At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China — Book Talk by Edward Wong

Book Talk by Edward Wong (The New York Times), with introductions by Prof. Viet Thanh Nguyen (English and American Studies & Ethnicity, USC) and moderated by Clayton Dube (USC US-China Institute).

RSVP here: https://forms.gle/7kaNSREXRLjThqiL8

Wednesday, October 16th at 12pm in ASC 207

The son of Chinese immigrants in Washington, DC, Edward Wong grew up among family secrets. His father toiled in Chinese restaurants and rarely spoke of his native land or his years in the People’s Liberation Army under Mao. Yook Kearn Wong came of age during the Japanese occupation in World War II and the Communist revolution, when he fell under the spell of Mao’s promise of a powerful China. His astonishing journey as a soldier took him from Manchuria during the Korean War to Xinjiang on the Central Asian frontier. In 1962, disillusioned with the Communist Party, he made plans for a desperate escape to Hong Kong.

When Edward Wong became the Beijing bureau chief for The New York Times, he investigated his father’s mysterious past while assessing for himself the dream of a resurgent China. He met the citizens driving the nation’s astounding economic boom and global expansion—and grappling with the vortex of nationalistic rule under Xi Jinping, the most powerful leader since Mao. Following in his father’s footsteps, he witnessed ethnic struggles in Xinjiang and Tibet and pro-democracy protests in Hong Kong. And he had an insider’s view of the world’s two superpowers meeting at a perilous crossroads.

Wong tells a moving chronicle of a family and a nation that spans decades of momentous change and gives profound insight into a new authoritarian age transforming the world. A groundbreaking book, At the Edge of Empire is the essential work for understanding China today. 

This event is co-sponsored by East Asian Studies Center and US-China Institute.

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/602734/at-the-edge-of-empire-by-edward-wong/

If you or a guest have a disability and require accommodations in order to participate in this event fully, please contact Vicki Higgins <vahiggin@usc.edu>. If a sign language interpreter or alternative format materials are needed, please notify us at least 7 days prior to the event. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide accommodations in an effective and timely manner.