China witness : voices from a silent generation / Xinran ; translated from Chinese by Nicky Harman, Julia Lovell and Esther Tyldesley

"Originally published in Great Britain by Chatto & Windus, The Random House Group Limited, London, in 2008"--T.p. verso.

Includes index.

Yao Popo, or the Medicine Woman of Xingyi -- Two generations of the Lin family: the curse of a legend -- New discoveries in Xinjiang, the world's biggest prison -- On the road, interlude 1: interview with a north-western taxi driver -- Pioneers of China's oil: a distinguished husband and wife -- Acrobat: from counter-revolutionary's daughter to national medal winner -- On the road, interlude 2: talking to a Chinese colleague about Tibet, folk customs, tiger stoves and the Chinese Jews -- Tea houses and news singers: three thousand years of anecdotes and wonders -- Carrying on a craft tradition: the Qin Huai lantern-makers -- Across mountain and grassland: a witness to the Long March -- Savouring her blessings after trials and tribulations: the woman general born in America -- Interlude 3: love letters -- On the road, interlude 4: reflections between the lines -- The policeman: a cop who entered the police force as the People's Republic was founded -- The shoe-mender mother: 28 years spent out in all weathers -- On the road, interlude 5: a squall at the 4 May memorial -- Afterword: images of my motherland.

An extraordinary work of oral history that illuminates the diverse ways in which the Chinese perceive and understand their own modern history.