by Liao Yiwu
8. Chen Ning, male, 30, employed at the Cadre Training School in the China Geology Management Institute
As Chen hid behind the flower bed of building no. 29 in Muxidi on the night of June 3, both of his knees were shattered by stray bullets. During emergency treatment at Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, he underwent two operations. After two years he was finally able to walk a little. Chen was investigated at work, suspended from his job, and punished according to Communist Party discipline.
9. Li Lanfu, female, 30, office director at the Great Wall Group Corporation
Li was shot in both legs on the same night, in the same place, as Chen Ning. (See entry no. 8.)
10. Wang Tianjun, male, 28, occupation unknown
On the day of June 4, Wang was shot in the left arm near Wangfujing, and his motor nerves were severed. After emergency treatment at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, he was transferred to Beijing Jishuitan Hospital, where his left arm had to be amputated.
11. Yu Zhihan, male, 30, employee at the Policy Research Department of the State Environmental Protection Bureau
On the evening of June 3, Yu was hit by a bullet while in Muxidi, injuring his hip and leaving him disabled. Unable to stand the investigation and harassment that his workplace subjected him to, Yu soon resigned and later found employment in Shenzhen.
12. Xu Yangcheng, male, 40, employment unknown; had already left work at the time of his injury
Xu’s leg was hit with a bullet on the night of June 3, resulting in poliomyelitis and requiring hours of bathing in a medicinal tank every day. For years he was not able to free himself of pain and poverty. He depends on the meager incomes of his mother and wife to get by.
13. Li Keqin, male, 20, trainee on contract in the photography section of the Journalism Department of Renmin University
He was hit by two bullets at an unknown location on the night of June 3. He suffered from those wounds for many years but is completely recovered today.
14. Kong Lixin, male, age unknown, teacher in the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Beijing Institute of Technology
During the night of June 3, Kong was shot in the calf in Muxidi. After treatment he was left with a conspicuous six-inch-long scar.
15. Chen Jun, male, 19, personal information unknown
Chen was shot in his left leg early on the morning of June 4 near the State Council National Economic Committee. After emergency treatment, he completely recovered.
16. Wang Kuanbao, male, 19, doctoral student at the Beijing Steel and Iron Institute
Wang retreated from Tiananmen with the student demonstrators around six a.m. on June 4. When they passed through Liubukou, he met another doctoral student also pushing a bicycle. As they walked and talked, a tank suddenly swerved and charged toward them, knocking both men over. Wang’s pelvis was crushed, his flesh and blood mixed into a muddy, pulpy pool of human grime, but he survived. His companion was killed on the spot.
17. Cheng Chunzheng, male, 20, student at the Taiyuan College of Finance and Economics in Shanxi
On the night of June 3, Chen was shot in the thigh while in Xidan and sent to Jishuitan Hospital. He was stuck in the hospital for eleven months, and his school refused to pay his medical bills. Soon afterward his school expelled him.
18. Liu Baodong, male, 20, student in the Chinese literature department at the Baoding Teachers College in Hebei
On the night of June 3 in Nanchizi, Liu was seriously wounded in his thigh in a storm of gunfire. With great difficulty the doctors saved his leg. As with Cheng Chunzheng, Liu’s school refused to pay his medical bills, leaving him stuck in the hospital for ten months. He, too, was expelled from his school soon afterward.
19. Qi Zhiyong, male, 33, originally a sixth-level expert oil lubrication worker at the Beijing Urban Construction Sixth Company; later quit to become an independent entrepreneur
At 1:20 a.m. on the morning of June 4, Qi ran into the slaughter in Xirongxian Hutong in the Xidan District. He was shot in both legs. His left leg was amputated and he became handicapped, only able to move on crutches. Because he was willing to stand up and give interviews to Western journalists and accuse the Communist Party of murder, the police repeatedly detained him and put him under house arrest.
20. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 12, elementary school pupil, Beijing resident
Around three p.m. on the afternoon of June 6, after getting out of school, this boy encountered gunfire while passing by the entrance to the Muxidi subway station. He dropped to the ground as soon as he heard the gunfire but was hit in the lower abdomen and left arm. The troops yelled and ordered the crowd not to go near him. He lay there for half an hour, bleeding profusely. When the tank finally left, people rushed him to Fuxing Hospital, and he lived as a result. His spleen and kidney were removed and a rib was damaged, leaving him handicapped.
21. Unwilling to disclose name and age, male, physician from Yanbian City in Jilin
Prior to June 4, this doctor came to Beijing for an internship at the Beijing Obstetrics Gynecology Hospital. Because he had participated in patriotic street demonstrations, he was confined to Zhongshan Park for more than twenty days. He was beaten several times, leaving him disabled in his right arm and no longer able to work as a physician. He later returned to his hometown. His current circumstances are not known.
22. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 20, university student from Jinhua in Zhejiang.
After June 4 this student was arrested and confined for several months in Qincheng Prison in Beijing. He suffered from an acute mental illness.
23. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 20, employee, Beijing resident
During the night of June 6, this man went out with several people, including Wang Zhengsheng and An Ji (see entries nos. 25 and 26 on p. 267), when he suddenly encountered the slaughter. He was shot but managed to survive. He had two operations during his six-month hospital stay. That day still haunts him.
24. Unwilling to disclose name and age, male, employee, Beijing resident
During the night of June 6, this man had gone out with several people, including Wang Zhengsheng and An Ji (see entries nos. 25 and 26 on p. 267), when he ran into the carnage. Although shot in the abdomen, he managed to survive.
25. Unwilling to disclose name, female, 18, student at a vocational school
During the night of June 3, while in Wukesong, this student encountered the gunfire. She was hit in the right arm by a dumdum bullet. The street was sprayed with her flesh and blood. She received emergency treatment at Military Hospital 304 and was left handicapped, preventing her from being able to get a job after graduation.
26. Unwilling to disclose name, male, over 20, individual entrepreneur, Beijing resident
At an unknown location early on the morning of June 4, this man was hit in the thigh by a random bullet. After an operation, he seemed healed, but five years later the old wound troubled him again. He couldn’t afford medical care, so he just muddled along one day at a time.
27. Unwilling to disclose name, male, over 20, university student, resident of Wuhan
This student was shot in the calf at an unknown location early in the morning on June 4. He had two operations, but still didn’t recover. At the end of 1993, he had another major operation, but he still can’t do heavy work.
28. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 32, laboratory technician, Beijing resident
Near Xidan, early on June 4, this man was shot with a dumdum bullet. His right leg was broken and his sciatic nerve was shattered. Emergency treatment saved his life, but he developed osteomyelitis. He was treated for several years at many hospitals, but his condition was never cured. After six operations, a steel reinforcing support was put into his leg, but walking is still difficult for him.
29. Unwilling to disclose name, male, around 20, university student and resident of Fuzhou
During daylight on June 5, as this student was strolling near the main gate of Beijing Broadcasting School, hysterical fire from
a martial law tank crew hit him in the buttocks. He recovered but remains disabled.
30. Unwilling to disclose name and age, male, employee, Beijing resident
Early on June 4, about a third of a mile north of Muxidi Bridge, this man was shot in the right ankle. After treatment, he recovered completely.
31. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 34, sales manager, Beijing resident
This man encountered the slaughter near the Liubukou intersection early on the morning of June 4. Many people were shot and killed. While he was helping one of the injured, he was shot in the thigh, resulting in a comminuted fracture. After surgery, osteomyelitis developed. He consulted many physicians and spent two years in the hospital. Now he wears a steel brace on his leg. Moving requires strenuous effort.
32. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 28, company driver, Beijing resident
At two a.m. on June 4, near Xidan, a bullet passed through this man’s back, near his vertebrae, injuring his liver and lungs. He was treated at Xuanwu Hospital for two weeks. After he was released, he developed a secondary infection and had to be readmitted. His work unit refused to pay his medical expenses and the large bill nearly bankrupted his family.
33. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 45, individual entrepreneur, Beijing resident
Early on June 4 at Fuchengmen, this man encountered the slaughter. He was struck by two bullets, one in each leg. One bullet shattered his right kneecap, leaving him handicapped for life. As he was rushed to Xuanwu Hospital, dying beside him in the ambulance was a twenty-year-old young man hit in the chest by a bullet.
34. Unwilling to disclose name and age, female, university student
The explosion of a smoke shell injured this student’s right leg early on the morning of June 4 and she was sent to Xuanwu Hospital. She received extensive treatment, but her leg did not heal.
35. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 32, employee, Beijing resident
On the night of June 3, this man was attacked by martial law troops near Liubukou. He was following the tide of retreating demonstrators into a small alley, when he was hit by a bullet on the top right of his head, instantly fracturing his skull. He was sent to Peking University Third Hospital, where he remained for more than half a year. He underwent several major operations and survived, paralyzed in half his body. He could not lift his left arm and he could only move his left leg with great difficulty.
36. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 39, journalist, Beijing resident
At about eleven p.m. on the night of June 3, near the Military Museum of the People’s Revolution, this journalist ran into the slaughter. He was hit in the lower abdomen by dumdum bullets, severing his intestines and damaging his liver. Some people took him to Fuxing Hospital for emergency treatment. The hospital was in chaos and medical personnel, seeing his mess of blood and torn flesh, thought that he was already dead and tossed him directly into the pile of corpses. Later, someone walking by heard him moaning, so they dug him out. After three major operations, he was able to leave the hospital, but he became the object of repeated police interrogations and investigations after his release.
37. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 27, unemployed
During the early morning hours of June 4, this man was shot in the pelvis at an unknown location. Emergency treatment at the Xuanwu Hospital saved his life. The bullet was never removed from his body.
38. Male, unwilling to disclose any personal information
On June 4, he was shot at an unknown location. The details are not known.
39. Unwilling to disclose name and age, male, deputy editor in chief, Beijing resident
Early on June 4, this man was shot at an unknown location. He was treated for a long time but his wounds did not heal completely. His work unit investigated him. Although he was not dismissed, he has never been given any position of responsibility.
40. Unwilling to disclose name, male, over 20, employee, Beijing resident
During the early morning of June 4, he was injured at an unknown location. His right arm was amputated, handicapping him for life.
41. Unwilling to disclose name, male, over 20, university student, Beijing resident
This student retreated from Tiananmen along with other students early on the morning of June 4. When passing by Liubukou, he was run over by a tank. He had fractures in his chest but survived in the emergency room.
42. Unwilling to disclose name, male, over 20, university student, Beijing resident
This man also retreated from Tiananmen with the other students during the early morning of June 4. While he was passing by Liubukou, he was seriously injured after being run over by a tank. He survived after emergency treatment.
43. Unwilling to disclose name, male, over 20, university student, Beijing resident
Near Tiananmen during the early morning hours of June 4, this student was shot in the abdomen but survived after emergency treatment.
44. Unwilling to disclose name and age, male, university student, Beijing resident
This student retreated from Tiananmen along with the student demonstrators in the early morning hours of June 4. When he was passing by Liubukou, he was run over by a tank but survived after emergency treatment.
45. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 18, technician, Beijing resident
This man was shot in the leg early on June 4 at an unknown location. His wounds did not completely heal despite extended treatment. No further details are available.
46. Unwilling to disclose name and age, male, Tianjin resident
This man was beaten at an unknown location early on June 4 and one of his legs was broken. No further details are available.
47. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 15, middle school student, Beijing resident
This student was shot in the leg at an unknown location early on June 4. Despite lengthy treatment, his wound was not cured. No further details are available.
48. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 21, worker, Beijing resident
Early on June 4, this man ran into a massacre on the road south of the reviewing stand to the west of Tiananmen. As he followed the fleeing crowd, he was hit by a bullet that entered at the front of his right shoulder blade and exited through his upper right arm, resulting in a comminuted and open fracture. He was sent to a big van in the center of the square for emergency treatment, where there were more than forty injured people, including some already dead and others barely breathing. All had been shot in Tiananmen Square.
The driver of the van started heading east but ran into fierce strafing fire. He was forced to wave a white shirt, yelling, “This vehicle is transporting injured people! Please hold your fire!”
The bullet-riddled ambulance finally reached Peking Medical College School Hospital. Most of the wounded were already dead, but this man miraculously survived. He spent over a month in the hospital and underwent several operations. He made a complete recovery and again saw the light of day.
49. Unwilling to disclose name, male, 30, worker
Early on June 4, this man ran into a massacre unfolding near the Kentucky Fried Chicken in Qianmen. He was shot, leaving several bullet holes in his left leg.
About the Author
Liao Yiwu is an award-winning writer, musician, and poet from Sichuan, China. Called “one of the most original and remarkable Chinese writers of our time” by Philip Gourevitch, he is the author of The Corpse Walker, God Is Red, and For a Song and a Hundred Songs, a memoir about the four years he spent in prison after the Tiananmen Square massacre. His work has been published in Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Poland, the Netherlands, the Czech Republic, and Sweden. He has received numerous awards, including the prestigious 2012 Peace Prize, awarded by the German Book Trade, and the Disturbing the Peace Award, given by the Václav Havel Library Foundation. Liao escaped from China in July 2011 and currently lives in Berlin, Germany.
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Copyright © 2012 by Liao Yiwu
Translated from the Chinese by David and Jessie Cowhig and Ross Perlin
Originally published in 2012 in Germany by Fischer as Die Kugel und das Opium: Leben und Tad am Platz des Himmlischen Friedens
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