Books: From Forbidden Objects to Fascinating Worlds 

The Library, with its shelves of books and access to a rich well of knowledge, has always been a magical place that spellbinds me.

As a child growing up in a small town in China during the Cultural Revolution, I dreamed about the settings of a library, but never had a chance to visit one. During that time, libraries were closed, and books, if they were lucky enough to survive the bonfires, became forbidden objects.

My first exposure to a library was at college, where I could only fill in a card and watch as a librarian disappeared behind a door that gave me glimpses of aisles of bookshelves. I read my first books of Western literature, including A Tale of Two Cities, Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Uncle Tom's Cabin, 1984, and Jane Eyre, in simplified English as part of my English language learning program. These books opened the door to a fascinating world for me.

When I started working in Beijing after college, the Beijing Library became a place of comfort and escape. The shelves were still inaccessible, but I could check out books to read at home, especially foreign literature, which I had the privilege to get as an English translator. At a time when none of these books were available at bookstores, they nourished my body and soul.

When I finally got the chance to stand in the middle of bookshelves, it was at a university library in the U.S. that I remember touching the rims of books on the open shelves and feeling overwhelmed with joy.

When I began working in New York City as a new immigrant and didn't have the money to buy books, the public library provided an endless supply, both in English and Chinese. Decades later, when I moved to Chicago, the Public Library on State Street, just a few minutes from where I live, has become my second home. At any given time, I have multiple books checked out.

Now, no matter how much information is available online, the inspiration I always get from reading at the library and just being surrounded by numerous books on the shelves, not to mention the literary events I can attend throughout the year, will always make the library an important part of my life.—Jian Ping

About Jian Ping

Jian Ping (Jennifer Hou Kwong in English) is the author of Mulberry Child: A Memoir of China. Jian’s other publications include A Fool’s Paradise, a collection of translated short stories by Isaac Bashevis Singer, and Chinese Film Theory, and China in the Next 30 Years. In 2012, Mulberry Child was made into an award-winning feature-length documentary film.