEMONS COMPLETELY, THOROUGHLY, AND ENTIRELY. 'That was the start of the big-character poster movement,' Li observed." (45)

I think a big-character poster is a large political poster, with big Chinese characters (big-character). This is also supported by the fact that the text on the poster is represented in an all-caps English translation.]]> 2022-01-07 16:30:32 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1980813782 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981106818 "'Morning, laan fan zyu,' Tian chimed in ... Fend and the others had already left, so after a quick breakfast of cold buns ..." (69)

I infer this means Tian is calling him lazy, since "laan" can mean lazy in chinese, so the whole phrase probably means that. Also, he seems late, which makes it seem more likely.]]> 2022-01-07 19:44:52 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981106818 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981149612 "There hadn't been a vehicle in Dingzhai for months, and we all dropped our tools to watch as they approached the work hall. ... 'Hey! Get back to work!' The team leader had caught us shirking, which meant point deductions for sure."(31-32)]]> 2022-01-07 20:21:53 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981149612 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981150450 "'Jau mou gaau co. What was that all about?' Tian cussed loudly."(25)

I think the Guangdong dialect of chinese is used here to provide more immersion into the setting, as it would be unrealistic for someone to use Standard Chinese when swearing, especially in the 60s in Guangdong.]]> 2022-01-07 20:22:43 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981150450 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981155303 "She dug into her pants pocket and pulled out a cupped hand to show me. Nestled in the center of it was a tiny, precious sweet potato. ... 'We can share some when you get back," she said solemnly. I almost dropped the water jug. She was offering a gift I knew I could never repay." (8)

Fei gifting part of the small sweet potato to Ming is important for 2 reasons: 1, it demonstrates how scarce food was during the Great Leap Forward (or the Three Years of Natural Disasters, as it was retroactively named), which certainly contributed to Ming's later escape from China.

Secondly, it serves to provide an explanation as to why Ming is so enamored with Fei, which is important later when she's married off to a Party official, which finally breaks Ming, who resolves to escape with Li.]]> 2022-01-07 20:27:46 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1981155303 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983296082 I think the theme of the book is that you need to stand up for yourself, your morals, and your friends. Ming, the main character, refuses to give up on his values at any point in the book, despite extreme hardship. He still helps a stranger, even when starving (6-8); he even wants to help her with her abusive aunt (12-13). Later on, Li makes sure Ming isn't bullied by the group of new boys (36). Li even helps Ming with his letter to his crush Fei, even though he himself has an interest in her (they end up married, 235) (85-88). Finally, they resolve to escape to Hong Kong, where they can be free from the terror of the Communist Party (199-202).]]> 2022-01-10 07:55:17 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983296082 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983301122 "I shut my eyes and imagined that instead of being up above the waves, I was down below, naked and kicking. I could hear Li's strokes beside me as we swam ... " (233)

The author uses a flashback here to compare Ming's passage to the United States to his past swim to Hong Kong.]]> 2022-01-10 07:58:40 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983301122 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983310799 "That was years ago, and I still hadn't spoken to her. Instead, I spent a lot of time spying on her." (57)

I can connect to this personally, as when I had a crush, I often didn't get to speak to her (different classes and extracurriculars), so I took a similar approach. ]]> 2022-01-10 08:04:51 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983310799 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983815994 "I brought my head down so my lips were almost touching the water. 'Swim, my friend. Swim to freedom." I pulled my fingers apart, breaking the cage." (30)

Ming releasing the fish foreshadows his own swim to Hong Kong, where he escapes the "cage" of Communist China.]]> 2022-01-10 13:43:45 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983815994 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983823203 "A few years ago, the entire village was talking about 'the Great Leap Forward,' delivering glory to China. Now the Cadre had a new term for the lack of food, the hunger, the starving, and finally the dying. Like everything else, the Part had a name for it. Three Years of Natural Disasters" (3)

This connects to the actual Great Leap Forward, where pseudoscientific farming practices and hasty industrialization caused mass famine, coupled with local officials overreporting (and thus over exporting) grain in order to gain favor. This even happened at a national level; China continued to export grain even as people were starving. Between 15 and 55 million starved or died of disease as a result of malnutrition.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127087/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Leap_Forward]]> 2022-01-10 13:46:51 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983823203 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983858745 "The boys began beating him. The crowd did nothing to stop them. One or two of the villagers stepped forward and began to yell obscenities. 'Confess your crimes!' a voice called out... Instead, Feng kicked me again, and I was in the dirt ... My face was wet and sticky with tears and mud." (188-189)

The beatings Chim describes are similar to those done against Uyghur Muslims in Xinjiang for the "crime" of having a different culture from the Han majority. 
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/04/china/xinjiang-detective-torture-intl-hnk-dst/index.html ]]> 2022-01-10 14:01:13 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983858745 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983886848 "Most party members had gone through at least one self-criticism session, but I'd managed to avoid them so far ... My heart was racing, and my feet were a little unsteady as I staggered out of the building ... I knew I had avoided disaster, but I had a hunch that this would not be the last time." (163, 167)

Here, Li gets his first taste of the intense methods of the CCP. This acts as a prelude to his beating, and makes him want to leave more.]]> 2022-01-10 14:12:33 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1983886848 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984085072 "She was laughing with a boy whom I suddenly hated with every ounce of my being. Li. He was leering down at Fei, whispering something that made her blush violently." (64)

Here, Chim uses a common cliche, where a transfer student (or other newcomer) becomes romantically involved with the main character's romantic interest.]]> 2022-01-10 15:29:50 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984085072 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984119269 "your beautiful wet sand, like soft, supple skin." (88)

Here Ming uses simile to compare Hong Kong's shores to soft skin.]]> 2022-01-10 15:43:31 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984119269 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984127914 "He was leering down at Fei, whispering something that made her blush violently." (64)
"I still couldn't believe Ming hadn't spoken to the girl in six years -- six years. I'd asked Fei about it, and she had laughed, scarlet rising to her pretty face." (81)

It's ironic that while Ming thinks Fei is blushing at something Li said, in reality she is blushing at the thought of him.]]> 2022-01-10 15:47:05 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984127914 kkyao https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984134084 Q: Why do you think the author describes Ming's experiences during the famine?

A: The author adds Ming's experience during the famine to demonstrate the hardship he's endured in Communist China (in contrast to his vision of Hong Kong), and explain his strong emotional bond with Fei.]]> 2022-01-10 15:49:32 UTC https://padlet.com/kkyao/ur9n650c02i04pp7/wish/1984134084