Margaret is both a poet and author, and the evening began with her publicist Laura Navarro reading several of Margaret’s Haiku. Two of my favorites;
Enjoy Watching
My Shadow in Sunset
What a Slim Body
My Husband Works Hard to
Bring Home the Bacon
But I’m a Vegetarian
Margaret, the author of Really Enough, began by talking about happiness. She said that in Chinese culture, the ultimate happiness is children. Before Margaret was born, her parents had a very good and very happy life. Their first child was a little girl which they named Double Happiness. They were indeed pleased by this child, but really wanted a boy. In fact, her mother worried that she would have to make room for a second wife if she couldn’t produce a boy. Fortunately, the second child was a son. He was named Repeat Happiness. Then there was Little Ox –he was born in the stables. When the fourth child was born, China was falling into chaos. Margaret’s mother wanted all this "happiness" to end. So she named the fourth child—Complete Happiness. In 1949, the Communists took over, and Margaret’s family became the ‘enemy of the state.’
“They were lucky not to be shot,” said Margaret.
They were sent to the countryside to live, even though they had no idea how to farm. Despite Margaret’s Mother’s message to the Gods that she was completely happy, she gave birth to a fifth child in 1952. Again, Margaret's Mother chose a name that she hoped would alert the Gods to her gratitude yet desire for this to stop. She named the baby , “Enough.” Four years later, Margaret was born. Thus she was given the name “Really Enough Complete Happiness.”
In the countryside, life was difficult. “Sometimes there was a bit of rice but no wood with which to make a fire to cook the rice. Sometimes there was wood but no rice. Sometimes there was neither.”
When Margaret was in 3rd grade, the Cultural Revolution was in full swing. It was this year that her ability to attend school was cut off. She got jobs cooking (although she didn’t really know how), working in factories, and even at one point in 1976 she got a job teaching 4th grade. She was fired from this last job—not because she only had a 3rd grade education herself—but because her boss discovered her “enemy” background.
At this point, Margaret fell into despair. She went to the levy, perhaps thinking to jump in and end her life. She was ashamed, desperate, feeling she was at a dead end. As she sat there, she saw the full moon rising. It was the most beautiful moon she’d ever seen. She looked at that moon and thought, “They took my job, but they cannot take the moon from me. I’m still alive and breathing. They cannot take the air from me.” Margaret was inspired to move on.
Three years later, when Mao died, Deng Xiao Ping opened the universities to everyone. Margaret was suddenly considered equal to her peers. Despite her lack of formal education, she wanted to take the test for university. Everyone laughed at her. (Only 6% of applicants would be accepted.) But she studied for 8 months night and day. She sat for the test. She earned a spot.
She said that today she wakes up each morning grateful. “I have fresh water. I turn the stove on and fire comes automatically. I have food. I have a roof over my head. I’m free.”
In the countryside, life was difficult. “Sometimes there was a bit of rice but no wood with which to make a fire to cook the rice. Sometimes there was wood but no rice. Sometimes there was neither.”
When Margaret was in 3rd grade, the Cultural Revolution was in full swing. It was this year that her ability to attend school was cut off. She got jobs cooking (although she didn’t really know how), working in factories, and even at one point in 1976 she got a job teaching 4th grade. She was fired from this last job—not because she only had a 3rd grade education herself—but because her boss discovered her “enemy” background.
At this point, Margaret fell into despair. She went to the levy, perhaps thinking to jump in and end her life. She was ashamed, desperate, feeling she was at a dead end. As she sat there, she saw the full moon rising. It was the most beautiful moon she’d ever seen. She looked at that moon and thought, “They took my job, but they cannot take the moon from me. I’m still alive and breathing. They cannot take the air from me.” Margaret was inspired to move on.
Three years later, when Mao died, Deng Xiao Ping opened the universities to everyone. Margaret was suddenly considered equal to her peers. Despite her lack of formal education, she wanted to take the test for university. Everyone laughed at her. (Only 6% of applicants would be accepted.) But she studied for 8 months night and day. She sat for the test. She earned a spot.
She said that today she wakes up each morning grateful. “I have fresh water. I turn the stove on and fire comes automatically. I have food. I have a roof over my head. I’m free.”
Bart Trescott, author of From Frenzy to Friendship, was commissioned by USCPFA to put together the history of the organization. He travelled across the country and met with early members, researched old FBI files on the group’s activities, and did extensive interviews. He said that while the group really started out as a bunch of radical Americans who played into the hands of a China interested in opening relations. (Zhou Enlai could say, “Look these Americans are just like us. They are following Mao, too.”) USCPFA has evolved. “IT’s not just a private social club,” said Bart. “It’s done a lot of good in the world.” Look for his book at the National Convention.
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