介绍:
For most middle-aged Chinese people, A Native of Beijing in New York is an everlasting masterpiece. Adopted from the original story by Glen Cao Guilin, a Chinese immigrant who has been in the United States for some thirty years, the show became a big screen hit in 1993.
The story is about the struggle of a Beijing family during their first few years in New York. They are constantly tormented by the cultural shock and real life problems, so they often ask themselves questions like "should we go/leave or stay?" or "is this city a paradise or hell".
The sequel takes place twenty years later when the main character in the original story Wang Qiming returns to China. The dramatically changed lives of Wang and his two friends are still full of twists in the new story.
Cao Guilin says the two stories are both based on his own struggle with immigrant life in the US.
(sb1, Cao Guilin Male Mandarin)
"The first book is inspired by my daughter's rebellion in the first few years after we moved to America. The new story is inspired by the sudden demise of one of my best friends who died in an accident on his way of catching a red-eye plane in an early morning. I also want to express my pains throughout all these years in America."
Cao says life of Chinese immigrants is seemingly not much different from twenty years ago.
(sb2, Cao Guilin Male Mandarin)
"Both locals and Chinese Americans have dealt with difficulties financially and spiritually in the past two decades. Life of the main character Wang Qiming has not changed much as he still struggles with financial issues and difficulties in business. On the contrary, his friends who never got a chance to America became successful. So Wang got shocked every time he came back."
It is not a surprise that this story is mostly inspired by the writer's own observations which are shared by those who travel regularly between China and America.
(sb3, Cao Guilin Male Mandarin)
"This change is not just about new buildings. It is more about the change of Chinese people's mindset during the economic boom. It seems all my friends in China are going global and taking a dominant position while my life is still much limited."
This shift of power and mindset is reflected by the ups and downs of three childhood friends in the new book.
Director Zheng Xiaolong is planning to remake the classic A Native of Beijing in New York into a TV series.
(sb4, Zheng Xiaolong, Male Mandarin)
"Cao Guilin's works are based on real life and personal emotions. Most of the novels nowadays fail to do so. That's why I love his works. He only writes it down after experiencing something particularly touched his soul, which makes his works perfect to be put on TV."
Wang Ji, leading actress of the hit TV drama, says she is looking forward to this new book.
(sb5, Wang Ji, Female Mandarin)
"I hope the words of such a writer who has rich experience in another country and also has an innate power like a musician can help us do a thorough reflection on ourselves, nurture our spiritual world and rethink our life."
Cao Guilin says there is another profoundly unchanged part among Chinese immigrants which is their enduring nostalgia for the motherland.
(sb6, Cao Guilin Male Mandarin)
"They are intellectuals who work in college, but they are still quite fond of Chinese popular culture. They still know all the celebrity gossips and they can still remember those pop songs. This surprises me. Where do their heart belong to? It is their homeland."
Just like Cao Guilin who still speaks in a perfect Beijing dialect, the immigrants' nostalgia for home will never fade out. This is probably the ultimate humanitarian purpose of the new book as well as its companion volume.
