Author：Wan Fang

Publishing House: Beijing Shiyuewenyi Publishing House

Publishing Date: June 2020

Playwright Wan Fang, daughter of Cao Yu (1910-1996), one of China's greatest 20th century playwrights, published a book titled You and Me this year, and a book release event was held on August 9 in Beijing.

"To be honest, the original intention of writing this book was for my mother," said Wan, who added that the passing of her mother Fang Rui at the age of 54 has become a permanent pain in her heart. 

Wan wanted to write a book for her mother 10 years ago, but she didn't start writing until 2018. 

"My mother is perfect in my mind, beautiful, gentle and patient. But when I found out that my father fell in love with my mother while he had another family, I don't know what to say. This was perhaps a flaw of my mother's life that I didn't want to see," said Wan.

As time passed, Wan decided to break the barriers since the truth is the worthiest thing to pursue — for both writers and everyone else. "It took me 10 years to have the courage to face the truth. After writing this book, I confronted the deep pain in my heart. Afterward, I found that I was stronger than before." 

Wan said that the book is not only about the memories of her parents, but also her understanding of them. "The newspaper wrote about my parents' relationship and marriage, but many of these stories are not factual — just rumors or gossip. So, I thought, why don't I tell the truth of their love and marriage to the world? "

"To some extent, love is the most wonderful and cherished treasure in a woman's life, and my mother got that. From her letters to my father, we can see that she was so passionate about love and even dedicated her life to love," Wan said.

In the new book, Wan included many love letters and old photos of her parents — many of which are being released to the public for the first time. For this reason, the memoir adopts a conceptual design style that combines family files and photo albums, providing readers with an immersive reading experience.

At the launch event, Pu Cunxin, a well-known Chinese actor and author, and Yang Qingxiang, poet and literary critic, shared their understanding and feelings after reading the book.

Pu said that the book brought him back to a simpler age. "It makes me constantly think how to face people from my father's generation and face the past," he said.

"Wan wrote the book with literary value, humanistic value and reading value. This book ignited my sincerity. When exploring the lives and experiences of people who have passed away, can we have the power to understand and face ourselves?" said Pu.

At the event, Yang interpreted the book from a critic's point of view. He said he believes it's one of the best non-fiction works in recent years, because the book is empathetic and reveals Wan's sincerity.

"People from that generation naturally combined personal love with the love of family and country," Yang explained, adding that he believes the love letters are the most exciting parts of the book. 

"The unique perspective of this book is that the author is constantly reflecting on herself, so that she can reach the spiritual height and dilemma of Cao's generation," Yang commented. 

(Source: culture.taiwan.cn/Translated and edited by Women of China)