Xiao Mo, a highly respected academic, tells Clifford Coonanhe is baffled why his book has been banned
XIAO MO, a highly respected retired expert on architectural relics, has no idea why the authorities banned his memoirs covering a fascinating 15-year period spent examining historical artefacts at the ancient site of Dunhuang.
“The only reasons I can think of why the book was banned was that it covered my life during the Cultural Revolution in Dunhuang, and that everything I wrote in the book is true,” said Xiao (73).
Xiao will now seek a Hong Kong or a Taiwan publisher for his memoir, To See the World in a Leaf: 15 Years in Dunhuang, but he is clearly frustrated at the fate of his book.
Like other media, publishing is a tightly controlled industry in China, although it is potentially a highly lucrative one too and many international publishing companies are in the capital this week for the Beijing Book Fair, which is organised by the General Administration of Press and Publication (Gapp) – the authority which banned Xiao’s book – and the information office of the state council, China’s cabinet.
Xiao is an academic blueblood and a loyal member of the Communist Party. After graduating from the prestigious Tsinghua University with an architecture degree in 1961, he worked at the Dunhuang Research Institute for Cultural Relics in Gansu from 1963 to 1978.
A recognised expert in China, he has written 18 books and co-written 19 books on architecture. He is also formerly head of the Institute of Architectural Art.
Dunhuang is home to hundreds of remarkable Buddhist frescos painted on cave walls at the edge of the Gobi desert, in the remote northwest of China. Dunhuang was a place where merchants and travellers could pray before heading off on the treacherous Silk Road.
The Cultural Revolution was a period of ideological frenzy unleashed by Chairman Mao Zedong which destroyed millions of lives in China between 1966 and 1976.
All over China, valuable cultural artefacts were destroyed as being counter-revolutionary, including temples, churches, statues and paintings, and it is a miracle that the cave paintings were not destroyed by over-zealous Red Guards – some say that Premier Zhou Enlai personally intervened to stop their destruction.
Xiao insists there is no official limitation on writing about that period, and he would never do anything to go against the party or the central government.
“I am free to write about it, once I am sensitive to the central government. Honestly, I’m a member of the Communist Party and I understand this very well. I’ve no idea why they banned my book like this,” he said.
One possibly contentious reference is to two characters, referred to only as “Ms A” and “Mr B”, who gained influence and position out of their role in the Cultural Revolution.
It’s not impossible that someone of similar background or with the same social status used their influence to have Xiao’s book stopped.
Until August, everything had seemed fine.
Excerpts from Xiao’s book were published in two official government magazines in 2008, with full approval of the ministry of culture, but when it came to bringing out the full text, one set of publishers baulked, saying he did not have the required three official seals of approval to print.
He switched publisher, and the book appeared in April. But soon problems began to emerge – there were friendly warnings from colleagues not to attend meetings about the book because there were “sensitivity issues”.
Still, the 5,000 copies of the book sold out, but when he inquired if it would be reprinted, there were problems. Some senior members of the publishing house had been visited by security officials and in July and the order came down from Gapp banning the reprint. By early August this year, the book had been withdrawn and banned.
The official description was that “distribution, advertisement and publication had been stopped”.
“I hoped that someone would come and talk to me, argue with me or sue me, but nothing has happened. They do not even use official channels to gain my respect,” said Xiao.
Asked about other dissenting authors, such as Yu Jie, who recently published a controversial book describing Premier Wen Jiabao as an “actor” without credibility, and Liu Xiaobo, the dissident author and academic who has been jailed on subversion charges, Xiao said he found their approach “too aggressive” and publicity seeking, although he said he had sympathy for their experiences.
“Their radical manner and hope that China can become democratic in one go, I don’t really approve of so much. Frankly, I call myself a democratic socialist. I approve of my government and I support the Communist Party. I believe that China is making small steps, little by little, towards becoming a democratic socialist country,” he said.