Ep. 0048 - Xinran, The Good Women of China - The Published Author Podcast

Learn how to write a book and use it to grow your business by joining the Published Author Masterclass Community for FREE: https://www.publishedauthor.com/ ---- Published Author was created by Wall Street Journal and USA Today bestselling author, Josh Steimle. Josh generated more than $10M in revenue for his businesses through thought leadership, including books, public speaking, and writing for publications like Forbes, Time, Inc., Fast Company, and Entrepreneur. Now he helps aspiring author-entrepreneurs grow their businesses by building their own thought-leadership system with a book at the core. If you're ready to learn: How to become a successful self published author How to self publish your first book How to write a nonfiction book in 90 days Start your FREE 30-day trial of the Published Author Masterclass Community today! #author #authoradvice #authorpreneur #authorsuccess #bookmarketing #bookpromotion #bookpublishing #businessbooks #businessgrowth #growyourbusiness #publishedauthor #publishingtips #selfpublished #selfpublisher #selfpublishedauthor #selfpublishing #writing #writingcommunity #writingtips #writingskills ---- Note: Xinran has heavily accented English, so listeners will probably find it easier to listen while reading the transcript, which you can find at Publishedauthor.com, linking from Episode 48's page Xinran is an internationally acclaimed author, journalist, and activist. Born in Beijing in 1958 to educated parents, Xinran was separated from her mother and father during Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution because her parents were imprisoned. In this episode, Xinran tells host Josh Steimle the moving recollection of her early memories, when she came home from school to find her parent’s house on fire after being set alight by the Red Guards. She recalls losing all her books during that traumatic event. Raised by her grandparents, Xinran hosted a radio show, Words on the Night Breeze, in the 1980s. It aired between 10 p.m. until midnight because, she was told, no one listened to her show. However, she received hundreds of letters from listeners every day, revealing the true and enormous size of her radio audience. These letters as well as phone calls became the basis of some of her books later on, and hugely influenced her writing. Xinran’s most recent book is The Promise. Other books include Message From An Unknown Chinese Mother, Buy Me The Sky, and her first novel, Miss Chopsticks, released in 2007. Xinran says: “If you read all of my books, 99 percent are not my life story. It’s all the people’s story.” She explains that when she started writing she realized she didn’t know the real China. “I found this history . . . that I didn’t know. It wasn’t in my textbooks, wasn’t in books. People never talk about this,” she says. “People in the countryside are very poor, but people never talked about it. It was three generations in silence.” I DIDN'T HAVE A RIGHT TO TALK TO ANYONE Xinran dreamed of writing because she knew people were scared to speak out, and she wanted to help them. But she never dreamed this would become a reality until she moved to the UK in 1997. Xinran moved to London in 1997, she worked as a cleaner, eventually getting a job as a part-time teacher. Her students encouraged her to write a book because they loved the stories she told about China and her friends there. That seminal first book, The Good Women Of China, is a memoir relating the stories Xinran heard while hosting her radio show. The book reveals many Chinese women's thoughts and experiences that took place both during and after the Cultural Revolution. Published in 2002, The Good Women Of China has been and has been translated into more than 49 languages. After its success, Xinran went on to write Sky Burial, published in 2004. This book focuses on Tibet and follows Shu Wen, whose husband joined the Chinese army and was sent to Tibet to help unify the two cultures. Between 2003 and 2005 Xinran wrote a regular column in The Guardian, and these were published in 2006 as What the Chinese Don't Eat. The book delves into a vast range of subjects, from food to sex education, as well as the experiences of British mothers who’ve adopted Chinese daughters. A BRIDGE OF LOVE In August 2004 Xinran set up ‘The Mothers’ Bridge of Love’ (MBL). MBL reaches out to Chinese children in all corners of the world. By creating a bridge of understanding between China and the West and between adoptive culture and birth culture, MBL aims to help bridge the huge poverty gap which still exists in many parts of China. The MBL book for adoptive families is Motherbridge Of Love, translated into more than 20 languages. SUBSCRIBE TO THE PUBLISHED AUTHOR PODCAST If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts, or anywhere else you listen to podcasts.