Writing
President Qiu (Extract 1)
Translated by: Li Xiaowen
i. If you want to get rich, who should you study from?
In the 1990s the old capital gained another millionaire, another company boss, yet one more addressed as 'President.' He is the main character of this book: Old Qiu, Mr Qiu, President Qiu. President Qiu's experience is worth making into a story, not simply because Qiu is worth a million - as far as China's millionaires go he's not even in the bottom 1 percent. The purpose of this book is to present President Qiu's rise to fame and fortune as guidance to those who would like to enjoy similar success but are having difficulty finding the road and adjusting to the climate. The hope is that this book can be used to 'touch a stone and turn it into gold'; to enable not just a few like President Qiu to 'get rich first,' but to let the whole country find the broad highway to prosperity.
You can sense the writer's thoughtfulness, the writer's good moral intentions, as you understand the far-reaching significance of President Qiu's story, and realise from this story that Qiu's experience is exceptional. What's more, in achieving his goal the writer won't use one superfluous word that might get in the way, or any advertising-type drivel.
In the 1990s if you wanted to grow to be a big tree, if you wanted to get rich, who should you look at, who study from?
President Qiu
ii. In the 1990s everyone wanted to get rich
Old Qiu in fact is not old, 2 years ago he was just 38.
Old Qiu was the 8th child of his family; before him came 4 brothers and 3 sisters, so his nickname is 'Qiu 8'.
From the earliest days of the new China, the Qiu family lived in the old capital on the banks of the southern river in a building called 'Si Fei.' Apart from the Qius, there were also another 107 families all mixed together in the courtyard. It was a typical courtyard established by new Beijingers originating from every corner of the land.
In their 'Si Fei' days the Qiu family already inspired jealousy and envy from their neighbours both left and right. This was not just because in some former imperial dynasty time the Qiu family had produced a member who was a successful candidate in the imperial examinations and founded an aristocratic and respected family; nor was it because Qiu's parents entered the city after liberation with the young people's cadres, and had illustrious jobs in the main body of the national government; but because wave on wave with each generation the Qiu family continued to advance with the times, spreading light and glory on the Qiu family, and giving face to the courtyard.
In the 1950s everyone wanted to have a lot of children.
In the 1950s just after the leaders came up with the slogan 'more people get more things done,' the Qiu family's number 4, number 5, all the way to number 8, duly appeared seemingly at once. Thus the Qiu family caught up with the record of the favoured neighbours on either side with their 'Rong 7' and 'Rong 8.' All the 'Si Fei' men, women, old, young, without exception were filled with joy, contending to hold Qiu 8, kiss Qiu 8. The courtyard's atmosphere in this way was filled with delight, as if Jesus himself had come down from heaven.
In the 1960s, everyone wanted to put up big character posters.
When the curtain for the 1960s cultural revolution had only just been pulled back, Qiu 8's big brother and 2nd and 3rd sisters posted the first big character posters in their courtyard. The target for their criticism wasn't other people but their famous ancestor from a former dynasty time. From that moment everyone in the courtyard was running about informing on everyone, and arousing the passion of the masses, whereas in the neighbouring 2 yards big character posters didn't go up for another year. This made everyone who passed 'Si Fei' lower their heads silently. The Qiu name gave the 'si fei' face.
In the 1970s, everyone wanted to go to the countryside.
In the 1970s the Qiu family number 5 registered to go to the 'great northern wilderness' to take part in the 'build the nation' campaign; he went and was there for 5 years.
In the 1970s everyone wanted to join the army.
In the 1970s, number 3 also joined the armed forces. Seen off by a crowd, and with a big red flower pinned to his chest, he left the yard.
At the end of the 1970s everyone wanted to go to university.
At the end of the 1970s,when the university examination had just been reinstated, number 3, and number 3 sister and number 4 brother all won admittance to 3 famous universities. In the courtyard people said it was ghost of the former famous ancestor, suddenly multiplied by 3.
In the 1980s everyone wanted to go abroad.
In the 1980s, two important things happened to the Qiu family; one is that 2nd sister and 3rd sister went to study overseas. One went to the West, the other went East. The other is that 3rd brother and 3rd sister and 4th brother all made further progress; one did a doctorate, another a masters. At that time society was again respecting knowledge, and the Qiu family's overseas students were numerous, which made the 'Si Fei' inhabitants hardly dare not to respect them.
The late 1980s was really the Qiu family's period of great prosperity, the 'si fei' courtyard's glorious age. Because of their ancestors the Qiu family had gained great fortune, and because of the Qiu family the courtyard had great glory. But once the 1990s came along, the Qiu family and the 'Si Fei' courtyard having reached that peak of illustriousness suddenly lost colour and was eclipsed. This wasn't because of other people, but because of something that not even a great family could predict: the times changed. In the 1990s, everyone wanted to get rich.
We enter the 1990s.
At the beginning of spring in the first year of the 1990s, Rong 7, a guy from next door, drove a 4 wheeled car slowly from the neighbouring courtyard, giving a clear picture from all angles to the 'Si Fei' inhabitants behind their windows looking at this scene. Their inner hearts gave out a sigh of emotion,. it seemed like the Rong family's young son had got rich.
In the second Autumn of the 1990s, Rong 8 from the 'San Fu' yard opened a karakoe venue in a conspicuous spot right opposite the 'Si Fei' yard. Every night, the brilliant lights and the mass of bobbing heads made the 'Si Fei' inhabitants sleepless, resenting secretly in their beds that 8th Rong from that yard had got rich, too!
Another three years passed. The neighbours, from 5th Wang all the way to Wang the 8th from the neighboring yard on the left, all got rich one after the other, just like at a temple fair. Some of them opened companies, some owned BMWs, some became board chairmen, some got executed, but at least that was after being rich for a while. In a word, they were all loaded and rose head and shoulder above others.
Only the children of 'Si Fei' showed no sign of gaining any fortune, not even one person.
It was already the fourth year of the 90's, but in the 'Si Fei' yard not even one four-wheeled auto had ever been parked, or one loaded moneybags appeared. Let's not worry about being loaded, there wasn't even one with a 'hand grenade' (another name for 'pager') attached to their waist belt, or '12- kick firecracker' ( 'cell phone') in their hand. This made the 'Si Fei' residents unable to keep their cool anymore. They couldn't help but raise their heads to heaven and ask themselves out loud: 'What's wrong with our 'Si Fei' people? What's wrong with the 90s?'
Therefore people's attention inevitably turned to the Qius. Therefore people's hopes rested on the children of the Qius yet again. Therefore the Qiu couple felt the pressure of popular expectation.
They started to analyze their eight children as if conducting a military inspection, The oldest son had already reached the age of early retirement; he couldn't get anywhere anymore. The second son was the division commander of some missile unit, he wasn't suited to do business. The oldest daughter had never been good with numbers, even water bills had to be paid by her husband. The husbands of the second and the third daughter were studying overseas;, quite likely they were well on their way to becoming perpetual students. 'None of them is the right candidate for making a fortune.' Said Uncle Qiu as he disqualified them one by one.
Aunty Qiu had heard that the era of the 90's was a time that combined technology and trade; it got her thinking of their families famous scholar who had come first in the imperial examinations. The third son had studied archaeology, and his research project was 'Prehistoric life before the fourth glacial period.' The third daughter had also gained a doctorate, and she was just writing a thesis providing a macro-forecast of human beings one thousand years in the future. The fourth son had gained a Master's degree in economics all right, but his research area was 'Chinese capitalism 's embryonic stage in the early 17th century.'
It took Aunty Qiu only a quick calculation to reach the conclusion that the third son's ideology was 200 million years away from the socialist market economy of the present, and the third daughter 1000 years ahead of her time, while the fourth son, the closest one to the present time, still needed to go through the Ming and Qing dynasties, plus the Republic of China and the Great Leap Forward periods.
Aunty Qiu was disappointed, and Uncle Qiu was despairing. ' Hold on! Don't we still have our 8th son!' It suddenly occurred to Aunty Qiu. 'Him? Humph! It's better not to mention him, otherwise I'll get annoyed! Uncle Qiu sighed resentfully. 'Who else has hope except him? Old buggers like us?' 'Hmm! You're right.' Uncle Qiu sighed again, agreeing in as much as there was nothing he could do about it.
Therefore the Qiu family's representative for the 90's was born. Therefore the fortune-making leader of the hundreds of families from 'si fei' yard came out of the southern horizon of Beijing.
He is the protagonist of this story, the 8th Qiu, President Qiu.