A new book from Emily Feng asks what it means to be Chinese in Xi Jinping's China

NPR's Book of the Day

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 2 April 2025

⏱️ 9 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

NPR reporter Emily Feng lived in, and reported from, Beijing for years. But in 2022, the Chinese government told Feng, who was born in the United States to Chinese parents, that she couldn't return to the country. The experience prompted her to ask: What does it mean to be Chinese under Xi Jinping's government? Her new book Let Only Red Flowers Bloom explores this question through the lens of individuals who don't fit the government's ideal. In today's episode, Feng joins NPR's Ailsa Chang for a conversation about one of the central characters in the book, the way the Chinese government connects religion and ethnicity, and the personal impact of identity politics.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbong. In covering the news, sometimes NPR
0:07.6	journalists end up interfacing with the news. Take NPR's Emily Feng, who was reporting from China
0:13.8	until she wasn't anymore. In 2022, she was banned by the Chinese government, which labeled her a race
0:20.1	traitor because of her work.
0:21.9	She's got a new book out titled Let Only Red Flowers Bloom.
0:25.8	And in it, she dissects the various identities that make up the Chinese population.
0:31.0	And in this interview with Empirous Elsa Chang, Fang talks about how being Chinese isn't confined to the boundaries of the country.
0:39.5	That's ahead.
0:41.3	In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.
0:46.1	Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and methods.
0:52.6	NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people,
0:56.4	helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.
1:00.0	Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.
1:05.4	In 2022, journalist Emily Feng was told by the Chinese government that she was no longer allowed back in China.
1:14.2	This after she had lived in Beijing and covered the country for seven years,
1:19.2	Fang was born and raised in the U.S. to Chinese parents,
1:22.2	and she says Chinese officials told her that they considered her inherently Chinese.
1:30.3	But she was later labeled as a race traitor by Chinese state media for her work. What does it even mean to be Chinese in President
1:37.0	Xi Jinping's China? Well, that is a question that Emily takes on in her new book, Let Only Red Flowers
1:43.9	Bloom.
1:45.2	My NPR colleague and friend, Emily Fang, joins us now.
1:49.2	Hi, Emily.
	...

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