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The Diary of Ma Yan: The Struggles and Hopes of a Chinese Schoolgirl
Wednesday, November 7
My father gave me and my brother a little money. My stomach is all twisted up with hunger, but I don't want to spend the money on anything as frivolous as food. Because it's money my parents earn with their sweat and blood.
I have to study well so that I won't ever again be tortured by hunger. . . .
In a drought-stricken corner of rural China, an education can be the difference between a life of crushing poverty and the chance for a better future. But money is scarce, and the low wages paid for backbreaking work aren't always enough to pay school fees.
Ma Yan's heart-wrenching, honest diary chronicles her struggle to escape hardship and bring prosperity to her family through her persistent, sometimes desperate, attempts to continue her schooling.
First published in France in 2002, the diary of ma yan created an outpouring of support for this courageous teenager and others like her -- support that led to the creation of an international organization dedicated to helping these children . . . all because of one ordinary girl's extraordinary diary.
176 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2002
41 people are currently reading
876 people want to read
About the author
Ma Yan
69 books9 followersMa Yan was a teenager, thirteen and fourteen, from Ningxia, China, when she wrote these diary entries. At sixteen, Ma Yan hoped to attend a university: "I want to study journalism," she said. "My purpose is to keep the whole world informed, to report the poverty and real life in this area."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 149 reviews
September 11, 2019
I picked up this book because I wanted a light read, but it was not exactly light reading. The story was about a middle school Chinese girl who desired to continue her education in order to support her parents, to bring them out of poverty, as well as herself and other family members.
I was not ready to read about her hunger and how she went to school, often without eating or with just some bread. I realize that this happens all over the world and worse. But reading her story I was able to feel for her personally.
School was so important to her that when given a little money for food, she saved the money by fasting and bought herself a ball point pen for school. She chastised herself when she didn’t get good grades, and I must say, so did her mother, who she honored, but who I felt was rather cruel towards her, even one day telling her that she wished that she would kill herself, but Ma Yan was strong and continued to try to do her best in school until she began getting top grades, and this, in spite of her hunger.
Her mother was often ill yet continued to work in the fields. I do not know why she didn’t have access to medical care since I do not know the Chinese system of health care, but the stomach pains that she kept getting were no laughing matter, and the medicine she had on hand didn’t work.
Then I thought of how Ma Yan, instead of spending money to pay for someone to take her home from school, walked 6 hours to get home. She just couldn’t spend her parents hard earned money.
I thought of my own life. Did I ever go hungry even though we were poor? No. My mother worked to support us, and I think that the welfare department helped us some, often threatening our father to pay up or else. I realize that much of the time our breakfasts were not that healthy, being cereal, toast and milk or orange juice, and that I was often hungry before the noon lunch break. But it was nothing like the hunger pains that Ma Yan experienced. And I had lunch money, if not a lunch sack. Ma Yan had nothing but was given a little bread at times.
When I first read of her hunger, I recalled my living in Berkeley and going to a house with a man who was crashing it with some other people. “Crashing” in this sense of the word meant that the house was empty, and everyone had just decided to break into it in order to get some shelter from the night air. When I learned that there was no food, I left and went home. I joked later that I had tried to become a Hippie, but I didn’t wish to starve.
Then there was the time that I fasted, and Ma Yan fasted on purpose as well, but for religious reasons, which I felt was not actually a good idea for a starving girl, I fasted for health reasons. During my own fast I lost my hunger after two days and at the end of 10 days I had lost a lot of weight. I never desired to fast again.
Ma Yan did get to go to college, but I believe it was because her diary got into the hands of the French who decided to create a program to help the poor children in China to get an education. And while Ma Yan’s family now have more money, I hope that her mother got the medical help she needed. Still, they are not rich, but they are comfortable.
And if you were to look out over the world, its wars, famines, as well as other problems, it can be overwhelming.
Then I used to work at TACH, a program for the homeless where they open their doors each day, but only during the day so the homeless could get out of the cold. Then they feed them a lunch. What impressed me was the fact that all left over food would be given to those who waited long enough, but when someone showed up at the last minute, they would give them their food. So even though the people who had given up their extra food would go without food for the rest of the day, others would at least have one meal.
Yet, I would look at what they were being given and considered it junk food and wondered why the sandwiches were not made of whole wheat bread or that the peanut butter wasn’t organic or why the bologna and cheese weren’t made with real meat and real cheese and then served with condiments. I even wondered why they were served potato chips. But It was just to fill them up. At least, in the winter, someone always made some homemade soup. And, well, those were the foods that my own mother had given to us when I was growing up and dinners were no better except for the liver she tried to feed us once a week, which I threw on the floor or the dog or put in a napkin and flushed down the toiler when no one was looking. I even tried chopping it up and mixing it with mashed potatoes, but it ruined the potatoes.
When I learned that some Christians believe that the poor are poor because they don’t have Christ in their hearts or because they are going to the right church, I felt anger.This is why many food shelters open with aprayer and give a sermon. Whereas, the Methodist Church in this town feed the poor every Thursday evening, and they never say prayers or judge them. People are not poor because they are lazy or because they don’t have Christ in their hearts, they are poor because that is what life gave them, and they just need a hand, and if that doesn’t work, they should still not be judged.
I was not ready to read about her hunger and how she went to school, often without eating or with just some bread. I realize that this happens all over the world and worse. But reading her story I was able to feel for her personally.
School was so important to her that when given a little money for food, she saved the money by fasting and bought herself a ball point pen for school. She chastised herself when she didn’t get good grades, and I must say, so did her mother, who she honored, but who I felt was rather cruel towards her, even one day telling her that she wished that she would kill herself, but Ma Yan was strong and continued to try to do her best in school until she began getting top grades, and this, in spite of her hunger.
Her mother was often ill yet continued to work in the fields. I do not know why she didn’t have access to medical care since I do not know the Chinese system of health care, but the stomach pains that she kept getting were no laughing matter, and the medicine she had on hand didn’t work.
Then I thought of how Ma Yan, instead of spending money to pay for someone to take her home from school, walked 6 hours to get home. She just couldn’t spend her parents hard earned money.
I thought of my own life. Did I ever go hungry even though we were poor? No. My mother worked to support us, and I think that the welfare department helped us some, often threatening our father to pay up or else. I realize that much of the time our breakfasts were not that healthy, being cereal, toast and milk or orange juice, and that I was often hungry before the noon lunch break. But it was nothing like the hunger pains that Ma Yan experienced. And I had lunch money, if not a lunch sack. Ma Yan had nothing but was given a little bread at times.
When I first read of her hunger, I recalled my living in Berkeley and going to a house with a man who was crashing it with some other people. “Crashing” in this sense of the word meant that the house was empty, and everyone had just decided to break into it in order to get some shelter from the night air. When I learned that there was no food, I left and went home. I joked later that I had tried to become a Hippie, but I didn’t wish to starve.
Then there was the time that I fasted, and Ma Yan fasted on purpose as well, but for religious reasons, which I felt was not actually a good idea for a starving girl, I fasted for health reasons. During my own fast I lost my hunger after two days and at the end of 10 days I had lost a lot of weight. I never desired to fast again.
Ma Yan did get to go to college, but I believe it was because her diary got into the hands of the French who decided to create a program to help the poor children in China to get an education. And while Ma Yan’s family now have more money, I hope that her mother got the medical help she needed. Still, they are not rich, but they are comfortable.
And if you were to look out over the world, its wars, famines, as well as other problems, it can be overwhelming.
Then I used to work at TACH, a program for the homeless where they open their doors each day, but only during the day so the homeless could get out of the cold. Then they feed them a lunch. What impressed me was the fact that all left over food would be given to those who waited long enough, but when someone showed up at the last minute, they would give them their food. So even though the people who had given up their extra food would go without food for the rest of the day, others would at least have one meal.
Yet, I would look at what they were being given and considered it junk food and wondered why the sandwiches were not made of whole wheat bread or that the peanut butter wasn’t organic or why the bologna and cheese weren’t made with real meat and real cheese and then served with condiments. I even wondered why they were served potato chips. But It was just to fill them up. At least, in the winter, someone always made some homemade soup. And, well, those were the foods that my own mother had given to us when I was growing up and dinners were no better except for the liver she tried to feed us once a week, which I threw on the floor or the dog or put in a napkin and flushed down the toiler when no one was looking. I even tried chopping it up and mixing it with mashed potatoes, but it ruined the potatoes.
When I learned that some Christians believe that the poor are poor because they don’t have Christ in their hearts or because they are going to the right church, I felt anger.This is why many food shelters open with aprayer and give a sermon. Whereas, the Methodist Church in this town feed the poor every Thursday evening, and they never say prayers or judge them. People are not poor because they are lazy or because they don’t have Christ in their hearts, they are poor because that is what life gave them, and they just need a hand, and if that doesn’t work, they should still not be judged.
November 25, 2014
For most in the first world it's hard to remember or even realise that for an enormous proportion of the world's children, even a basic education is a privilege--or indeed an impossible dream. Ma Yan's diary is a testament to this: given the most basic education in a school without even a library, she dreams of an "ideal" job in her future that will release her parents from grinding poverty and back-breaking labour.
The Communist training shows through in her constant self-criticism, making her believe she is slow and stupid, only to find later that she is actually top in all her classes. Students and teachers still call each other "comrade" and there is a state directive to prepare the land to plant trees, which Yan dreams will "soon make the landscape green"--no one seems to notice that the countryside round about is so arid that it probably won't support intensive tree planting, given that the people have to gather snow and rain in underground cisterns for water.
In the US there has long been a joke-meme about someone's grandfather "walking 10 miles uphill both ways to school, through the snow up to here..." In Ma Yan's world, this is reality. She does indeed walk many miles to the boarding school each week through the mountain roads clad in her only set of school clothes and light canvas shoes--and it's no joke. She does without extra food for two weeks to afford the ballpoint pen she treasures. Kids have to provide their own school supplies, and take sacks of rice to school to provide for their one meal a day, which in Yan's case is only the rice--when she can get it. Often, she is told "there's no rice left." Just like that. When the steamed bread she brings from home each week runs out, she's out of luck. She worries about her eyesight and hearing in class--in reality these are the symptoms of starvation. And she castigates herself for not studying harder, so she can be worthy of the bread she brings from home.
Fortunately the publication of her diary (parts of which were used by her illiterate father for cigarrette paper as he didn't know and probably didn't care what it was) brought the attention of many in France to the plight of children in her area of China. This opened a door to one-on-one aid, and many have been able to study thanks to her honest appraisal of her situation.
The Communist training shows through in her constant self-criticism, making her believe she is slow and stupid, only to find later that she is actually top in all her classes. Students and teachers still call each other "comrade" and there is a state directive to prepare the land to plant trees, which Yan dreams will "soon make the landscape green"--no one seems to notice that the countryside round about is so arid that it probably won't support intensive tree planting, given that the people have to gather snow and rain in underground cisterns for water.
In the US there has long been a joke-meme about someone's grandfather "walking 10 miles uphill both ways to school, through the snow up to here..." In Ma Yan's world, this is reality. She does indeed walk many miles to the boarding school each week through the mountain roads clad in her only set of school clothes and light canvas shoes--and it's no joke. She does without extra food for two weeks to afford the ballpoint pen she treasures. Kids have to provide their own school supplies, and take sacks of rice to school to provide for their one meal a day, which in Yan's case is only the rice--when she can get it. Often, she is told "there's no rice left." Just like that. When the steamed bread she brings from home each week runs out, she's out of luck. She worries about her eyesight and hearing in class--in reality these are the symptoms of starvation. And she castigates herself for not studying harder, so she can be worthy of the bread she brings from home.
Fortunately the publication of her diary (parts of which were used by her illiterate father for cigarrette paper as he didn't know and probably didn't care what it was) brought the attention of many in France to the plight of children in her area of China. This opened a door to one-on-one aid, and many have been able to study thanks to her honest appraisal of her situation.
December 23, 2024
“Момичетата са по-скоро работна ръка. Някои от тях не стъпват на училище. Аз съм за равенството. Но когато семейството няма пари, първата жертва е момичето”.
Точно в такава жертва е напът да се превърне и тринайсетгодишната Ма Ян, дъщеря на бедни селяни от северозападната част на Китай, когато научава, че родителите й нямат средства, за да продължат да я пращат на училище.
💌 Момичето е разстроено и пише писмо на своята майка, за да изрази възмущението и обидата от тази несправедливост. Майката обаче е неграмотна и писмото прочита френски журналист. Така разбираме за живота на това момиче.
📝 Ма Ян води дневник, в който споделя за своите душевни терзания и трудния живот, който й се налага да води. Момичето живее в една-единствена стая със цялото си семейство. Всеки ден - в зима и пек- извървява пеша 20 километра, за да стигне до училище. Въпреки това, жаждата за знания и мечтата да получи образование, не й позволяват да се предаде.
📝 Аз така и не успявам да разбера защо момчетата са били с предимство, когато става дума за образование. Предполагам, защото дъщерята я продаваш, а на сина трябва да се купи съпруга. Защо да инвестираш време в обучението на момичето, когато можеш бързо да вземеш пари от нея, с които семейството да оцелява и после да плати зестра за жена на сина си.
Да четеш за времена, в които децата са разменна монета, приравнени до приходи и разходи в семейния бюджет, е меко казано смущаващо и тежко.
Опитвам се да го проумея този нагон - да се възпроизвеждаш при условие, че страданието е единственото, което можеш да осигуриш на поколението си. Опитвам се да разбера ползата от това момичето да се омъжи, когато ще тегли наравно с мъжа на полето, но заедно с това - ще върти домакинство, ще бременее до откат, ще ражда и гледа деца.
Знам, че ви звуча цинично, но няма как не се запитам къде е бил смисълът в това съществуване. Предполагам необходима стъпка в еволюцията на това човечество. Мога само да съм благодарна, че не съм била част от тази стъпка.
Точно в такава жертва е напът да се превърне и тринайсетгодишната Ма Ян, дъщеря на бедни селяни от северозападната част на Китай, когато научава, че родителите й нямат средства, за да продължат да я пращат на училище.
💌 Момичето е разстроено и пише писмо на своята майка, за да изрази възмущението и обидата от тази несправедливост. Майката обаче е неграмотна и писмото прочита френски журналист. Така разбираме за живота на това момиче.
📝 Ма Ян води дневник, в който споделя за своите душевни терзания и трудния живот, който й се налага да води. Момичето живее в една-единствена стая със цялото си семейство. Всеки ден - в зима и пек- извървява пеша 20 километра, за да стигне до училище. Въпреки това, жаждата за знания и мечтата да получи образование, не й позволяват да се предаде.
📝 Аз така и не успявам да разбера защо момчетата са били с предимство, когато става дума за образование. Предполагам, защото дъщерята я продаваш, а на сина трябва да се купи съпруга. Защо да инвестираш време в обучението на момичето, когато можеш бързо да вземеш пари от нея, с които семейството да оцелява и после да плати зестра за жена на сина си.
Да четеш за времена, в които децата са разменна монета, приравнени до приходи и разходи в семейния бюджет, е меко казано смущаващо и тежко.
Опитвам се да го проумея този нагон - да се възпроизвеждаш при условие, че страданието е единственото, което можеш да осигуриш на поколението си. Опитвам се да разбера ползата от това момичето да се омъжи, когато ще тегли наравно с мъжа на полето, но заедно с това - ще върти домакинство, ще бременее до откат, ще ражда и гледа деца.
Знам, че ви звуча цинично, но няма как не се запитам къде е бил смисълът в това съществуване. Предполагам необходима стъпка в еволюцията на това човечество. Мога само да съм благодарна, че не съм била част от тази стъпка.
September 6, 2024
Една абсолютно феноменална книга за силата на духа и нестихващото желание да се образоваш!
Единият лик на Китай е този на световното икономическо чудо. Другият лик е далеч по-мрачен и болезнен - ликът на крайната бедност и мизерия.
Облагодетелствани сме да не познаваме борбата за образование.
Единият лик на Китай е този на световното икономическо чудо. Другият лик е далеч по-мрачен и болезнен - ликът на крайната бедност и мизерия.
Облагодетелствани сме да не познаваме борбата за образование.
August 17, 2013
I decided to read this book because I thought this book will be interesting for me to read. Also, this book looks so attracting to me that I want to read it. I think this book will let me write a good review and use the time precisely without wasting the time and it will let me finish the book as soon as possible.
This book will fit the category of “A diary, autobiography or biography” because this book is a diary book. This book will tell us what is happening in their lifetime as they are living in their poor country, what they do, what they will do in the future to lend a better life for them.
My favourite character of this book is Ma Yan because she tries her best to appreciate her parents as they lived in the poor village called Zhangjiashu which it is about thousands of kilometres north-west from Beijing in China. Ma Yan really wanted to work hard to get great results for her brother and her family. Sometimes, she fails to appreciate her parents in the exam so she end up got into a big trouble and her mother was angry at her. Her school life is terrible than our school life as we have it now. Her life is terrible, for example: if you do something naughty in the classroom or talking while the teacher is taking, you will get a punishment immediately by hitting with the belt. The child will end up with bruise on their body. They have test regularly every 2-3 weeks to see if you can pass it. Sometimes, Ma Yan got the bad test results and sometimes her test results is good. Some people in my Form Class might have the same balance as Ma Yan.
My favourite quote from this book is “If we give a net to a fisherman, he can catch fish!”—Ma Yan. What is special about is quote is if you stay in the boat waiting for the fish, you won’t succeed in everything, if you delay learning all the time and not revising, also you are wasting the time like I sometimes do. If you catch a fish, you used the time efficiently to study hard, trying to get a good grade and you will succeed in the future to get into a good high school. Ma Yan want to succeed in the future at her school, also Ma Yan wants to help her parents as they are ill and hardworking.
I learned from this book is you have to succeed to get a better job to make good money to lead a better life for yourself and your parents. The most important in your life is your parent because without your parents you can’t success in the future, you unable to get some support as possible to keep it going. Not just your parent, you family as well.
I would recommend to somebody who have some English problem because there has been a good simile and metaphors used in this book like “Her tummy is burning” … There are some other techniques I didn’t recognise because they are a brand new techniques to me. You should read it to find out some techniques. This is book is excellent story, sad and happiness with a good description.
This book will fit the category of “A diary, autobiography or biography” because this book is a diary book. This book will tell us what is happening in their lifetime as they are living in their poor country, what they do, what they will do in the future to lend a better life for them.
My favourite character of this book is Ma Yan because she tries her best to appreciate her parents as they lived in the poor village called Zhangjiashu which it is about thousands of kilometres north-west from Beijing in China. Ma Yan really wanted to work hard to get great results for her brother and her family. Sometimes, she fails to appreciate her parents in the exam so she end up got into a big trouble and her mother was angry at her. Her school life is terrible than our school life as we have it now. Her life is terrible, for example: if you do something naughty in the classroom or talking while the teacher is taking, you will get a punishment immediately by hitting with the belt. The child will end up with bruise on their body. They have test regularly every 2-3 weeks to see if you can pass it. Sometimes, Ma Yan got the bad test results and sometimes her test results is good. Some people in my Form Class might have the same balance as Ma Yan.
My favourite quote from this book is “If we give a net to a fisherman, he can catch fish!”—Ma Yan. What is special about is quote is if you stay in the boat waiting for the fish, you won’t succeed in everything, if you delay learning all the time and not revising, also you are wasting the time like I sometimes do. If you catch a fish, you used the time efficiently to study hard, trying to get a good grade and you will succeed in the future to get into a good high school. Ma Yan want to succeed in the future at her school, also Ma Yan wants to help her parents as they are ill and hardworking.
I learned from this book is you have to succeed to get a better job to make good money to lead a better life for yourself and your parents. The most important in your life is your parent because without your parents you can’t success in the future, you unable to get some support as possible to keep it going. Not just your parent, you family as well.
I would recommend to somebody who have some English problem because there has been a good simile and metaphors used in this book like “Her tummy is burning” … There are some other techniques I didn’t recognise because they are a brand new techniques to me. You should read it to find out some techniques. This is book is excellent story, sad and happiness with a good description.
August 16, 2008
This is one of those cases where the story is AMAZING, the book itself is decent. Ma Yan's STORY is inspiring, heartbreaking, and in many ways unbelievable to us pampered ones. We just can't fathom surviving on a single bowl of rice a day, owning only one change of clothes, spending months at a time without parents while they travel far away in search of work, suffering merciless beatings at the hands of teachers, walking five hours to school (in the snow, of course), living in a one-room house in China's "Region of Thirst" where the average annual income is $48, crying everyday out of sheer HUNGER, seeing children sold for a few pounds of rice (or married off at 13)... The story is BEYOND important--even VITAL. In fact, since the publication of the book, hundreds of school children in Ma Yan's region have completed their education due to donations from conscientious readers. (Yes--even many of those "worthless" girls!)
The greatest benefit of reading this book? The next time your preteen complains about the hardships of life, instead of just uttering some ubiquitous, meaningless, people-are-starving-in-Africa type argument... you can just hand them this book and say, "Read up, sweetheart."
FAVORITE QUOTES:
Today I am very sad. Do you want to know why? Because this morning my parents told me that when I got home, I had to feed the ox. I refused. But when I got home, I did feed the ox. The work has left my hands all rough and swollen. They’re horrible to look at. And so I’m led to reflect: I’ve fed the ox once, and my hands are already rough. Mother feeds him every day—which explains why her hands are so swollen. Everything she does is for my brothers’ and my future. I want to cry and can’t say a word. Please come back, Mother and Father. I need your love! I was wrong, okay? Come back quick. I’m thinking of you. Please come back. (70-71)
Why are we alive? The rich die after having known all kinds of pleasures. The poor live with tears in their eyes. When they die, their death is painful. And that’s the truth of it. (106)
You have to count on your own strengths truly to succeed. (89)
The greatest benefit of reading this book? The next time your preteen complains about the hardships of life, instead of just uttering some ubiquitous, meaningless, people-are-starving-in-Africa type argument... you can just hand them this book and say, "Read up, sweetheart."
FAVORITE QUOTES:
Today I am very sad. Do you want to know why? Because this morning my parents told me that when I got home, I had to feed the ox. I refused. But when I got home, I did feed the ox. The work has left my hands all rough and swollen. They’re horrible to look at. And so I’m led to reflect: I’ve fed the ox once, and my hands are already rough. Mother feeds him every day—which explains why her hands are so swollen. Everything she does is for my brothers’ and my future. I want to cry and can’t say a word. Please come back, Mother and Father. I need your love! I was wrong, okay? Come back quick. I’m thinking of you. Please come back. (70-71)
Why are we alive? The rich die after having known all kinds of pleasures. The poor live with tears in their eyes. When they die, their death is painful. And that’s the truth of it. (106)
You have to count on your own strengths truly to succeed. (89)
October 4, 2017
Very good. Hand this book to your kids when they start complaining about anything.
March 22, 2025
"I watch mother . . . To me, she is nobility itself"
"At last I've cracked the nature of human relations. Everyone pays back their debts to others."
"At last I've cracked the nature of human relations. Everyone pays back their debts to others."
June 15, 2017
I admire Ma Yan as a person so much. Through her true diary entries she reveals her dreams of making it through her education and getting a good career to get her family out of poverty. You can’t help but love and root for this girl! She has such determination, she’s constantly saying how she must continue to work harder and harder in her studies. She’s not the best in her class, but she has SUCH a strong work ethic.
Ma Yan is so selfless, she wants more than anything to ease the suffering of her poverty-stricken family. She talks about her family with such love and devotion, which is something you don’t really hear from teenagers in America.
Pros: Ma Yan is a very likeable person with a very inspiring story. She writes well and you can vividly imagine the world she lives in. She describes what hunger and cold feel like so well that it feels like you’re there. There are also breaks between some diary entries where the editors teach you about the part of China she lives in, her culture, and how the school system works there which were very interesting.
Cons: Her entries are very repetitive. She writes mostly about what she did in school, about how she wishes to get her family out of poverty, and that she must continue to work harder. This is all good content, but it’s literally almost every single entry.
In the end I gave it 4/5 stars, simply because I admire Ma Yan so much and her story is so inspiring.
Ma Yan is so selfless, she wants more than anything to ease the suffering of her poverty-stricken family. She talks about her family with such love and devotion, which is something you don’t really hear from teenagers in America.
Pros: Ma Yan is a very likeable person with a very inspiring story. She writes well and you can vividly imagine the world she lives in. She describes what hunger and cold feel like so well that it feels like you’re there. There are also breaks between some diary entries where the editors teach you about the part of China she lives in, her culture, and how the school system works there which were very interesting.
Cons: Her entries are very repetitive. She writes mostly about what she did in school, about how she wishes to get her family out of poverty, and that she must continue to work harder. This is all good content, but it’s literally almost every single entry.
In the end I gave it 4/5 stars, simply because I admire Ma Yan so much and her story is so inspiring.
July 9, 2019
The entries are repetitive but effectively convey Ma Yan’s values. People who don’t typically read non fiction might like this because it’s a quick and easy read
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January 28, 2020I have finished reading this book. It's interesting to understand how different places have different problems and hopes. I'm new to china and I love to read books about where I live. I recommend this book.
January 17, 2023
I love Ma Yan's devotion to duty and family. She has a fervent sense of moral responsibility. In the second half, she wonders why she thinks of her mother so much. It's sweet and even sweeter when Ma Yan completes the term with golden marks.
I would love to read another book by Ma Yan about her life since then.
Thank you, Ma Yan and family!!!
I would love to read another book by Ma Yan about her life since then.
Thank you, Ma Yan and family!!!
October 19, 2011
The Diary of Ma Yan, by Ma Yan and Pierre Haski, is the story of a teenage girl living in a remote area of China. Her diaries were given to a French journalist as he traveled through her remote village in northern China. In her journal, which was translated from its original Mandarin, into French, and later English, Yan tells of her quest for an education. Her Muslim family is desperately poor and raising the funds to attend school requires extreme sacrifice for her parents. If Ma Yan quits school, then there is another set of hands to farm or work to raise money for the family. Yan also has two younger brothers that also need education. Yan’s mother has medical issues that go untreated, because there is no money for a doctor. Often Ma Yan and her family go with only 1 small meal of rice a day and frequently go with nothing. The school that the children attend is 12 miles away. So every week, they walk the distance to school and stay for the week. The conditions at the school are no better than at home. The teachers are strict, there is little food, and while all the children are poor, Ma Yan has less than most. Through it all, Ma Yan is determined to honor the sacrifice her parents have made, by continuing her education.
The story, while moving and inspirational, was a bit dull. It also tends to be repetitive. This is because it is the diary of a thirteen year old, and most of her days are repetitive. If I wanted to have students read a diary, I would recommend Diary of Anne Frank. While the end of this story is not yet written, and there is hope that Ma Yan will have the better life she seeks, I don’t think that this book will keep the attention of the average student. These would certainly be its weaknesses.
The strengths of this story is the voice of Ma Yan. Her diary entries, comments about classmates and teachers, her criticism of family members are believable. While the reader may not understand everything about the culture, her feelings are understandable. It is disappointing that more isn’t said about her Muslim faith. That would have added more to the very strong cultural aspects of this book. Additionally, there is a very strong bond within the family. Ma Yan’s love for them and her consciousness of what her parents are sacrificing for her are very strong.
If I were using this in the classroom, I would certainly use this for journal writing activities. Do I take my education as seriously as Ma Yan? If I had to walk 12 miles each way to school would I? Additionally, older students could compare Ma Yan to Junior from Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. How does their search for a better education affect their family? This would also be an interesting story to read before a class service project, such as spending a day at the food pantry, Feed My Starving Children, or doing a school supply drive. It certainly gives most students a window into real poverty.
Recommended by Cooperative Children’s Book Center, UW-Madison
The story, while moving and inspirational, was a bit dull. It also tends to be repetitive. This is because it is the diary of a thirteen year old, and most of her days are repetitive. If I wanted to have students read a diary, I would recommend Diary of Anne Frank. While the end of this story is not yet written, and there is hope that Ma Yan will have the better life she seeks, I don’t think that this book will keep the attention of the average student. These would certainly be its weaknesses.
The strengths of this story is the voice of Ma Yan. Her diary entries, comments about classmates and teachers, her criticism of family members are believable. While the reader may not understand everything about the culture, her feelings are understandable. It is disappointing that more isn’t said about her Muslim faith. That would have added more to the very strong cultural aspects of this book. Additionally, there is a very strong bond within the family. Ma Yan’s love for them and her consciousness of what her parents are sacrificing for her are very strong.
If I were using this in the classroom, I would certainly use this for journal writing activities. Do I take my education as seriously as Ma Yan? If I had to walk 12 miles each way to school would I? Additionally, older students could compare Ma Yan to Junior from Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian. How does their search for a better education affect their family? This would also be an interesting story to read before a class service project, such as spending a day at the food pantry, Feed My Starving Children, or doing a school supply drive. It certainly gives most students a window into real poverty.
Recommended by Cooperative Children’s Book Center, UW-Madison
April 2, 2014
I believe Ma Yan’s message in The Diary of Ma Yan is that education and a hard ethic work is the only way out of poverty and starvation. This novel takes place in the rural area of Ningxia China during the early 2000s. Ningxia is home to the Hui people, a minority in China. The Hui people are Chinese-Muslim opposed to the other religions in China. The Diary of Ma Yan is told through the eyes of the ambitious young schoolgirl, Ma Yan. Ma Yan’s family is extremely poor and don’t have regular meals. Her mother who has a life threatening disease, goes off pick fa cai to earn enough money to send Ma Yan and her two younger brothers to school. Her father meanwhile is doing labor is distant lands to also earn money for Ma Yan and her brothers. Ma Yan knows that her parents are starving themselves, and her mother is working risking her life with an illness that could kill her, in order to give them the chance of education that they never had. Ma Yan tries her hardest in school and overcomes hungry, frustration, and hopelessness. Ma Yan climbs her way to the top of the class to prove to her parents that they are not doing all this hard work for nothing. Ma Yan faces many other challenges. She must walk miles to school and protect herself on the way from robbers. She endures long periods without food to save enough money for just a pen so that she could write her diary.
This novel, written from Ma Yan’s Diary was truly a touching journey. One of the parts of the book I enjoyed the most was the character, Ma Yan’s mother. It describes her as a devoted mother who, despite her stomach illness will go to hard work in order to send her daughter and sons to school. Ma Yan’s mother is such an amazing admirable strong character. She will do anything to give her kids the life she never had. She suffers in order to give her kids a better future. She is one of my favorite characters in any book I have read. She is truly a mother to admire. This book kind of reminds me of the book A Long Walk To Water by Lind Sue Park, a book about the struggles of a girl in Africa. Even though this book reminds me of Ma Yan’s Diary there is not comparison between the two books. Ma Yan’s Diary was different, and I liked it more. This book also reminds me of the value of education to my family and many other families across the globe. The strengths of this book are definitely the characters. The story was also very interesting and never kept you bored. This book will get emotions out of you. The only weakness is that unfortunately party of the dairy were missing, because Ma Yan’s father used the paper to roll cigars. So in the novel there are some sections that are missing and then it resumes later. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, especially if they liked learning about life in other countries.
This novel, written from Ma Yan’s Diary was truly a touching journey. One of the parts of the book I enjoyed the most was the character, Ma Yan’s mother. It describes her as a devoted mother who, despite her stomach illness will go to hard work in order to send her daughter and sons to school. Ma Yan’s mother is such an amazing admirable strong character. She will do anything to give her kids the life she never had. She suffers in order to give her kids a better future. She is one of my favorite characters in any book I have read. She is truly a mother to admire. This book kind of reminds me of the book A Long Walk To Water by Lind Sue Park, a book about the struggles of a girl in Africa. Even though this book reminds me of Ma Yan’s Diary there is not comparison between the two books. Ma Yan’s Diary was different, and I liked it more. This book also reminds me of the value of education to my family and many other families across the globe. The strengths of this book are definitely the characters. The story was also very interesting and never kept you bored. This book will get emotions out of you. The only weakness is that unfortunately party of the dairy were missing, because Ma Yan’s father used the paper to roll cigars. So in the novel there are some sections that are missing and then it resumes later. I really enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone, especially if they liked learning about life in other countries.
January 1, 2020
Ma Yan lives a destitute life in rural China with her parents and two brothers. As a young teen she writes a diary to help her process her hard life and as a way to dedicate herself to her schooling, which she loves. That diary (yes, this is a true story) ends up in the hands of a French journalist who ends up helping Ma Yan publish her diary and turn it into a book.
I read this in a day and found it really engaging. Yes, her diary is a bit repetitive, what middle schooler's isn't, but it's the thing she's focusing on that are interesting and heartbreaking. She truly has practically no money, ever, and it the lack of food and school supplies is something that fills her thoughts. But more than anything, she wants to make her mom proud and she wants to be successful. She is so aware that education as the way out of their poverty and she wants it so bad. It's such a stark look at rural indigence and puts a real face on how difficult survival, let alone progress, can be. I liked the narrative format - that we'd read her diary entries for a while then there would be a chapter break with some explanations and context. I also appreciated how all over the world, wherever they live and whatever there circumstances, girls on the cusp of adulthood both need and adore their parents and are frustrated with them at the same time.
I'd recommend this to middle school readers who are interested in social issues and other cultures.
I read this in a day and found it really engaging. Yes, her diary is a bit repetitive, what middle schooler's isn't, but it's the thing she's focusing on that are interesting and heartbreaking. She truly has practically no money, ever, and it the lack of food and school supplies is something that fills her thoughts. But more than anything, she wants to make her mom proud and she wants to be successful. She is so aware that education as the way out of their poverty and she wants it so bad. It's such a stark look at rural indigence and puts a real face on how difficult survival, let alone progress, can be. I liked the narrative format - that we'd read her diary entries for a while then there would be a chapter break with some explanations and context. I also appreciated how all over the world, wherever they live and whatever there circumstances, girls on the cusp of adulthood both need and adore their parents and are frustrated with them at the same time.
I'd recommend this to middle school readers who are interested in social issues and other cultures.
January 10, 2017
تختلف قصة مايان عن حكاية ملالا، التي حظيت باهتمام واسع جدًا، رغم أن هنالك من مثيلاتها كثيرات وربما يفقنها في التجربة والمعاناة دون أن يحصلن على القدر نفسه من الاهتمام. ما يان، فتاة صينية مسلمة تعيش في أشد مناطق الصين فقرًا، اضطرت والدتها لإخراجها من المدرسة لعجز الأسرة عن دعمها ماليًا، ثم أعادتها ثانية بعد ما رأت من إصرارها. أنقذت الأم ما يان من مصير مظلم مرتين، فكانت هي العرابة دون أن تحتاج لجنية طيبة تمنحها حذاء وعربة تغير حياتها، كل ما فعلته الأم أنها قدمت دفاتر يوميات مايان لصحافيين أجانب كانوا في زيارة للمنطقة، وقام أحدهم بترجمة اليوميات ونشرها مسلسلة في الليبراسيون، ونالت اهتمام القراء الذين أبدوا رغبتهم في مساعدة مايان لتواصل تعليمها، الأمر الذي جعل الصحفي ينشئ صندوقًا تمكن من خلاله من دعم مايان وغيرها من أطفال المنطقة وبخاصة الفتيات، ووصل عدد منهم إلى الجامعة. اليوميات فيها كثير من الألم وتحديدًا في معاناة الأم المصابة بالقرحة وما يان مع الجوع.... أكره الحياة حين تقسو على الأمهات والأطفال...
January 25, 2015
While fiction is fabricated from beginning to end, and nonfiction is generally sensationalized, this is the raw and unedited diary of a thirteen year old Chinese girl revealing her constant struggle to get an education despite the minimal resources, harsh conditions, and grinding poverty. Her everyday life no matter how sad and trying, her inscribes in the diary are invariably filled with hope, zeal, and determination.
July 16, 2017
I couldn't imagine being that poor. Or being that hungry. Or having to endure physical abuse from the teachers and mental abuse from my mother. Yet still feel the need to be top of the class and prove that mother and father's hard work is not in vain. I'm glad she made a large amount of money off the book, transitioned the lives of her family and is able to help other Chinese girls attend school when they otherwise would have been left to work the lands.
August 31, 2007
Every teacher should read this and share it with their students! We take education here for granted, but in some countries it's something you have to work hard for. This is an inspiring story-- I couldn't put it down.
March 14, 2011
Reading this in preparation for a regional summit in which my students are participating. The book is a little boring, but the issues it raises are good and will hopefully compel my students to appreciate their own eduction.
March 15, 2008
Heartbreaking and yet hopeful. Really well written and the results of her book sale are wonderful
March 20, 2020
What a powerful book. Hard to read for its raw honesty, but even harder to put down. If you think your life has been hard, then read this!
July 3, 2019
When Ma Yan, a peasant girl in China, was 13 and 14 she kept a journal that, on a whim, was published in the early 2000s. Her diary is a glimpse into the need for education to stop the cycle of poverty. What she wrote is interrupted occasionally with interesting explanations on the culture. I recommend it to middle grade kids and up.
April 17, 2025
La historia está muy bien, es una historia real, pero se hace muy pesado de leer. No deja de ser el diario de una niña de 13 años, en el que cuenta sus vivencias diarias.
October 8, 2024
Книга, което те отрезнява и ти отваря очите с един единствен замах. Историята на Ма Ян, но и на много други китайски деца, които, въпреки живота си в този икономически гигант Китай, трябва да избират между храната и образованието. ⭐5/5⭐
August 10, 2011
Buku ini ditransformasikan dari buku harian seorang gadis kecil bernama Ma Yan. Sayang ada bagian yg hilang dari buku harian tersebut karena telah berubah menjadi asap. Yeah… menjadi asap karena Ma Dongji, ayah Ma Yan, mempunyai kebiasaan membuat rokok lintingan dari buku-buku anaknya yg sudah tidak terpakai.
Ma Yan tinggal di desa terpencil di negri Cina. Setiap minggu Ma Yan dan saudara laki-lakinya harus menempuh jarak sejauh 7 mil dengan berjalan kaki menuju sekolah mereka dimana mereka tinggal dan bersekolah sepanjang minggu. Tidak terbayangkan betapa beratnya perjalanan mereka. Gelap… dingin… ditambah berandalan yg sering mencegat di tengah jalan dan merampas apa saja yg mereka bawa.
Saking miskinnya, acapkali Ma Yan hanya makan semangkuk nasi sehari, tanpa lauk ataupun sayur. Kadang-kadang ayah atau ibu Ma Yan memberikan sedikit uang lebih yg bisa dipergunakan untuk membeli sayuran di pasar atau untuk menumpang traktor pulang ke rumah pada akhir minggu. Tapi Ma Yan lebih memilih untuk tidak makan siang supaya bisa membeli sebatang pulpen.
Ma Yan termasuk anak yg pintar, tetapi ia tidak akan puas bila tidak memperoleh rangking pertama di kelasnya. Ibu Ma Yan pun tidak segan-segan mencaci Ma Yan dan membuatnya merasa bersalah, seakan-akan Ma Yan telah mensia-siakan keja keras ayah dan ibunya.
Saya jadi miris membacanya… karena seorang ibu seharusnya lemah lembut dan halus tutur katanya. Intinya bisa menentramkan jiwa sang anak. Tapi hal itu tidak saya tangkap dari sosok Bai Juhua, ibu Mayan. Mungkin kemiskinan dan kerasnya hidup telah mengikis habis kelembutan itu.
Meskipun demikian Bai Juhua memahami betul keinginan Ma Yan untuk terus bersekolah. Ia rela bekerja keras membanting tulang, menggarap ladang milik mereka sendiri yg tidak seberapa luas, memanen tanaman orang lain atau pergi bermil-mil jauhnya untuk memanen rumput fa cai, dengan harapan anak-anakanya bisa terus bersekolah dan memiliki kehidupan yg lebih baik darinya.
Ma Yan-pun sangat mencintai ibunya, meskipun kadang-kadang suka bersikap kasar. Hal ini terlihat jelas dari tulisan Ma Yan pada buku hariannya yg berisi ungkapan perasaannya yg campur aduk, silih berganti antara rasa cinta yg dalam, hormat dan perasaan marah atas ketidakadilan yg diterimanya.
Spontanitas Bai Juhua saat menyodorkan buku harian Ma Yan kepada Pierre Haski telah merubah segalanya.
Ma Yan tinggal di desa terpencil di negri Cina. Setiap minggu Ma Yan dan saudara laki-lakinya harus menempuh jarak sejauh 7 mil dengan berjalan kaki menuju sekolah mereka dimana mereka tinggal dan bersekolah sepanjang minggu. Tidak terbayangkan betapa beratnya perjalanan mereka. Gelap… dingin… ditambah berandalan yg sering mencegat di tengah jalan dan merampas apa saja yg mereka bawa.
Saking miskinnya, acapkali Ma Yan hanya makan semangkuk nasi sehari, tanpa lauk ataupun sayur. Kadang-kadang ayah atau ibu Ma Yan memberikan sedikit uang lebih yg bisa dipergunakan untuk membeli sayuran di pasar atau untuk menumpang traktor pulang ke rumah pada akhir minggu. Tapi Ma Yan lebih memilih untuk tidak makan siang supaya bisa membeli sebatang pulpen.
Ma Yan termasuk anak yg pintar, tetapi ia tidak akan puas bila tidak memperoleh rangking pertama di kelasnya. Ibu Ma Yan pun tidak segan-segan mencaci Ma Yan dan membuatnya merasa bersalah, seakan-akan Ma Yan telah mensia-siakan keja keras ayah dan ibunya.
Saya jadi miris membacanya… karena seorang ibu seharusnya lemah lembut dan halus tutur katanya. Intinya bisa menentramkan jiwa sang anak. Tapi hal itu tidak saya tangkap dari sosok Bai Juhua, ibu Mayan. Mungkin kemiskinan dan kerasnya hidup telah mengikis habis kelembutan itu.
Meskipun demikian Bai Juhua memahami betul keinginan Ma Yan untuk terus bersekolah. Ia rela bekerja keras membanting tulang, menggarap ladang milik mereka sendiri yg tidak seberapa luas, memanen tanaman orang lain atau pergi bermil-mil jauhnya untuk memanen rumput fa cai, dengan harapan anak-anakanya bisa terus bersekolah dan memiliki kehidupan yg lebih baik darinya.
Ma Yan-pun sangat mencintai ibunya, meskipun kadang-kadang suka bersikap kasar. Hal ini terlihat jelas dari tulisan Ma Yan pada buku hariannya yg berisi ungkapan perasaannya yg campur aduk, silih berganti antara rasa cinta yg dalam, hormat dan perasaan marah atas ketidakadilan yg diterimanya.
Spontanitas Bai Juhua saat menyodorkan buku harian Ma Yan kepada Pierre Haski telah merubah segalanya.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 22, 2017
De Franse journalist Pierre krijgt tijdens een bezoek aan een Chinees plattelandsdorpje een brief en bladzijden uit een dagboek in zijn handen geduwd. Later blijkt dat de 13-jarige Ma Yan de schrijfster hiervan is.
Via haar dagboekaantekeningen komen we meer te weten over haar leven op het Chinese platteland en hoe moeilijk dit vaak is.
De burgers van het platteland zijn een beetje de vergeten groep. De woon- en werkomstandigheden zijn slecht, net als het onderwijs en de gezondheidszorg. Ook is er veel armoede en honger. Ma Yan vertelt ons hoe dit hoe dit allemaal voor haar is. Ze vertelt ook met name hoe lastig ze het vindt dat naar school gaan niet iets vanzelfsprekends is, met name niet voor meisjes, terwijl Ma Yan niets liever wilt dan naar school gaan.
Soms vergeet ik wel eens hoe goed ik het eigenlijk heb en dat ik weinig te klagen heb. Dit boek heeft me daar weer even aan herinnerd. Het boek herinnerde me er ook aan hoe oneerlijk de wereld eigenlijk is...
'"Ik wil leren," schreef Ma Yan boven aan haar brief (...) Om de ballpoint die ze heeft gebruikt te kunnen kopen, zo lezen we later in haar dagboek, heeft ze twee weken lang bijna niets gegeten.'
Ma Yan heeft het niet gemakkelijk, maar legt zich er gelukkig niet bij neer. Ze werkt- samen met haar ouders - heel hard om te kunnen doen wat ze het liefste wilt: naar school gaan om te leren. Ik bewonderde Ma Yan enorm om haar wilskracht en vind eigenlijk dat iedere scholier dit boek zou moeten lezen.
Niet alleen wordt het belang van onderwijs duidelijk (en hoe dankbaar we mogen zijn dat wij allemaal naar school mogen/moeten), maar ook leer je een hele hoop over hoe het er aan toe gaat aan de andere kant van de wereld. Je leert niet enkel over de problemen die zich daar afspelen, maar ook over de gebruiken en gewoonten. Het dagboek zelf is niet altijd even pakkend, maar de stukken aanvullende informatie en foto's tussendoor zijn zeer interessant en geven een levendig beeld van het leven op het Chinese platteland.
Via haar dagboekaantekeningen komen we meer te weten over haar leven op het Chinese platteland en hoe moeilijk dit vaak is.
De burgers van het platteland zijn een beetje de vergeten groep. De woon- en werkomstandigheden zijn slecht, net als het onderwijs en de gezondheidszorg. Ook is er veel armoede en honger. Ma Yan vertelt ons hoe dit hoe dit allemaal voor haar is. Ze vertelt ook met name hoe lastig ze het vindt dat naar school gaan niet iets vanzelfsprekends is, met name niet voor meisjes, terwijl Ma Yan niets liever wilt dan naar school gaan.
Soms vergeet ik wel eens hoe goed ik het eigenlijk heb en dat ik weinig te klagen heb. Dit boek heeft me daar weer even aan herinnerd. Het boek herinnerde me er ook aan hoe oneerlijk de wereld eigenlijk is...
'"Ik wil leren," schreef Ma Yan boven aan haar brief (...) Om de ballpoint die ze heeft gebruikt te kunnen kopen, zo lezen we later in haar dagboek, heeft ze twee weken lang bijna niets gegeten.'
Ma Yan heeft het niet gemakkelijk, maar legt zich er gelukkig niet bij neer. Ze werkt- samen met haar ouders - heel hard om te kunnen doen wat ze het liefste wilt: naar school gaan om te leren. Ik bewonderde Ma Yan enorm om haar wilskracht en vind eigenlijk dat iedere scholier dit boek zou moeten lezen.
Niet alleen wordt het belang van onderwijs duidelijk (en hoe dankbaar we mogen zijn dat wij allemaal naar school mogen/moeten), maar ook leer je een hele hoop over hoe het er aan toe gaat aan de andere kant van de wereld. Je leert niet enkel over de problemen die zich daar afspelen, maar ook over de gebruiken en gewoonten. Het dagboek zelf is niet altijd even pakkend, maar de stukken aanvullende informatie en foto's tussendoor zijn zeer interessant en geven een levendig beeld van het leven op het Chinese platteland.
March 21, 2016
*Minor spoiler alert* I honestly can’t say what made me pick up The Diary or Ma Yan, but I am so glad I did. It really illuminates the differences in culture; what we take for granted here in America is what they dream of. An education, in her small village in China (Zhangjuashu), can very much be the difference between starvation and hope for a happy life. Coming from a peasant upbringing, she sees her parents and grandparents working constantly, back breaking work in the fields. Throughout the diary is her beautiful and sincere wish to succeed in her studies and become someone who can support her family and give them an easier life- a happy life.
She speaks of the hardships of getting to school, her middle school being miles from home. Being a boarder, they have to pay for all food, bringing in rice from the family. There are many times when all she had was rice because she could not afford the vegetables that could be bought to go along side it, and had run out of bread her mother made for the week. There is also talk of the hardships she had to go through to afford her school books and something as simple as a pen. It tears at my heart to think that there are areas where these are concerns, yet this is not the only story like this. She often talks about her Mother in glowing, respectful terms; about how hard she works and worries over her illness.
In 2002 a French newspaper, Liberation, printed an exert of her diary. She touched so many with her words, that many began talking of financing her schooling. Thus, the Association for the Children of Ningxia was founded to help children of families in need continue their schooling. Hundreds of students have been helped by this charity.
This book is out now, go get it!
On the adult content scale, there is nothing. Zero.
She speaks of the hardships of getting to school, her middle school being miles from home. Being a boarder, they have to pay for all food, bringing in rice from the family. There are many times when all she had was rice because she could not afford the vegetables that could be bought to go along side it, and had run out of bread her mother made for the week. There is also talk of the hardships she had to go through to afford her school books and something as simple as a pen. It tears at my heart to think that there are areas where these are concerns, yet this is not the only story like this. She often talks about her Mother in glowing, respectful terms; about how hard she works and worries over her illness.
In 2002 a French newspaper, Liberation, printed an exert of her diary. She touched so many with her words, that many began talking of financing her schooling. Thus, the Association for the Children of Ningxia was founded to help children of families in need continue their schooling. Hundreds of students have been helped by this charity.
This book is out now, go get it!
On the adult content scale, there is nothing. Zero.
November 8, 2017
This is one of those stories where you wonder if serendipity really does exist. Pierre Haski, the man who originally translated and published Ma Yan’s diaries in a newspaper, was really just there to take some photos of backwater China, which in 2002 had barely changed in hundreds of years. Ma Yan’s mother was the one who actually gave him the diaries, and he said when he read them, he knew he had to do something to help the teenager achieve her dreams.
The diaries cover only a few months of two different years of Ma Yan’s life, but they’re more enough to give readers a glimpse of the harsh realities of life for Ma Yan and her family. Her parents are often gone, working in places like Inner Mongolia or in fields hundreds of miles away to make enough money to buy new clothes, some food, and pay school fees for the children. The schools that Ma Yan and her brothers attend are often so far away that they live in dormitories during the week, only returning home on the weekends. They walk many miles home on Friday, only occasionally able to afford the 1-yuan (15-cent) fare tractor drivers charge for a ride. Even when they do have the money for it, she and her brothers often walk home anyway, just to save it for when they genuinely need it.
Full review at A Writer Reads.
The diaries cover only a few months of two different years of Ma Yan’s life, but they’re more enough to give readers a glimpse of the harsh realities of life for Ma Yan and her family. Her parents are often gone, working in places like Inner Mongolia or in fields hundreds of miles away to make enough money to buy new clothes, some food, and pay school fees for the children. The schools that Ma Yan and her brothers attend are often so far away that they live in dormitories during the week, only returning home on the weekends. They walk many miles home on Friday, only occasionally able to afford the 1-yuan (15-cent) fare tractor drivers charge for a ride. Even when they do have the money for it, she and her brothers often walk home anyway, just to save it for when they genuinely need it.
Full review at A Writer Reads.
March 20, 2013
http://www.bookcrossing.com/journal/8...
Like I already mentioned, it was a very interesting book to read. On the one hand it made me feel guilty for all the wealth we have and usually take for granted. It was also nice to learn how things work in the Chinese rural community. I was often very moved by the despair that Ma Yan so obviously felt.
I was a bit annoyed by the constant repetition of 'I have to study hard to get a better life and make my mother's life better' or words like these. It almost feels like a mantra to me, if you say it loud and often enough, you automatically start believing it.
What shook me most is, that there's such a ginormous gap in development between urban and rural areas and that the (central) government is not doing anything about it. As it seems from the last part of the book, things haven't changed a lot (yet).
Like I already mentioned, it was a very interesting book to read. On the one hand it made me feel guilty for all the wealth we have and usually take for granted. It was also nice to learn how things work in the Chinese rural community. I was often very moved by the despair that Ma Yan so obviously felt.
I was a bit annoyed by the constant repetition of 'I have to study hard to get a better life and make my mother's life better' or words like these. It almost feels like a mantra to me, if you say it loud and often enough, you automatically start believing it.
What shook me most is, that there's such a ginormous gap in development between urban and rural areas and that the (central) government is not doing anything about it. As it seems from the last part of the book, things haven't changed a lot (yet).
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