by Kevin Morris

Created on: February 10, 2007   Last Updated: May 08, 2007

Ha Jin's The Crazed is a unique and complex look at Chinese society on the eve of the Tiananmen Square massacre in 1989. The Crazed is a truly an eclectic work, and it explores the human experiences of tragedy, failure, youth, and love through the eyes of a college student named Jian Wan (presumably heavily influenced by Jin himself) and his ageing not-so-gracefully instructor, Professor Yang. Professor Yang has been hospitalized after a severe stroke and is quickly losing touch with reality (crazed). During Jian's visits, Professor Yang cynically reflects on his life's successes and failures, as well as the future of Chinese society (which we know is heading towards an inevitable bloodletting in Tiananmen).

Observations on the status of medical care in Communist China notwithstanding, Yang's words carry a natural and non-ideological bitterness that flows naturally. Criticizing his country as a "paradise for idiots," Yang continues criticizes his colleagues and his own choices in life. While lamenting his awful experiences during the Cultural Revolution which "prepared him for purgatory" he also reminisces over lost loves and sexual escapades. Viewing himself as a "worn out screw in the Revolution" he claims that he is not a scholar but a clerk, an obsolete piece of hardware not worth upgrading.
Inspired by his Professor's insights into Communist China, Jian joins the student protests at Tiananmen. But, in true to life fashion, first baptisms rarely stick: during the battle between PLA forces and the demonstrating students, Jian aids a wounded woman before succumbing to his own fears for his life. But finally, facing his own cowardice, he risks his own life once again to rescue an innocent child from the chaos.
The Crazed is truly an interesting read, and would be a gripping human drama without its political insights. The conversations in Professor Yang's hospital room ring absolutely true, and speak to the universality of human dreams and emotions. But the fact that The Crazed is written by a former citizen of the PRC adds another dimension to the story, and we can see the crushing consequences of statism run amuck. As such, The Crazed is a short, accessible, and character driven account of a conservative China on the precipice of change.

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