Liao Yiwu

Liao Yiwu is the recipient of the 2012 German Book Industry Peace Prize.


Articles by Liao Yiwu

Friday December 15

Nine Years: Liao Yiwu Reflects on Liu Xiaobo and Liu Xia

My dear friend, you’ve gone. In a darkness so black I can’t see the fingers of my extended hand, you could yet see a trace of light. You always insisted in a stammer: “I see, see, see it.” We didn’t see.

Wednesday June 4

Commemorating the Massacre: The Tanks and the People

The Tank Man Wang Weilin was not one of the student leaders; he was no intellectual; nobody had ever heard of him. He left behind this short dramatic scene, an indelible historical image seared into our memories. He was led away by the arm, and never seen again.

Friday May 3

The Garbage Dump and Organized Crime

I passed up an invitation to attend the Nobel ceremony in Norway, heading home instead, because I’m accustomed, in a way, to being unfree: I’m a sewer rat, scurrying around under the surveillance of the police, in the world’s biggest garbage dump.

More Articles by Liao Yiwu

Monday August 4

The Public-Toilet Manager

Friday August 1

Voices from the Bottom Rung of Society