Q&A about Laolao's DragonGate ( 2 )

Q: Xiangdong and June 4th, 1989

A:  I am not in politics, but my conscious reminds me not to forget the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989.  It’s been over 20 years; however, it’s still a forbidden topic in China.

In my novel, Xiangdong was a local student leader in the protests of 1989.  After releasing from the prison, his life was ruined.  Rejected the protagonist Pearl's love, he decided to become a buddhist monk...

It's a sad story.  I want to reminds people not to forget the bloodshed in Tiananmen Square, 1989.  It’s time to face the truth, and to tell truth.

Q: Pearl and her father






A: Pearl is afraid of her father all of the time.  She started to hate him when he smashed her Laolao’s spinning wheel.  Pearl grew up with this father-daughter issue.

        Pearl finally reconciles with her father by discovering all the family secretes.   Her father is one of the victims who unfortunately lived in his entire life in Chairman Mao’s era.

Q: Dyson and Chinese history


A: Dyson is among those westerners who came to China first after President Nixon’s historical China visit.  He speaks perfect Chinese and loves Chinese culture.  However, Pearl finds out that Dyson is the descendant of the General of the Ever Victorious Army.  The Army helped Qing Dynasty kill the Taiping Rebellion.

      Dyson reminds Pearl of the painful Chinese history from the “Opium war” to the “Open door” policy.

Q: Joe and a booming China

A: Joe is one of the beneficiaries of the booming economy in China.  He is struggling between money and his conscious.

Q: Where does Pearl fit in?
A: When Pearl is in America, she is viewed as a Chinese; however, when she goes back to her home country, she doesn’t feel she belongs to that land any more.  China or America?  She is at the crossroad in life...