She was a ballet dancer in the People’s Liberation Army, a war journalist and only later a writer. Currently doing research for her latest book, set in Macau, Yan Geling, has played in the casinos and lost “lots” of money. She was in Macau last month for The Script Road – Macau Literary Festival.
Macau CLOSER: Your most recent novel is set in Macau and focuses on the world of gambling. How did you decide on this topic?
Yan Geling: Gambling is very popular among wealthy Chinese businessmen. I was fortunate to hear many fantastic stories that captured my interest. I think gambling is something that is in our blood, in the blood of the Chinese. We all have a player inside us, especially men. So I decided to do some research on this. I interviewed a few players and found a very interesting person, an agent working between the gaming houses and the rich players, mostly from China. He told me their incredible stories.
Did you play any games yourself?
Yes. To write about the game, I had to learn the techniques. In the novel these techniques are not described, but I thought, as a writer, it was important to know them.
And had you played before?
Yes, in Las Vegas, but it was just a joke with $20. What I bet here, by my standards, was a lot.
Did you win?
No, I lost everything. I went three times. I won the first time, but the second and third times I lost.
Did you have a relationship with Macau or did you just come here because you knew that it is a big gambling destination?
I had no relationship. When my husband was deployed in Taiwan – he is an American diplomat – he passed through Macau on route to China. But I did not play that time. Macau is a unique place, a bit kitsch. It’s very interesting with all these old areas, colonial buildings. It intrigues me. I always thought there was a story to tell and then discovered this one about the players.
When will the English translation come out?
I don’t know yet. The Chinese novel only came out in February.
To reach this point in your life, you have had a very troubled route. You even served in the People’s Liberation Army. What did you do?
I was 12 and was recruited to be a dancer. The People’s Liberation Army had the best dancers at that time. In the beginning we all danced ballet, then we switched to classical Chinese dance. I was a dancer until the age of 20. We were going to Tibet every year to dance for the troops. We had a tour of shows throughout the summer, from July to October. Very early on I came into contact with different people of different ethnicities and cultures. This affected my writing career and my views. I was not raised as a normal girl, but as a soldier. I had a broad view of things.
You also covered the Sino-Japanese War in 1979, as a journalist. Was it after that when you began to write?
Yes. I went from journalistic writing to novels, short stories and screenplays. I was not on the battlefield, I was very young. They let me go to hospitals where I interviewed the wounded soldiers.
What impact did that experience have on your writing?
It quashed any ideas I had about war and heroism, and the value of an individual’s life. At the age of 20 I had already abandoned superficial concepts such as heroism. After interviewing all those very young, wounded soldiers of my age, I totally changed my opinion about youth, about what sacrifice for a country means. As young Chinese, we never looked at individual life as a valuable thing. At that time, I started thinking that if I were a writer I could have a greater impact [than being a journalist].
You say that you feel less inhibited when writing in English than in Chinese. Why is that?
My English is not as mature as my Chinese. When we master a language, we can write things in a less direct way, we can hide multiple meanings beneath more obvious phrases. In English, I have no choice but to write in more simple way. My English is 24 years old, it is bold and direct, like a young American. In Chinese, we have an already installed censorship in our subconscious. We cannot say things with such courage and straightforwardness. We are taught this way. There is a censorship that makes us more inhibited with language.
How do you view the situation currently for writers in China?
In China, writers are less afraid now, it’s not very difficult to publish a book. We can criticise and denounce some things, as long as no one is shouting slogans and making accusations, and you are not telling a story that is only focused on the political side. I think this is because readers are not the majority. Censorship on television and in movies is something completely different because it reaches more people. Writers are lucky to not suffer too much with censorship. I have been lucky.
