Yan Lianke - Lenin's Kisses

“ . . Residents of Liven . . did you hear me? I have an official document from the township for you. . . ”

Little Polio Boy had gone to the mountain ridge to cut down a dead locust tree that he planned to have One-Legged Monkey make into a cabinet leg, and he brought the letter down with him. He hobbled along with the trunk of the locust tree resting on his shoulder and the rest dragging on the ground, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake and a long trail. When he arrived at the center of the village, he stood in front of Grandma Mao Zhi, who was still sitting beneath the honey locust tree, and said,

“Granny, this letter is for you.”

Grandma Mao Zhi seemed surprised.

The boy said, “The person said that this is an official document from the county seat.”

Grandma Mao Zhi’s surprise became open astonishment.

As she was reaching out to accept the leather envelope, the movement of her arm made her satin burial clothes rustle loudly. Once she had taken the letter from Polio Boy, her hand was trembling so hard she had a difficult time opening it, but finally she ripped open the envelope and was able to remove the thick, folded letter inside. When she unfolded it, she saw the black characters and the two round seals from the county committee and the county government at the bottom of the page. Grandma Mao Zhi suddenly began to cry. She abruptly stood up and began sobbing, as her gray tears rolled down her sallow face like pearls.

The sun was warm. It was almost noon, and the stillness of the village was shining everywhere like sunlight. At this point, Grandma Mao Zhi suddenly cried out, as though she were an old person who had already died and surprised everyone by suddenly coming back to life. An “ Ah, ah!” sound erupted from her throat, like burning kindling inside a woodstove. The disabled dogs lying beside her all suddenly opened their eyes and looked up, gazing at her in confusion.

Little Polio Boy took a step back.

Paraplegic Woman stabbed her shoe needle into her own palm.

Deafman Man sat on the door threshold, the pus released by the heat of the sun flowing down his neck.

The villagers who were playing cards held their cards in midair, as though their hands had died.

The pregnant Huaihua walked over from the other side of the village. From a distance she heard her grandmother cry out, and she rushed over, holding her belly. Before she reached the honey locust tree, her shouts rolled over:

“Grandma! Grandma! . . What’s wrong?

“Grandma, Grandma, what’s wrong?”

Paraplegic Woman, Deafman Ma, and the idle people playing cards all cried out together,

“What’s wrong? . . What’s wrong?”

Grandma Mao Zhi instantly stopped crying. Her tears, however, continued streaming down her face. Despite the tears, her face was gradually covered in a flush of excitement. She looked at the surprised villagers, and then bent over and carried her bamboo chair to the bell hanging from the honey locust tree. As she was walking, she muttered hoarsely to herself,

“Withdraw from society; we’re going to withdraw from society.

“This time we’re really going to withdraw from society. The documents were sent down more than a month ago. They must have arrived at the township at the end of last year, but didn’t reach the village until now.”

Grandma Mao Zhi continued muttering as she walked, not looking at anyone as she moved forward. It was as though no one was around. Still muttering to herself, she arrived at the bell. She placed her chair beneath it, then picked up a round stone. She climbed onto the chair and began striking the oxcart wheel bell, making a crisp dang, dang, dang, dang sound. Under the midday sun of this day at the end of the first month of the jimao year, the village and the hillside were filled with the bright tolling of the bell, the entire Balou region was fllled with the pink ringing of the bell, and even the entire world seemed to be filled with this dang, dang, dang sound.

The residents of Liven all emerged from their homes. Men and women, young and old, the blind, crippled, deaf, and mute, together with those missing arms or legs, were all summoned by the tolling of the bell. One-Legged Monkey emerged with the canvas apron still tied around his waist and a wood plane in his hand. Jumei was inside cooking, her hands covered in flour. Tonghua, Yuhua, and Mothlet were busy doing something or other, but they all came over and joined the other villagers. The entire village stood like a dark mass beneath the honey locust tree.

“What is she doing?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why is she ringing the bell now?”

“You’re only supposed to ring it in the event of an emergency.”

In the hubbub, Grandma Mao Zhi gazed at One-Legged Monkey, who was standing in front of the crowd. She handed him the letter she was holding, saying, “Read this to the other villagers — in a loud voice!” One-Legged Monkey asked what exactly it was he’d be reading, and Grandma Mao Zhi replied that once he read it he would know. One-Legged Monkey took the letter, unfolded it, and then gasped in astonishment. He stared in shock for a moment, then, like Grandma Mao Zhi’s, his face erupted in delight. He hobbled over to the stone riser beneath the tree, jumped up onto it, cleared his throat, waved his arms, and then cried out as though he were an important personage, “Quiet please, quiet please. Fuck your grandmother, the documentation for Liven’s withdrawal from society has arrived. Now I am going to read this motherfucking document aloud to everyone! . . This will be a presentation!”

Under the honey locust tree, everything became absolutely silent — so silent that it seemed as though no one was even there.

Standing on the stone riser, One-Legged Monkey read aloud in a shrill voice this document that had been sent down by Shuanghuai’s county committee and county government:

To the Party committees from every department, office, and township:

In accordance with Liven’s repeated requests that it be permitted to “withdraw from society”—which is to say, to voluntarily leave the administrative jurisdiction of Shuanghuai county and Boshuzi township — the county committee and county government have carefully studied this matter and reached the following conclusion:

1) As of today, the village of Liven, located in the depths of the Balou mountains, will no longer fall under the administrative jurisdiction of Shuanghuai county and Boshuzi township. Shuanghuai and Boshuzi will no longer have any authority over Liven, and conversely Liven will no longer have any obligations toward Shuanghuai and Boshuzi;

2) Within a month of the day when this document is issued, Boshuzi township must collect and destroy all of the residency permits and identity cards that had previously been issued to the residents of Liven, and if it is discovered that anyone in Liven is still using the township’s residency permit and identity cards, they will be treated as illegal counterfeits;

3) From now on, all of the administrative maps printed by Shuanghuai must have their borders revised such that they no longer contain the section of the Balou mountains where Liven is located, and the county’s administrative maps must never again include the village of Liven;

4) Beginning today, Liven’s freedoms and rights — including the right to citizenship, the right to property, the right to housing, the right to disaster relief, the right to medical treatment, and so forth — will no longer have any relation to Shuanghuai or Boshuzi. On the other hand, Shuanghuai and Boshuzi must not interfere with Liven’s informal contacts with the county, township, or any of their associated regions.