Alex Jackson is thrilled when his newsman father asks him to go to Beijing, China, where students and civilians are demonstrating for democracy in Tian An Men Square. Alex's excitement turns to horror and dismay when the movement is met with military violence and he finds himself alone amid the turmoil, carrying illegal video tapes, desperate to escape the forbidden city. Based on painstaking research, Forbidden City is an accurate and moving novel of the "Tian An Men Square Massacre." Browse and Search this book
FAQ
WHERE DID YOU GET THE IDEA FOR THIS STORY?
The idea for this novel came from the events that took place in Beijing, China in June, 1989. I had been following the student protests in the media since April of that year and when the night of the massacre came I was horrified, angry and sad, but not surprised.
About two weeks after the Beijing Massacre I decided to try to write a novel which would tell the events as accurately as possible. I didnât want the tragedy to be forgotten. Why write a novel and not a history book? Well, most people in the general public donât read history books; they prefer stories. Besides, Iâm a story writer, not a historian!
DID ANY OF THE STORY HAPPEN TO YOU?
No. I lived in Beijing, teaching English to graduate students at the Foreign Affairs College from August, 1988 until July, 1989. I had taught in Harbin for a year before that. I was familiar with the culture and modern Chinese history; also, I knew the city of Beijing very well, having explored it for a year by bicycle. These things ãqualifiedä me to write the story.
ARE ANY OF THE CHARACTERS BASED ON PEOPLE YOU KNOW OR OTHER REAL PEOPLE?
No. There are real people mentioned in the book, of course, like Deng Xiao-ping, the recently deceased leader of China, but the actual characters--Alex, his dad and Eddie, Lao Xu and Xin-hua, are invented. When I lived in Harbin an interpreter was assigned to me and my family and part of his job was to report back to the college authorities about us. But we understood that; he became a good friend and still is.
WHAT WAS YOUR GREATEST CHALLENGE IN WRITING THIS NOVEL?
Mixing real and fictional events was difficult because my main purpose was to tell what happened as accurately as possible, and I wanted to do that by putting fictional Canadian characters in the centre of the action. So my characters were always subservient to the real events. Also, research was hard since I could only rely on newspapers, magazines, television and radio--all information that was fresh at the time and sometimes had to be studied and interpreted so that I could figure out the significance of the events reported.
** For a more detailed report on the writing of this book, tell your search engine to find Canadian Childrenâs Literature, then look for the 1997 issue on History.
IS ANY OF THE STORY BASED ON REAL EVENTS?
Yes.