by Betsy Tobin
How did you research the book?
I read everything I could about the illegal Chinese community in Britain and the snakeheads who transport them, and I travelled to Morecambe Bay to see for myself where the tragedy happened. It is a starkly beautiful place, and there is a small, makeshift memorial at the edge of the sands to those who died. If there is an expert on this subject, it is Hsiao-Hung Pai, the journalist who covered the Morecambe Bay tragedy for the Guardian, and eventually published Chinese Whispers: the True Story Behind Britain’s Hidden Army of Labour. Her compelling account of the harsh realities of life for undocumented Chinese workers is one of the finest pieces of investigative reporting to emerge in recent years. She was a great help to me in my research.
Were you concerned about accurately representing the Chinese characters?
To a greater or lesser extent, writing fiction is always an imaginative leap of faith. Creating any character is a challenge, but at the end of the day characters must be true to themselves, rather than to some preconceived notion of who we think they should be. I lived in China as a student in the early eighties and speak some Mandarin, so was able to draw upon my own experience. I’ve also travelled extensively throughout China in the last five years, so have a strong sense of the country and the challenges it faces today. I hope the book and its portrayals are convincing to both Western and Chinese readers alike; certainly it reflects my long-held interest in Chinese culture.
How did you come up with the story?
I set out to write a contemporary ghost story about a Chinese woman who is haunted by the spirit of her dead brother. But as often happens in writing, the tale that emerged took an unexpected turn. I never intended for Wen’s relationship with his rescuer Angie to become the central arc of the narrative: it really was a case of the characters quite literally running off with the story. After I wrote the first chapter, I remember being desperate to shove dinner into my children so I could return to work and see where they were going. For a time Angie and Wen’s world became more real to me than my own; it was certainly more engaging.
What about Lili’s story?
Lili’s story is essentially about a woman who goes in search of one thing and finds another. I wanted Lili to have her own encounters in Britain, and I had been reading about the experiences of Western families who adopt Chinese children. I was very struck by the complexities these families face when trying to reconnect their adoptive children to their Chinese heritage. The Chinese writer Xinran launched a charity in Britain in 2004 to address these issues. Mother’s Bridge of Love aims to help the more than 50,000 Western families who have adopted Chinese children, the vast majority of whom are girls. (Chinese families traditionally value boys over girls, and one of the saddest outcomes of the government’s one-child policy is that it created a nation of orphaned daughters.) Although Lili endeavours to help May find her Chinese roots, it is really May who ultimately grounds Lili, and shows her that each of us carries the burden of identity within.
What does the title signify?
I am indebted to my friend Andy Carl for the title: he read an early draft and, knowing I don’t have much of a green thumb, offered to vet the gardening content. He contacted an American friend who is an expert on rose germination, and it was he who brought the China roses to my attention. I had no idea that the vast majority of our domesticated rose species were actually imported from China in the eighteenth century, particularly since the Chinese do not especially value the rose. (For the record, they prefer chrysanthemums, plum blossoms, peonies, lotus and water lilies.) As transmigration is a central theme of the book, Crimson China seemed an apt image, though not one that is immediately apparent to the reader. I like the idea that the meaning behind the book’s title unfolds only gradually, and that the person who conveys this information is Miriam. The Chinese venerate old age enormously, and Miriam acts as a sort of parallel character to Wen’s stepmother in the book; both women are conduits, offering advice, history and wisdom from their respective corners of the earth. Crimson also seemed appropriate, as red has enormous cultural importance in China: it symbolises courage, loyalty and success, as well as happiness, fertility and passion; red is traditionally the colour of choice for Chinese brides.
Do you agree with the UK government’s policies on illegal immigrants?
This is a thorny problem: from 2001 to 2007 the estimated number of irregular migrants (the official term for illegal immigrants) in the UK nearly doubled from 430,000 to 725,000. While the government purports to not want these workers, even in a recession there remains considerable demand for their labour. Irregular migrants tend to work in low-skilled, low-paid jobs in construction, agriculture, hospitality, cleaning, care and domestic work, often doing jobs that local workers refuse for lower-than-normal wages. They are not entitled to public services, but neither do they pay tax, so while they contribute to the economy, their contribution is reduced by their irregular status. Most illegal Chinese have no intention of staying in Britain permanently: they are here to work hard for a fixed period of time to improve the living standards of their families back home. In recent years, tougher immigration controls have made it more difficult to live and work illegally, but rather than drive illegal immigrants away, they tend to drive them further underground, often keeping them here longer than they intended. While the government needs to exert tougher border controls on human trafficking and smuggling, perhaps greater flexibility is needed for employers to recruit unskilled labour from abroad, including temporary visas and return packages that do not jeopardise workers future immigration status. Such policies would encourage greater fluidity between borders and a labour force that is responsive to the needs of the British economy.
Why should this book appeal to Western readers?
I think there’s a growing appetite in the West for books that take readers to places within their own culture they would not otherwise go. Not all readers are prepared to venture into completely foreign territory; the appeal of this novel is that it of us could be Angie: an ordinary person whose fate, through chance, is yoked together with that of a stranger from the far side of the world. Many of us seek to broaden our cultural understanding, but we need pathways that intrigue and compel – I set out to write a gripping story with characters that readers would be drawn to from the start.
Copyright
First published in 2010
by Short Books
3A Exmouth House
Pine Street
London EC1R 0JH
This ebook edition first published in 2010
All rights reserved
© BETSY TOBIN 2010
The right of Betsy Tobin to be identified as author of this work has been asserted in accordance with Section 77 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988
This ebook is copyright material and must not be copied, reproduced, transferred, distributed, leased, licensed or publicly performed or used in any way except as specifically permitted in writing by the publishers, as allowed under the terms and conditions under which it was purchased or as strictly permitted by applicable copyright law. Any unauthorised distribution or use of this text may be a direct infringement of the author’s and publisher’s rights, and those responsible may be liable in law accordingly
ISBN 978–1–907595–33–2