By BLOUGH P. WENDALL THURGOÖD

The heir to the Oliver P. Wendall Thurgoöd writing dynasty on publishing his work in China

It has been a sad duty, these last few months, to witness the growing debate and name-calling among foreign writers, journalists and publishers about how to deal with the censorship of their work on the Chinese mainland.

Casting my sorrowful eyes over the many inches of well-intentioned newsprint devoted to this subject, I see none of the wide plurality of views offered in the Chinese media.

Instead, articles regarding the PEN report, entitled ‘Censorship and Conscience,’ mostly focus on the bad aspects of censorship, with little mention of the positive effects of editing books.

Let me say this only once. If just a single person gets to read even a bowdlerised version of my work, it will have made a huge difference — however small. If many more choose to buy, and be enlightened, by these books, then so be it: I will suffer their royalties.

Certainly, this is not about anything so vulgar as “money” or “fame,” as a number of commentators have implied.

I shuddered to read the veiled suggestions that esteemed colleague Dr. Ebenezer McDougal might have had any financial motive for agreeing to censor his weighty biography of visionary Beijing Mayor Li Peng — He Was Wise (Ivy League Press, 2013) — for mainland consumption.

In fact, as some snippy reviewers have noted, the English edition was almost identical. Truth be told, his decision had nothing to do with money: Ebenezer was grateful for the readers.

Despite this simple truth, the good intentions of those principled few who bow to censorship are rarely honoured.

Instead, authors like Ebenezer, who agree to sacrifice parts of their work for the greater good of humankind, are somehow forced to sacrifice their reputation, too. It hardly seems just.

Simply because Chinese censors do not take a complicated, nuanced and tolerant view of foreign writers doesn’t mean that foreign writers shouldn’t take a complicated, nuanced and tolerant view of Chinese censors.

We should not sink to the level of petty bureaucrats, insisting on the use of certain words or phrases or paragraphs or chapters that are considered “sensitive.” or which offend official sensibilities. It is a matter of semantics. And what is semantics but the study of the meaning and symbolism of words? One person’s “tragedy” is merely another’s “necessary contingent for the purposes of peaceful economic development.”

Surely.

It is true that, despite decades of rapprochement from the West, the Chinese Communist Party shows no sign of relenting its grip on information control. Indeed, the conditions governing freedom of speech have considerably worsened in recent years. I admit that. Which is why I believe that closer engagement with China is now critical for allowing Americans to better understand and appreciate the authoritarian but (perhaps?) necessary rule.

When revisiting China, I’m often brought to sweet tears of joy by the responses of readers, who are always utterly grateful for the opportunity to receive whatever pearls of wisdom are allowed them. In fact, without such heavy censorship, foreign writers would probably have far less of an audience in China, as their subjects would be freely discussed by Chinese writers, educators and journalists, instead of ours. Has anyone thought about that?

So, yes, in some ways, I’m perhaps grateful to censors for enhancing the value of my work. Yet whatever material gains there may be for me — and, yes, there are, regrettably, many — I perceive a far, far greater mission to consider: the education and healing of these simple, honest people.

That is why, when I receive any royalty checks from Chinese publishers, I will immediately rip them into hundreds of pieces — before getting down on my hands and knees to gather all the tiny shreds from the floor.

Afterward, using a magnifying glass and some Scotch tape, I plan to painstakingly reassemble the fragments into a recognizable check, albeit with some parts missing or otherwise altered. My bank manager, Steve, has grudgingly agreed to accept this small totem as legal tender. I am grateful to Steve and my publisher.

More importantly, though, for allowing me this humble gesture, I am beholden to the many Chinese students, teachers, readers, and censors who make such symbolism possible.

BLOUGH P. WENDALL THURGOÖD, MAY 31, 2015

This is the third in a series of monographs planned by the author on this subject, which China Daily Show has pledged not to publish

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