With per-capita G.D.P. still so paltry, the country is a paper tiger. The slightest stir of the wind and grass makes the government nervous. ... If only China gets to develop in peace for another twenty years, the the situation will be different. But now? ... Well, at least it seems we won't go back to the Maoist age.
Sums it up well, right? That is the Chinese author/intellectual/politician Wang Meng
in a wonderful profile-essay by Jianying Zha in the
New Yorker (subscription required.) It is a fantastic essay that provides insights into how intellectuals fit in (or don't) with the Chinese government and politics. I had no idea about Wang Meng until I read this ... it is difficult to judge an intellectual's social and political role from outside the Chinese system, and the essay makes it clear that there are many opinions of him both within China and outside. But, one thing for sure: I want to check out some of
his stories.
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