Introduction

I: The Cry

'Rocking Tiananmen,' a Short Story by Liu Yiran

Petitions and Protest: Documents from the 1989 Protest Movement

'Tiananmen Days,' Reportage by Jimmy Ngai Siu-yan

'An Encounter with Mounted Troops at Qianmen,' an Essay by Zhou Zouren

'The Howl,' a Poem by an Anonymous Mainland Poet

'In the First Light of Dawn,' a Poem by Xi Xi

A Tiny Handful: The Official View

'An Unfortunate Incident,' a Comment by Chen Ying-chen

'My Home Is Next to Tiananmen Square,' an Essay by Zhang Langlang

II: Bindings

'Fragrant Lotus,' a Story by Feng Jicai

Other Bindings: the Family, the Unit, the Personnel File, and Guanxi

'A Pavilion for Sick Plum Trees,' an Essay by Gong Zizhen

River Elegy, a Television Miniseries

Crisis Consciousness: 'China Problem Studies'

A Gallery of Reformers

'From Lin Zexu to Chiang Ching-kuo,' a Speech by Dai Qing

Portraits of Individualists

'On Solitude,' an Essay by Liu Xiaobo

'The Chinese Cursed,' a Fable by Bo Yang

III: Red Noise

'A Portrait of the Novelist as a Young Man,' Reportage by Zuo Shula

'Hot and Cold, Measure for Measure,' from a Story by Wang Shuo

Liumang: Observations on Chinese 'Hooliganism'

'Variations Without a Theme,' from a Story by Xu Xing

'On Superfluous People,' an Essay by He Xin

'A Riot,' 'Faction' by Liu Xinwu

An Exhibition of Anarchy: Postmodern Art in Peking

Publishing License

'A Sexy Lady,' Reportage by Dai Qing and Luo Ke

Sounds of the City: Urban Poetry

'And the Beat Goes On,' a Report on Post-Massacre Pecking by Nicholas Jose

IV: Wheels

'The Mysterious Circle of Mao Zedong,' a Historical Riddle by Liu Yazhou

Tiananmen Revisited: from Chen Ruoxi's Story 'The Old Man' and Other Tiananmen Tales

The May Fourth Spirit, Now and Then

'Under Observation,' a Story by Ah Cheng

'The Case of Chu Anping,' Historical Investigative Journalism by Dai Qing

'On China's National Characteristics,' a Speech by Wu Zuguang

'Qigong: the Ultimate Revolution,' from a Novel by Ke Yunlu

The New Regime—An Old Tale

A Big Confucius and Little Emiles: Ying-tai Lung and Lao She on Education

'Full Circle,' a Report in the People's Daily

'What's New?' a Letter from He Xin

V: Floating

'The Floating City,' a Story by Xi Xi

Et Tu, Britain?: Lee Yee and Others on Betrayal

Future Shock: Hong Kong Satirists on 1997

'Sunless Days,' a Film Interview with Deanie Ip

'The Kowloon-Canton Railway,' a Poem by Yu Kuang-chung

Survival: Li Ao, Yang Jiang, and Others on the Art of Survival

Doors: Essays on the Open Door

Tibet: a Spiritual Exile: The Dalai Lama's Nobel Peace Prize

Voices from the Outside: The Poets Bei Ling and Duo Duo

Epilogue