Literary Master 1983

Chapter 171 Sweeping Southeast Asia

This ending is so simple and so powerful.

A wanderer who has been away from home for decades, has been away for half his life, and is still a young man when he returns. There is a song singing: Do you know that Macau is not my real surname? I have been away from you for too long, mother!
After reading this novel, many wealthy Chinese businessmen who fled the country could not calm down for a long time.

Now they are shipping magnates, bankers, and professors, but they are still a handful of soil in their hometown, a dandelion with roots. Whenever the wind blows, they think of the place where they rode the wind.

The novel "A Way Out" triggered a fierce response in the Southeast Asian Chinese community on the day it was completed. Whether in the seafood markets on the streets of Bangkok, the revolving restaurants in the wealthy district, or in the libraries of top universities, many people used this book as their roots and origins:
If you want to read about the history of the Chinese in Southeast Asia, go read "A Way Out".

It has become a phenomenal novel.

In the Department of History at the University of Singapore, teacher Wu Zhenqiang introduced this book to students:

"I have always wanted to publish a Journal of Overseas Chinese Studies, but there are many difficulties. Many people asked me whether it is meaningful. In my opinion, for various reasons, there is a blank in the study of the history of overseas Chinese. I think it is because there is no strong enough work to attract the attention of all sectors of society."

"Especially the Nanyang Chinese, who started from the lowest point, but now have perhaps the highest achievements. When the founding father of Singapore visited China a few years ago and talked about the plight of the Chinese, he said, 'We Singaporeans were originally hard laborers and poor people who fled to Nanyang to build such a country.' We Chinese (not in the administrative sense here) are indeed smart, wise, and hardworking, and we can achieve extraordinary achievements no matter where we are."

"But what kind of power enables us to persevere? This book tells the history of the Chinese in Southeast Asia. It does not give the answer, but the answer will emerge after reading it."

Wu Zhenqiang covered his chest and said, "The answer is in our hearts."

Singapore is a country where more than 70% of the population is Chinese. The authorities carefully maintain the proportion of Chinese people. They demand complete Westernization, learning English, and eating Western food, but they also celebrate the New Year and eat moon cakes.

Students went to read novels and exchanged them with each other to inform their alumni. The country was so small that any little thing could spread to the entire country within a few hours.

There was a man who spent an afternoon reading this book and felt that the spirit of "struggle" in the book could be promoted.

In 84, Singapore was facing an economic crisis, and the government was at a loss as to how to explain itself to Singaporeans. Although this novel was written by a mainland writer, it contains some truth, goodness, and beauty, which makes it even more meaningful to read for a country like Singapore, which is made up of Chinese immigrants.

He showed the novel to his father and expressed his thoughts. The next day, his father gave him affirmation: "It is indeed a good novel. We Singaporeans were expelled from Malaysia, which is similar to the situation in A Way Out. We could not find a way out, and no one was willing to accept us. We had to struggle to achieve everything."

Historically, Singapore was expelled from Malaysia and became an independent country because of its large Chinese population and its independent group.

Then the greatest invention in the history of shipping, the container, came into use, and the Asian economy took off. Singapore, relying on its location in the Strait of Malacca, rose even after being expelled.

The memory of this struggle is the national memory of generations of Singaporeans.

Is it very similar to the situation in "A Way Out"?
The reason why "A Way Out" has been so widely spread is that the beggars in distress finally brought honor to their families and their suffering was not in vain.

The man asked his father: "Mainland China has been opened up, why don't we allow people to speak Chinese? From this novel, I know the centripetal force of Chinese culture. Our majority ethnic group is Chinese, with a small number of Malays and Indians. We still speak in English. Doesn't that mean we don't have a sense of community?" His father laughed and said: "It is precisely because of the centripetal force that we can't speak Chinese. I heard that when Vietnam and the North were fighting, just playing novels and songs would greatly reduce the morale of the frontline fighters. They use the same characters and the same language, but they have a billion people and we only have a few million. How can we speak Chinese?"

The man asked again: "What about this novel?"

"One novel is not enough to turn the world upside down. He wrote well and should be promoted."

Singapore then began to vigorously promote this novel, making it one of the must-read extracurricular readings for the history of the Chinese in Southeast Asia. Singapore's actions prompted other universities to follow suit. In Malaysia, local Chinese schools also urgently added the novel as one of their "tutorial materials".

Zheng Wulou, chairman of the Thai Banks Union, was also recommended to the book. After reading it, he burst into tears.

Zheng Wulou was born in Thailand. The year he was born, the Qing Dynasty had just ended its regime. The last emperor of the Qing Dynasty, Puyi, abdicated. President Yuan Shikai was temporarily deceiving the world as a revolutionary and was accepted by the world.

In addition, Yuan Datou wrote a poem: The small building can accommodate one's knees, and the eaves are high enough to accommodate trees.

When overseas Chinese learned that the Qing Dynasty had disappeared, they thought that China would immediately embark on the road to revival, and they were all overjoyed. Under such circumstances, Zheng Wulou's father gave him the name "Wulou", which means starting from a small building that can only accommodate one's knees, to accomplish a great and spectacular career.

Therefore, he worked hard for the survival of the Chinese in Thailand throughout his life and contributed to the development of the motherland. When the Japanese army invaded Thailand, Zheng Wulou was arrested because he was unwilling to cooperate with the Japanese. After the liberation of the mainland, Zheng Wulou established the Overseas Chinese Committee for Relief of Famine in the Motherland and returned to China many times to provide disaster relief.

He commented on Yu Qie's novel "The Way Out": This is not only the experience that has always happened in my dreams, but also the long-cherished wish of my Zheng family. Although I was born and raised in Nanyang, I always miss the hometown that appears in my dreams. Only there can my heart find peace.

The excited Zheng Wulou, together with the former beverage tycoon Xu Shubiao and Charoen Pokphand Group's general manager Xie Guomin, invited Yu Qie to attend the "Chinese Night" party held in Bangkok's Chinatown. At this party, major Chinese dignitaries, wealthy businessmen and celebrities were all in attendance.

The delegation that came with Yu Qie was also invited. After the itinerary was approved by China, the Religious Affairs Department and the Foreign Affairs Department called to congratulate them: "China is watching you! Although we have had dozens of exchanges with various circles in Thailand in the past few years, with thousands of people from the acrobatic troupe, education and religious circles, this is the first time since the reform and opening up that such a large-scale and sensational event has taken place."

“Some leaders have also read the novel ‘A Way Out’ and brought it to the negotiation site, asking the British to read it as well.”

"The British don't understand why we have such a deep sense of homesickness and why returning home is the common wish of all Chinese people. We ask them to think about the popularity of "A Way Out" in Southeast Asia - this is an irrefutable fact!"

"We often say that playing the lute to a cow is a futile act, but even a dog or a pig should understand by now!"

This is indeed the case. During the negotiations, many British people wrote diaries and memoirs. China was too mysterious and too difficult for them to understand. However, the more so, the more they wanted to record their experiences in China.

Everything is new to them.

(End of this chapter)