Children of Peiping

This is a children’s novel about the historical changes in Beijing before and after the founding of the People’s Republic of China， narrated from a child’s perspective. In the fall of 1946， a family of four， including our protagonist Dadongzi moved from Zhuo County （now Zhuozhou）， Hebei Province， to Peiping to make a living， and they lived in No. 15， Row 6 on Fuchang Street. In this mixed courtyard house， the story unfolds like a drama with a Beijing accent， telling the story of the joys and sorrows of the people of Beiping.

Zong Jiehua

He is a member of China Writers Association and China Science Writers Association and currently the director of Beijing Intercontinental Star Children’s Culture and Art Institute. His main works include Sun Flower， Honeysuckle， Mountain Monkey， and Under the Locust Tree.

Children of Peiping

Zong Jiehua

Bejing Times Chinese Press Co.， Ltd

October 2021

39.80 （CNY）

Although the year 1948 slowly passed in the cold， and 1949 was ushered in by the freezing weather， the days were like a river flushed with ice， slowly flowing forward. Life in Peiping is getting increasingly tough， and the “wandering team” of Dadongzi， Erdongzi and Ban’er is joined by little Zhuzi from the front yard.

One morning， Shu Min made some thin porridge and gave a bowl of it to Dadongzi and Erdongzi. She told them to take their time. Suddenly， there was a knock on the door， followed by the voice of Granny Shen.

“Mrs Jiao， are you home？”

“Is it Granny Shen？ Please come in.”

As Granny Shen walked into the house and saw the two boys eating porridge， she nodded and sighed， “Your two boys are genuinely benevolent and resilient！ They’ve been eating thin porridge every day for most of the winter without protest， and they are so young still！ Thankfully， this is almost over， and the tough days are coming to an end.

Suddenly she lowered her voice and whispered into Shu Min’s ear： “Have you heard？ Tianjin was liberated.”

Shu Min didn’t quite understand and pressed on， “What did you just say？” “Tianjin has been liberated！”

“Is that true？ That’s great！ The children won’t need to feed on porridge anymore， and they’ll be able to go to school！ But now that Tianjin is liberated， what about Peiping？”

“Don’t stress. I think it’s almost time. By the way， every family in the courtyard will send a person to Grandpa Shu’s house after lunch. He’ll talk about this. It won’t take long. Can you go？”

“Sure， I can’t take the children， can I？”

“Let them go to the front yard to play with Zhuzi. His mother scalded her foot and can’t leave the house， but she’s alright to play with them and keep them entertained. Besides， his father went to Nanyuan early in the morning to trade for badger oil and will be back soon. Apparently， the stuff is a remedy that treats scalding.”

“Alright then， I’ll be there when the time comes. Grandpa Shu’s house is in the upper south wing， isn’t it？” said Shu Min as she pointed to the small southern room adjacent to hers.

“Yes. I’m leaving. Zhuzi is also having porridge， and I must go check on him.” After saying that， Granny Shen turned around and patted the boys on their shoulders.

“Sweetie， have it slowly. It’s hot. Go play with Zhuzi after lunch， okay？ Off I go.”

So， she slowly walked away with her crutches.

Lunch is steamed corn buns and cabbage soup – the same old combo that made Dadongzi and Erdongzi grimace. However， they had no idea that even this food could be a luxury soon.

After lunch， Shu Min talked to the boys and then took them to the front yard to play with Zhuzi. Ban’er and Xiaoru came early， and the children from the same courtyard house were thrilled to gather again. Zhuzi’s mother was particularly delighted because she never had the chance to hang around children as she had been selling vegetables with her with husband， always leaving early and returning late. Now that she can’t go to work because of her injured foot， she finally has the opportunity to play with her children.

It is clear that Grandpa Shu was thrilled today; he had changed into a new outfit and was wearing a little round hat with a pair of round-lens glasses， making him look pretty well-read. Granny Shen was also dressed in a dark floral coat over an old cotton jacket， and she had combed her hair so well that it looked gleaming.

Granny Shen poured water for everyone one by one like a respected housewife and said， “Have some water.”

“Granny Shen， please take a break， I should be pouring water for you. Your gesture is making me ashamed.”

“Oh please， don’t feel ashamed！ We are neighbours， and we don’t need that kind of courtesy！ Just drink！”

Her cheerfulness made the whole room burst into laughter.

The big clock on the wall struck twice. It was two o’clock in the afternoon.

Granny Shen walked up to Grandpa Shu and whispered， “Grandpa Shu， shall we start？ After we finish， everyone will go back to their work. It’s almost Chinese New Year， and everyone is quite busy.”

“Yes， we shall get started. How about you saying a few words first？” Grandpa Shu nodded and gestured with his arm modestly.

“Everyone， please be quiet. Before Grandpa Shu speaks， let me say a few words. You must be wondering why we’re gathered here. Why did Grandpa Shu and I ask everyone to join us？ As you can see， the two of us are hardly leaders or any officials. So why have we organized this gathering？ First， Grandpa Shu is the most senior member of this courthouse. I’m a little older than everyone else， so we decided to organize this meeting to talk to everyone about some good news. You might ask， what good news could there be？ We are all short on food and supplies， and even young children are so hungry that they cry every day！ Well， I would say that even though we have no food or clothes right now， we can’t possibly get any poorer because things will get better. Why do I say that？ Well， I’ll let Grandpa Shu talk to you now. He has a little notebook， where he records many interesting things that he’s heard from the phonograph and read in newspapers. He told me a few things the other day， and I think they are exciting！ That’s why I asked everyone to come and listen to him. What do you think？”