Happy Together: Bridging the Australia-China Divide (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9780522878547)

In the late nineteenth century, as crippling famine devastated northern China, the Li family had no choice but to leave Shanxi province. Heading north, they began a new life, farming the remote grasslands of Inner Mongolia. They prospered as landowners and teachers, but could not escape the ravages of warlords, soldiers, and revolutionaries. Born into this pioneering family, Li Yao grew up in Mao's China. He dreamt of becoming a writer, but his dreams were torn apart by the Cultural Revolution. When the storm finally subsided, the young man turned to translation. In Australian writing, he found colourful tales set in new landscapes, a literature quite unfamiliar to him. Li Yao's story is interwoven with that of his friend, Australian historian David Walker. David's family had also settled in an unfamiliar and difficult land, a world away in distant South Australia. The two men became friends as Li Yao translated one of David's books into Chinese, and their personal histories provide a fascinating, illuminating window into life in China, an experience inevitably shaped by China's relations with the wider world.

Author: David Walker,Li Yao
ISBN-10: 0522878547
ISBN-13: 9780522878547
Publisher: Melbourne University
Language: English
Published: 06/15/2022
Pages: 280
Format: Paperback