1. Chen Jo-hsi 陳若曦 (1938-) Pen-name of Chen Xiumei
Native Taiwanese in a rural area of Taibei, both her father and grandfather were carpenters
Majored in English literature at National Taiwan University from
Married in 1964
Received MA from Johns Hopkins University in 1965
Went to China with her husband in 1966
Left China for Hong Kong in 1973, and accepted a position at UC Berkeley in 1979

2. Major works: “The Last Performance” (1961)
“Birthday of Jingjing” 晶晶的生日
“On the Night shift” 值夜
“Mayor Yin” 尹縣長 ( )
“The Old Man” 老人
“Ting Yun” 丁雲
“The Tunnel” 地道
The Repatriates 歸
Ethics and Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1981)
Democracy Wall and the Unofficial Journals (1982)
Paper Marriage 紙婚 (1986)
Short Stories of Chen Ruoxi, Translated form the Original Chinese : A Writer at the Crossroads (1992)

3. “The Execution of Mayor Yin” 尹縣長
How did the narrator come to know the Mayor? (C. P. 314/5)
What was the key in her observation of the Mayor?
“He looked you straight in the eye, and when he listened he would bend his head slightly as if he were afraid to miss a single word” (ibid.,6).
? What did her description mean to you?
How did her host think of his kinsman, the Mayor? (ibid., 7-8)
What did the Mayor ask after he went over to the revolutionary side according to her host? (ibid., 8)
Why were the Party secretaries fired several time in this area according to her host? (ibid., 9-10)
How did her host compare this area with other places? (ibid., 11)
What did the Mayor do in the early 1960s?

4. “The Execution of Mayor Yin” (continued)
What was the aim/purpose of the cultural revolution according to the narrator? (ibid., 12)
Why did the Mayor pay a second visit at the night?
What did the Mayor ask the narrator? (ibid., 18)
How did she respond to his question on the reason for having the cultural revolution?
What was the Mayor’s attitude on reform launched by the Party?
What was the Mayor’s regret? (ibid., 19)
“What’s wrong with Confucius and Mencius?” he asked. I once studied an article by Chairman Mao that also had quotations from Confucius and Mencius” (ibid., 21)!
Why was the narrator unable to shed light on his question of the double standard?

5. “The Execution of Mayor Yin” (continued)
What did the Mayor say about the discrepancies in his reports?
Who was the target after her return from her trip?
Why was her host “in hot water” (ibid., 26)?
How did the middle-aged woman conceptualize the Mayor shooting a young man? (ibid., 27)
-- “This is class hatred; how can you not avenge that? And how did your own son die” (ibid., 27)?
Do we know the context of the incident?
Can the Mayor’s former status determine the nature of his shooting?
What was her host’s position in this mess? (ibid., 31)
Does it sound reasonable to press her host in your view?
What did the narrator find out in 1968?
Was the Mayor at fault in your opinion?
What was the underlying reason to execute the Mayor? (ibid., 33)

6. Cultural Revolution Reconsidered
Similarity:
-- Both “Maple” and “Mayor Yin” describe two expatriates’ observations of the individuals who are wounded in social chaos.
-- Both stories highlight the disillusionment of the young narrators who used to be loyal to the grand ideal.
Difference:
-- Two young lovers lost their lives in the violence between rival factions. The girl is blinded by her belief that she has to sacrifice herself to what she thinks to be correct, whereas the man becomes a victim of revenge in the name of “righting” the “wrong” (“Maple”).
-- The Young Wu and the Mayor are caught in the cross-fire: the former tried to vindicate his loyalty by coming down hard on the Mayor; the later falls prey to power politics even though he has been faithful (“Mayor Yin”).

7. Cultural Revolution Reconsidered (continued)
Literature of the wounded youth is less refined in comparison to masterpieces, but it lays the foundation for creativity to outgrow adolescent rage.
What can we learn from these stories?
The fight is violent, but the constructive experience one gains from personal interactions with problems is priceless.
Beyond totalistic stereotypes:
These are merely two individualized cases among many works, but they represent two different approaches to the troubled era.
?? Can Chinese culture survive overwhelming madness?