SPARKS

In an authoritarian state, writing about history is a dangerous but necessary undertaking.

Milan Kundera once wrote, “the struggle of man against power is the struggle of memory against forgetting.” This is the idea that informs Johnson, a Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist with a deep and personal connection to China, who chronicles his discussions with a range of writers and filmmakers working to tell the true story of the country’s past and present. This is known as minjian lishi, which roughly translates to “grassroots history” or “counter-history.” It can be a dangerous undertaking, as successive Chinese administrations have made concerted efforts to propagate an “official” version of events, a narrative that describes the Communist Party as the pinnacle of a historical process. In particular, Xi Jinping has made the control of history a priority as a means to legitimize his authoritarian approach. Historians that do not follow the party line can face imprisonment or might simply disappear. Thankfully, there are many that accept the risks, and Johnson gives them the space to explain why and how they do it. Some have produced documentary films based on interviews with people who were persecuted over political offenses, while others have written books and articles criticizing the government over corruption or its handling of the pandemic. They have told poignant stories dealing with the repression of Tibetans and other ethnic minorities. In other cases, writers have used fiction to examine historical injustices. The internet has provided new avenues to tell stories, and dissidents have been ingenious in finding ways around the government firewalls. There is a continuing demand for their output, but several historians acknowledge the difficulty of challenging the state and see themselves more as providing a record for future generations. This represents the author’s fundamental message: Speak the truth before it is forgotten.

A brave book about inspiring people, underlining the value of freedom, independence, and courage.