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After a two-year postponement due to COVID-19, the Community Asian Theater of the Sierra welcomes acclaimed Bay Area author Helen Zia as part of its cultural enrichment program, according to a CATS press release.
His book, Last Boat Out of Shanghai, shares “true stories of bravery”, according to the statement.
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“Shanghai has always been the jewel of China, its wealthiest, most modern and most westernized city,” the statement said. “The bustling metropolis was home to sophisticated intellectuals, entrepreneurs and a thriving middle class when Mao Zedong’s proletarian revolution emerged victorious from the long civil war between the Communist Party and the Nationalist Party, led by Chiang Kai-Shek.”
Terrified by the horrors the communists would inflict on their lives, Shanghai citizens fled in all directions, the statement said.
More than seventy years later, members of the last generation to fully remember this mass exodus revealed their stories to Chinese-American journalist Zia, who interviewed hundreds of exiles on their journey through one of the most tumultuous events of the 20th century, according to the press release. .
In Last Boat Out of Shanghai, Zia weaves together the stories of four young Shanghainese people who struggled with the decision to give up everything for an uncertain life as refugees in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States, the statement said. .
“The lives of these men and women are wonderfully portrayed, revealing the dignity and triumph of personal survival,” the statement said. “A daughter of Chinese immigrants herself, Zia is uniquely equipped to explain how crises like the Shanghai transition affect children and their families, students and their futures, and, ultimately, how we see and see those around us.”
The author will read and discuss segments of his book, as well as signed copies, on August 26. The book will also be available for sale. Tea and cookies will complete the evening, the statement said.
Seating is limited, according to the release, and a $10 donation is suggested. The event will be held at a private residence in Nevada City, according to the release, the address of which will be provided on RSVP. Email info@catsweb.org to RSVP and for the address.
Source: Sierra Asian Community Theater
