"Wild Swans" Creative writing - My name is De-Hong, but you might recognize me as Bao Qin
by
guitarhero233 (student)
My name is De-Hong, but you might recognize me as Bao Qin, my former name. I am here to tell you my story and give you my perspective during the Kuomintang (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) eras. I will be reflecting on one of the areas of interaction, specifically health and social education. I will go through my life starting with my childhood and ending with my middle-age years.
I was born in spring 1931 in Yixian. My father named me Bao Qin, which means “Precious Zither.” In my second year of school, when I was almost seven, I was chosen to present flowers to the emperor of Manchukuo, Pu Yi, and his wife. I was selected for two main reasons: I was the “star pupil” of my class, and on my registration forms, I consistently put Machu as my nationality. This was a choice I had to make because if I had put Chinese, I might have not have been treated with the fullest respect. A few years later, I was forced to work in a textile factory, and many of my classmates and friends suffered from injuries. I knew I was unorthodox because I always believed in women’s equality. In Junior High School, I was taught all the tasks necessary in order to please one’s husband. I learned virtually none of these tasks. In 1945, soon after the war, the Japanese had surrendered, and hell broke loose. People committed suicide or were lynched by the Chinese. The Chinese had been tortured by the Japanese and now, it was time for revenge. Children were beating up their teachers because the teachers hit their students. When I saw this, I got scared for my teacher, Miss Tanaka, who didn’t slap the pupils. I found her, took her to my house, and asked my parents if she could stay with us, and they agreed. I had to look out for her because I wouldn’t be able to accept the fact that I could’ve saved one’s life. I was glad we took her in because “the looting, raping, and killing continued eight days.” Sometime later, after the Soviet Red Army, the Kuomintang took over the government of China.
