No Enemies, No Hatred: Selected Essays and Poems - Hardcover

Xiaobo Liu; Perry Link; Tienchi Martin-liao; Xia Liu

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0674061470 ISBN 13: 9780674061477

Publisher: Harvard University Press, 2012

Synopsis

When the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on December 10, 2010, its recipient, Liu Xiaobo, was in Jinzhou Prison, serving an eleven-year sentence for what Beijing called 'incitement to subvert state power.' In Oslo, actress Liv Ullmann read a long statement the activist had prepared for his 2009 trial. It read in part: "I stand by the convictions I expressed in my 'June Second Hunger Strike Declaration' twenty years ago--I have no enemies and no hatred. None of the police who monitored, arrested, and interrogated me, none of the prosecutors who indicted me, and none of the judges who judged me are my enemies." That statement is one of the pieces in this book, which includes writings spanning two decades, providing insight into all aspects of Chinese life. Originally selected by his wife, Liu Xia, these works not only chronicle a leading dissident's struggle against tyranny but enrich the record of universal longing for freedom and dignity. Liu writes pragmatically, yet with deep-seated passion, about peasant land disputes, the Han Chinese in Tibet, child slavery, the CCP's Olympic strategy, the Internet in China, the contemporary craze for Confucius, and the Tiananmen massacre. Also presented are poems written for his wife, public documents, and a foreword by Vaclav Havel. This collection is an aid to reflection for Western readers who might take for granted the values Liu has dedicated his life to achieving for his homeland.

About this title

Review:

Though he is an equal in many respects to V?clav Havel, who contributed a foreword to this volume, Liu is not as literary a figure. Instead, his voice is humble and inelegant, if vigorous. Liu's style reflects his enthusiastic adoption of the Internet, and his strong identification with netizens everywhere. His writing would be simply informative if his subjects were not so urgent, and the clarity of his moral stance not so gem-hard, crystal-clear, and necessary.--Michael Autrey"Booklist" (12/15/2011)

It is scarcely credible that the government of a country of 1.4 billion people, one of the largest economies, an emergent great power that is flexing its muscle in all directions, can be so scared of one individual, a writer whose crime is to write about what is happening in China and to disseminate his ideas online. What has [Liu] done that is so bad? Only by reading his work can we find out. Liu's colleagues outside China, Perry Link and Tienchi Martin-Liao, and Liu Xia, are to be thanked for a timely compilation in English that introduces the man and his thoughts from his early years as a literary critic at a Beijing university to his status as the new century's most famous Chinese intellectual, even while he is silenced and incarcerated in his country. It's gutsy for Harvard University Press to publish it, too. Harvard has interests in China, as do many institutions these days. Just to mention Liu Xiaobo's name is taboo for Chinese academics, and even academics outside China can be wary of discussing his work in case they offend officialdom. "No Enemies, No Hatred" lets us judge for ourselves. It covers a range of recent hot topics in China: the role of sex and political humor in contemporary culture, the Confucius revival, the Beijing Olympics, Hong Kong, Tibet, Obama, Jesus Christ. There's commentary on abuses that attracted grassroots protest: farmers evicted from their land, children forced into slave labor, violent crimes unpunished and covered up.--Nicholas Jose"The Australian" (10/05/2011)

This is a book everyone should read, as Australian citizens and as human beings, because our national stake in what happens in China has become enormous and our human engagement with it must take the side of those who, like Liu, have the greatest integrity and the most generous vision of their country's future. Whether from a scenario planning or moral point of view, this man's ideas need to be a key part of how we see China...It's a brilliant collection and belongs in the great tradition going back to "The Apology of Socrates" and "The Consolation of Philosophy".--Paul Monk"Sydney Morning Herald" (12/23/2011)

Bookshops are now submerged by a tidal wave of new publications attempting to provide information about China, and yet there is (it seems to me) one new book whose reading should be of urgent and essential importance, both for the specialist and for the general reader alike--the new collection of essays by Liu Xiaobo, judiciously selected, translated, and presented by very competent scholars, whose work greatly benefited from their personal acquaintance with the author.--Simon Leys"New York Review of Books" (02/09/2012)

In "No Enemies, No Hatred: Selected Essays and Poems", the well-translated collection edited by Perry Link, Tienchi Martin-Liao and Liu Xia--Liu's wife--Liu demonstrates a considerable amount of anger while retaining his Gandhian nonviolent spirit. Taken together, his essays offer the best analysis I have read of what's wrong in the People's Republic of China.--Jonathan Mirsky"New York Times Book Review" (01/01/2012)

"No Enemies, No Hatred" [is] a collection that shows why the Communist Party fears this 56-year-old intellectual-turned-activist and his ideas. In essays on China's rise, Tibet, the impact of materialism and nationalism on morality and sex, the 2008 Olympics, and much more, Liu advances the antithesis to the Party line, writing "free from fear," as co-editor Perry Link puts it in his valuable introduction...Liu's writing is most personal when writing about Tiananmen, but all of the essays display a distinctly humane spirit. He takes evident pride in the changes that ordinary Chinese have brought about despite the Communist Party's tight grip on power...Liu has a keen eye for the cynicism and hypocrisy that warps Chinese society, fed by propaganda extolling wealth, power and national pride.--Ellen Bork"Wall Street Journal" (12/30/2011)

"No Enemies, No Hatred" is the first English-language collection of Liu's poems and essays, including works that the Chinese government cited when convicting him in 2009. Editors' notes included in the book do an excellent job of providing foreign readers with background on some of the topics that Liu writes about...This collection begins with Liu's writings about [the Tiananmen Square] protests, including poignant poems about those who died. Elsewhere, he takes aim at both Chinese and Westerners who believe that the other's culture holds all the answers to humanity's problems...Liu's sentence ends in June 2020. It's unknown how much China's political system will have changed by then. But one thing seems certain: If the injustices that Liu has railed against are still in place, he will not be timid about speaking his mind.--Mike Revzin"Christian Science Monitor" (01/03/2012)

Although the Nobel Peace Prize recipient Liu has been unable to publish anything since his most recent detention, which began in late 2008, Link, his co-editors, and a superb group of translators have assembled an impressive sampling of Liu's courageous and insightful writings from the past two decades in this remarkable, highly readable new book. Liu's critical essays and moving prison poetry combine to form a fascinating portrait of China during a period of rapid development and political change. If there was ever any doubt that Liu deserved the Peace Prize, this book erases it...Neither China specialists nor newcomers will soon forget this powerful book.--Jerome A. Cohen"Foreign Affairs" (01/01/2012)

Offers a glimpse into the coruscating mind of one of China's greatest dissident thinkers...Chinese officials regularly describe Liu as a dangerous criminal who threatens the very foundations of the state. The conclusion many readers of this powerful and fascinating collection of Liu's writings will reach is that those foundations are not as strong as the Chinese government likes to portray to the outside world...Even for those unfamiliar with Chinese politics or the country's human rights record, this book should appeal because of the moving poetry and beautifully written essays...The best chance yet for those who cannot read Chinese to hear the voice of China's conscience.--Jamil Anderlini"Financial Times" (01/27/2012)

No Enemies, No Hatred marks the inaugural English-language collection of Liu's work...[It] demonstrates the breadth--and intellectual and emotional potency--of a powerful writer and political advocate...[No Enemies, No Hatred] is a wonderful introduction to Liu's work. Liu writes with ease and persuasiveness on subjects ranging from land grabs of farmland by corrupt officials, to child slavery, to Confucius. He has a knack for nailing contemporary China.--Emily-Anne Owen"The Independent" (04/13/2012)

About the Author:

Liu Xiaobo, winner of the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize, is a Chinese writer and human rights activist.

About this edition

• Publisher: Harvard University Press
• Publication date: 2012
• ISBN 10: 0674061470
• ISBN 13: 9780674061477
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 320