Seeing China's Facelift Through the Story of One Family

Chronicling the remarkable story of one large Chinese family whose fortunes in the last 40 years have mirrored those of China.

Their father had just passed away suddenly, leaving the eight siblings -- only two of whom are of working age -- and their stay-at-home mother to fend for themselves. Around them, China is quickly sinking into a madness that will consume the country for a decade, wreak unimaginable havoc, and leave scars that will still be visible almost a half century later.

That's where my dream assignment begins -- 40-some years into China's past, so that we may gain a better understanding of China's present and future.

China's transformation into an international power has been much discussed. However, most of what has been documented in the West has been at the macro level, focusing on the national economy and government policies. In the instances where we do get a glimpse of how the changes have impacted individuals, it is usually from the perspective of an outsider diving in for a quick look, which is akin to starting a book on a random page in the middle -- we can read the words on that page, but we lack the detailed back story to help us truly comprehend the meaning of what we are reading and form an educated idea of what might be in store in the pages ahead.

My dream assignment would be to fill this void by providing an insider's perspective of the story of one Chinese family of four brothers and four sisters who have lived through China's dramatic facelift. The family lost its patriarch in the early days of the Great Cultural Revolution, when most of the siblings were still in school. The family's ups and downs in the four decades that followed -- forced separation, poverty, reunion, prosperity, tragedy, voluntary separation, and reunion again -- have in many ways mirrored the fortunes of the country. Through photos and interviews, I will endeavor to chronicle this ordinary Chinese family's struggles and triumphs, through which we may gain a better understanding of the extraordinary transformations that have been and are still taking place in China.

There are several factors working in my favor to make this undertaking a success. I would have better knowledge of and access to the subject than anyone else attempting to tackle the project, because I am a part of this huge extended family, so I would not be an outsider looking in, but rather an accepted member of this tightly knit clan. At the same time, I will also bring to the story the eyes of someone who has lived in America for the past 20 years. I am also fluent in Chinese and English, which is a must in order to successfully retell the family's story to a Western audience. I have a decade of experience as a journalist, which has helped me develop my skills in identifying and chronicling good stories. Finally, the story I will be telling will not only be someone else's, but also my own in some ways, as I have lived through many of the family's experiences in my 30 years. So in a sense, I have been laying the groundwork for this project for decades.

This assignment is dear to my heart for obvious reasons. However, it would also be an important and beneficial undertaking for a general audience. There is my aforementioned motive of providing a better understanding of China, which certainly will continue to be a major player on the world stage in the years to come. Also, given the changes in family dynamics in China, due mainly to the one-child-per-family policy, large families like this one are quickly and permanently becoming a thing of the past. In addition, many of the people who were youths during the Great Cultural Revolution are now entering their later years, and with them will go the first-hand experiences of those times. It is important to chronicle their stories while we have the opportunity before time shuts the door forever.

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