Chinese picture book love story becomes a bestseller in France
Print Edition
FOR Rao Pingru and his late wife Mao Meitang, love is deeper than the ocean and lasts beyond death.
After Mao passed away in 2008, five months before their 60th wedding anniversary, Rao, now 96, drew more than 200 pictures to remember his wife and compiled them into 18 albums.
The memoir, called “Our Story,” was first published by Guangxi Normal University Press in 2013, and has sold over 200,000 copies.
In January, a French version was released and more than 26,000 copies have been published, making it a top seller in the Chinese category on the Amazon France website.
An English version is expected to be published soon.
“This story took place in China, but will be read and shared by audiences across the world. It helps the elderly remember the past and makes the youth yearn for everlasting love,” said Yin Muyun, editor of the book.
Overcome by the death of his beloved wife, the former magazine editor picked up his pencils and crayons, and drew everything he remembered about her, from their first date to the last teardrop she shed on her deathbed.
Rao’s granddaughter posted several pictures on the Chinese microblogging service Weibo in 2012, which attracted the eventual publishers of the book.
“Art is the best way to reach people. I just wanted to record our story for our grandchildren, so they knew more about their grandma,” said Rao.
Their story began in 1946 when Rao and his father visited Mao’s home to arrange their marriage.
A caption under that picture reads: “My father and I visited her home. Through an open window, I suddenly saw a beautiful twenty-something girl sitting in front of a mirror putting on lipstick.”
It was love at first sight for the couple from the east China Jiangxi Province.
As well as happy memories, the memoir also tells of bitter experiences.
In 1992, Mao was diagnosed with diabetes and uremia and Rao stopped working, so he could care for her. Rao believes his wife’s illness was brought on when she worked on the Shanghai Natural History Museum. Mao’s work involved carrying 15kg bags of cement to the Museum.
“Every time I walk past the museum, I pause and look. I don’t know which steps were made from the cement she carried, I wonder if her disease may have been caused by that experience,” said Rao.
The last picture shows the family’s final visit to the hospital on March 19, 2008.
“I saw a tear in the corner of her right eye. In the afternoon, She left me for good,” wrote Rao, who also kept a handful of his wife’s hair tied in a red string and their wedding rings.
“Death parted my wife and I. But by drawing our story, she will be with me forever,” said Rao.
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