Xing and Ullmann at Villa Aurora in December 2008
Michaela Ullmann met with last year's Feuchtwanger Fellow, Xu Xing, during a recent screening of his film, A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution, in Berlin. Ullmann reflects about getting to know Xing during his residence in L.A. and his perspective on a turbulent period in Chinese history.
Here's her account of the meeting:
Xu Xing: A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution
A film screening and discussion on the 76th anniversary of the book burnings in Germany, May 10, 2009, Martin-Gropius Bau, Berlin
Every year, Villa Aurora in cooperation with the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library at the University of Southern California, awards a scholarship for up to ten months to a writer who is being persecuted or censored in his or her home country. The Feuchtwanger Fellowship Program was created to keep alive the memory of the time when European exiles found refuge in Los Angeles—while reminding us that intellectual repression and the forced exile of artists, writers, and other cultural figures continues today. In 2008, the Feuchtwanger Fellowship was awarded to Chinese writer and filmmaker Xu Xing from Bejing.
Xu Xing and I got to know each other during his 10-month stay at Villa Aurora, and we spent many hours eating his homemade Chinese dumplings, sipping glasses of wine, smoking the obligatory cigarette, and having inspiring discussions. Working with Xing to organize screenings of his film A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution at Villa Aurora and USC here in Los Angeles, I had the opportunity to learn about the Cultural Revolution. He taught me about the impact it had on people at the time, its continuing effects today, and the sensitivities many Chinese people have while talking about it.
When I went to Vienna and Berlin for a conference and several meetings in May of 2009, I was excited to have another rare opportunity to see Xu Xing again.
Every year, Villa Aurora in Berlin organizes an event commemorating the Nazi book burnings on May 10. This year, Xu Xing was invited to present his film A Chronicle of My Cultural Revolution to the audience. The event took place in the impressive Martin-Gropius building in Berlin on the evening of May 10, 2009. Freimut Duve, chairman of the board of Villa Aurora Berlin, greeted the audience and introduced Xu Xing. After the screening, he invited Xing to the podium to answer the audience’s questions. People were fascinated by his personal experiences during the Cultural Revolution and the stories behind the making of his film. Thanks to a simultaneous translation provided by the organizers, Xing and the audience faced no language barriers in communicating with each other. The discussion was moderated by Xing’s friend of many years, Dr. Lorenz Bichler from the Institute of Chinese Studies at the University of Heidelberg.
After the closing remarks by Dr. H.c. Walther Leisler Kiep from the Anlantik-Brücke e.V., the illuminating discussion with Xing continued in an informal setting over wine and delicious appetizers.
I was very glad to see Xing again and am grateful for his courage in telling us about the Cultural Revolution, including its impact and victims as well as his very personal experiences during this turbulent time in Chinese history. I look forward to seeing his new creative projects and hope to see him again whether it is in Los Angeles, Berlin, or Bejing.
Michaela Ullmann, Feuchtwanger Curator, USC Libraries
To learn more about the Feuchtwanger Memorial Library, visit the library's Web page. The Villa Aurora Web site offers background information about the Feuchtwanger Fellowship for exiled and persecuted writers.