Do Not Say We Have Nothing

In the three months since Ai-Ming’s arrival, Marie grew very close to her. She learned that Ai-Ming once got into Tsinghua University, “the most prestigious scientific university in China” but in a “reckless” move had decided not to go (50). Marie enjoyed learning all that Ai-Ming knew about math and science, however, and often asked her to elaborate. They also often talked about what Marie would be when she grew up.

Ai-Ming had been feeling “invisible” lately and was anxious to start her life over (49). She made plans to join a friend in San Francisco and then to apply for legal residency in the U.S. Marie and her mother could not afford to “sponsor Ai-Ming’s immigration to Canada” so though neither of them wanted her to leave, they had to let her go (51). On one of their last nights together, Marie used some of her Chinese New Year’s money to take Ai-Ming out to eat at Marie’s “father’s favorite restaurant” (49). Sitting down to eat, Marie finally asked Ai-Ming to tell her about the protests at Tiananmen Square. Ai-Ming had taken part in the hunger strike and slept on the street with her friends. The experience was an awakening. After dinner, they went home and drank tea while Ai-Ming continued to tell Marie about Swirl and Wen the Dreamer.

At their wedding, the men congratulated Wen on his new wife, and toasted to Da-wei, the character from The Book of Records that brought them together. Sparrow sang a beautiful song, leading Wen to give Sparrow some Bach albums he had imported from America. Swirl and Big Mother Knife sang a goodbye song to each other, and though Big Mother Knife was sad about losing Swirl, she was happy knowing her sister would be safe.

Over the next five years, Swirl and Big Mother Knife saw very little of each other. Swirl had a daughter named Zhuli and Big Mother Knife had two more sons. Sparrow, by this point, was completely consumed by music, about to “graduate with a double major in piano and composition” (55). After a six-week absence, Ba Lute returned home, announcing a new political plan he was a part of and telling Big Mother Knife he missed her. She responded with sarcasm and disgust, more annoyed than overjoyed by his return. She announced she would soon be leaving to visit Swirl. Ba Lute said she should pay attention to him instead, but she dismissed this, saying “(h)e’ll survive” (58). He tried to insist it was too dangerous and to “forbid” her, but Big Mother Knife ignored his comments and made the 19-hour trip (59).

She arrived to find Wen the Dreamer’s family home being torn apart by angry, starving villagers who claimed the owners had been killed for their greed. She sat outside the house for hours, unsure what to do, when a parade of emaciated people passed her, tied together and chanting. She saw Wen and Swirl in the group and followed them until the group broke up and dispersed. She tried to talk to Swirl and Wen but they didn’t respond.

Over the next few days, Swirl tried to convince Big Mother Knife that life was not that bad, that though Swirl and Wen were often “forced to kneel” while the other villagers “denounce(d)” them, they were “not suffering” (62). She then asked Big Mother Knife to “distract” her with some news from home, so Big Mother Knife told her about Sparrow’s obsession with music and the renovation of a tea house they used to frequent (63). Swirl then needed to get back to her house somehow so she could rescue the excerpts of The Book of Records she had hidden in the wall. Big Mother Knife advised against this and told her to come home, that she would have Ba Lute “arrange it” (65). Though Swirl was worried about Zhuli, she couldn’t escape without risking angering the villagers even more.

It was not until much later that Big Mother Knife understood how Swirl had ended up in such a bad state. Apprehended from work and school, Wen, his uncles, Swirl, and her daughter were forced to attend a “meeting” where they were surrounded by guards and beaten (67). The crowd and guards screamed at them for being greedy “landowners,” blaming them for their poverty and misery (68). One of Wen’s uncles defended himself, but Wen “accept(ed)” blame (69). Wen’s uncles were killed, and Wen was threatened with death. Zhuli cried out in desperation when she saw her father being “slapped” (69). Swirl passed out from the shock of the scene, only to wake up to Zhuli tugging on her and one of her neighbor’s telling her to find shelter—the violence was over, but that she would need to find a new home.

Big Mother Knife knew none of this. She only saw that her sister’s family had been reduced to a life of humiliation and poverty. While Swirl slept, Big Mother Knife went to their old home and retrieved The Book of Records Swirl so desperately wanted. She felt the mysterious power of the book as she held it in her hands, more motivated than ever to rescue it.

The same night that Big Mother Knife rescued The Book of Records, Sparrow, awoken by the sound of music, found Ba Lute smoking and listening to Bach in his study. To Sparrow’s surprise, Ba Lute let him in and told him about his worry over Big Mother Knife’s travels. Sparrow suggested they “rescue” her, but Ba Lute he lectured Sparrow about his poor career choice (76). Music was okay as a passion for children, but as an adult he should be “building” his “future” and “applying” himself “to revolutionary culture” (76). He asked Sparrow to explain what famous foreign composers have to do with a young Chinese boy. He disliked that Sparrow felt so close to these composers. Sparrow needed to stop playing others’ music and play his own—he must “be practical” and “[t]hink of the future” (79).

Back at Swirl and Wen’s mud hut, Big Mother Knife clutched the parcel she had successfully recovered and watched her sister sleep. She thought about how soon she would lose her family, how inevitably they would break up. When her sister and Zhuli awoke, Big Mother Knife gave Swirl the recovered manuscript and supplies, leaving with the intention of returning in the spring.

On the train back, Big Mother Knife sat next to the wife of the village deputy head. She pretended to be ecstatic about the land reformation that had led to Swirl’s demise, citing her husband’s ardent support as proof. She filled the woman with candy and lies, hoping to change the woman’s attitude toward Wen and Swirl. She arrived home to find her house dark, but filled with music. Ba Lute and Sparrow vaguely explained they were working on an “extracurricular” project, and though Big Mother Knife was appalled at their behavior, she went straight to bed (84).

Over the next few years, Big Mother Knife returned to Bingpai to help Swirl and her family “thrive” (85). While Swirl and her family grew healthier, Big Mother Knife grew older and started to lose her sight and balance. Overwhelmed one morning by her encroaching disabilities, she decided to clean everything and then finally read The Book of Records. Sparrow offered to read it to her, but she shooed him away angrily . After just a few minutes, however, she called him back to read the book aloud.