The Corpse Walker: Real Life Stories: China from the Bottom Up

I have just finished reading The Corpse Walker by Liao Yiwu. While I have read some of the stories in other publications, this is the first time I have read all the stories in a single volume. The Corpse Walker consists of 27 oral histories told by ordinary people in China. The author, a Chinese activist, is also one of the most censored writers in China today. Through the stories, Liao reveals the real China of a previous era and vividly brings to life the ways in which the Cultural Revolution, the Great Leap Forward and the Anti-Rightist Movement affected people in China, "from the bottom up". The resilient nature of the Chinese also emerges in these oral histories - the reader also senses that many subjects have adjusted to the lot dealt to them by the New China. However, in several stories, Deng Xiaoping's role as a positive change agent in (communist) China is held in very high regard.


Liao compiles his stories from notes and his memory to bring history alive - history of this type cannot be revealed in orthodox textbooks. The stories subtly reveal the essence of the Chinese cultural, political and social architecture in the everyday lived experience of a wide range of ordinary (and in many ways quite remarkable) people - from the corpse walker, a mourner and a Abbot to a petty official, a Red Guard and a thief. An array of others, including a  Falun Gong member, a mortician, a street musician, a feng shui master and a prisoner also tell their own stories.

I have friends who are the children of people labeled by the Red Guards as "intellectuals", "bourgeois" and "counter-revolutionaries" during the Cultural Revolution and therefore, suffered significantly and were denied an appropriate education. However, many children of the same Red Guards have tried to make amends over the years by providing opportunities and resources to the children whose parents suffered so much under Mao's revolution. A similar story emerges in one of Liao's stories.

Despite the problems and poverty endured by many of Liao's subjects, both their humanity and Chinese cultural character emerge in their stories. While Liao lets his subjects tell their own stories, he also challenges them on occasions, seeking clarification or presenting an alternative view on the issue at hand. The Corpse Walker is a powerful text and a great read for anyone wanting to understand the deep nature of Chinese society.

Is the Chinese Economy a Black Swan?

Following the ideas of Nicholas Taleb, Vitaliy Katsenelson asks whether China is the mother of all Black Swans. Katsenelson's commentary about the Chinese ecnonomy highlights its "tremendous overcapacity" in many areas including real estate and certain industrial sectors. The Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (2010) also acknowledges the highly complex and intricate nature of the Chinese economy while simultaneously describing China's development as "open", "long-term", "comprehensive" and "mutually beneficial" for foreign investors. Good news perhaps but divergent views about China are aptly captured in Wolf, Bikson, Law, Mitchell and Galama's (2003) earlier assessment of the "challenges, fault lines and potential adversities" facing China. The potential for cracks to appear in the economy, society and the polity are highlighted when the wake of rare and potentially tumultuous events are factored in. For example, harsh economic conditions following a massive and sustained increases in the price of oil, the impact of a significant and prolonged decline in foreign-direct investment (FDI) and/or the internal and external effects of a large-scale war are considered as "black swans" in China's future. However, extreme conditions permeate forecasting about China's future - for example, the impending implosion of the system (Chang, 2002) stands side-by-side with China ruling the world (Jacques, 2009). Other predictions, which don't comtemplate the collaspe of the policical system, highlight adaptation as the key to China's political and economic future.

Refections on the Stern Hu Case

I have just returned from a trip to several tier two cities in China. During the trip, I heard from several Chinese business colleagues about their concerns that Mr Hu's Australian employer had dropped him so suddenly following the resolution of the legal case against him. It appears that many people believe that his employer should have at least supported their employee for a longer period, even in the face of the difficult circumstances and ethical issues that surrounded the case. Some of my colleagues felt that the actions of the company in this respect had sent a negative message about how Australian companies view issues of loyalty and relationships, even in a case like Mr Hu's. No doubt, the Australian company thought that swift action would be read as a positive sign, reinforcing the company's view about the ethical standards it expects its employees to uphold. As always, relationship management is at the forefront of doing business in China.

Sentence of Rio Tinto's Mr Stern Hu to 10 years

The sentence of Australian Rio Tinto executive Mr Stern Hu to 10 years by a Chinese court last month for charges of bribery and appropriating commercial secrets drew comments by the Australian government. Officials interpreted the sentence as "harsh". Others commented on the trial's lack of transparency. However, while the sentence might be harsh given that sentences for "extraordinarily large bribes" in China is somewhere between 5 and 15 years, one might question whether Mr Hu's gain was "extraordinarily large" in the Chinese context. What have not been probed in-depth are the internal machinations of the Chinese government leading up to Mr Hu's trial. China's foreign affairs ministry, closely associated with the case, is considered as the most liberal of China's ministries. However, leading up to the trial, some conservative ministries mooted in the local press that any lenient sentence or deal making in the case would not be appropriate. In this context, Mr Hu's sentence may also reflect a growing influence of more conservative elements within the Chinese leadership. Reading the Chinese political and business environments is never easy.