The Envelopes Weaves Together Modern China Through One Writers Eyes
Hasu August is a writer and photographer born in 1968. She studied photography in Japan and management science in the United States. After working in multinational corporations for over two decades, she transitioned to storytelling through words and photographs. Drawing from her experiences in Japan, China, the United States, and Singapore, where she currently resides, her work reflects an in-depth understanding of different cultural and social contexts.
Her recent novel, The Envelopes, published by Earnshaw Books, examines themes such as corruption, familial relationships, and societal values in modern China.
What inspired you to write The Envelopes? What do the envelopes in the title symbolize?
In general, my working life in China for over a decade inspired me, and, in particular, an incident reported on TV during the time I stayed in China started the engine of my writing The Envelopes. The incident was a tragedy that happened in a primary school in a county in southern China – the school building there collapsed and children died.
At a glance, the envelopes in the title may imply bribery as envelopes are one of the common means of delivering banknotes for favors expected, but they are intended to enclose what has been lost in the society – well, hopefully, readers would realize such implication when they finish reading.
How did you come up with the characters of Jade Bai and Deping Dai?
The story is set in a big China city where corruption is ubiquitous and takes various forms, and western influence adds complexity. My intention is to focus on humanities that are coping with happenings, and become the major factor for stability and sustainability of a society. In 2010s, China was in the peak of economic growth, and, along with it, many young people were enjoying their personal development, but realized that the values they’d held dear were constantly challenged by desire for fast but unfair gain. Some of them chose to fight against what they believed were evil; some of them went with the flow; some of them tried to avoid… These observations are behind my creating Jade Bai, who lives a rather complex life – the epitome of the society, and often faces moral challenges, and Deping Dai, who manages to avoid confronting (by staying in ivory tower of academia) but works hard for his ideal of making a clean society. Their love for each other sustains them when hope becomes distant.
How does the novel explore the concept of the “red packet” in Chinese society? What are the implications of this practice?
‘Red packet’ has a long history, and originally, it was meant as gift money (wrapped in red paper or a small red envelop) given to others during festivals or on special occasions. The history was touched on lightly in the novel as the nature of ‘red packet’ has changed from ‘a form of etiquette’ to ‘a form of bribery’ in the name of etiquette. The novel has two plots (entwined through the life of the protagonist), and one of them tells the stories in which, at all levels of China society, people use ‘red packet’ to gain favor from those who have power. And the main story-line is that, in the personal life of the protagonist, her father-in-law, a high-ranked official, first rejects envelopes (an extension of ‘red packets’ for large amount of money), but later takes envelopes as he sees the financial power they provide, and realizes that those envelopes could become a means of achieving what his loved one desired for. This ‘red packet’ practice (purposely set it in education and medical system) implies that both a question – that is, what has caused the change in the concept of ‘red packet’ – and a likely consequence – that is, basic values of the society is distorted, fair systems are destroyed, and, in turn, sustainability of the society is threatened.
How does the novel explore the concept of “guanxi” and its impact on Chinese society?
‘Guanxi’ literally means relationships between people or things, which could be good or bad. However, people (from the bottom to the top of China society) have given power to ‘guanxi’, and it turns into a hidden structure of authorities, which leads to corruption. The other plot of the novel tells the story in which, in her professional life, the protagonist and her colleagues fight a legal battle against corruption in a court of which the judge exerts his power under the influence of ‘guanxi’. Throughout this story line, the novel explores the impact of ‘guanxi’ on China society: public resources being abused; justice being defeated, and, in turn, stability of the society and long-term economic development being undermined.
How does the novel portray the clash between traditional Chinese values and modern Western influences?
The personal life of the protagonist Jade (brought up by an average Chinese family) is set in a family in which her husband and in-laws who are influenced by Western values thanks to their professions, and her professional life in a multinational company run in China but headed by Westerners. The novel doesn’t really portray the clash between traditional Chinese values and modern Western influences, instead, it explores how the intended fusion gives in to greedy of people (both Chinese and Foreigners) for personal gains, with urban economic development going rapidly, except for one happening – that is, Western influence, in the form of education, find its way to reach the children of a rural area.
How did you research the topics of corruption and education in China for the book?
I worked in China as an expatriate for over a decade, and had opportunities to directly or indirectly experience many happenings related to corruption and education while Chinese as my native language enabled me to gain insights into minds and thoughts of Chinese at different levels of the society. News on TV is another source for me to research major corruption cases that happened in the country.
What was your favorite scene to write?
I enjoyed the most writing Jade’s trip to Taohua’s village (chapter 7) where innocent children play in an unpolluted world, yet are exposed to hidden danger and have an uncertain future.
How does the novel explore the concept of family? What are the different types of family portrayed in the novel?
The novel portrayed three types of family: urban young couple’s family – usually with love as the foundation, exposed to modern Western influence, it was born in an exciting era full of opportunities in terms of career and financial development for both wife and husband, and if with a child, it is regarded as a perfect family matching to China’s economic development; migrant worker’s family – usually as a result of matchmaking, it is at the bottom of the society at any time and has the least access to public resources, and, for pursuing a better life, it is often physically ripped apart as earned income is insufficient for urban living; older generation’s family – it was born roughly in the beginning of economic reforms in China, and as they went through hardship at the early stage of their life when the whole nation was poverty stricken, the couple is usually diligent, down-to-earth, and economical. Through the reactions of different families (within their different power and means) to crises in life, the novel explores the concept of family: regardless of the type, a family is like a boat, putting its members in cohesion but hinging on its members’ action to survive to thrive in the current of a society.
What is the role of the supernatural in the novel? How does it influence the characters’ beliefs and actions?
The supernatural in the novel serves as a lens through which readers could see characters’ world-views behind their behaviors. Some people, mostly urban souls in China, regard the supernatural just as superstition. For those who believe in it, it helps them to understand what is unexplainable otherwise (in the case of Taohua believing in fate); or it is believed to bring good luck and fortune, and people may over-rely on it, failing to tackle real issues (in the case of Fred believing in Feng Shui).
How do you think the novel explores the concept of loss and the different ways in which people cope with it?
The novel explores the concept of loss through using several cases of loss to push both plots forward: the protagonist’s (Jade’s) loss of first her mother-in-law and then her son; Taohua’s loss of first her daughter and then her husband; Fred’s loss of his wealth-accumulating job. Characters with different world-views and values cope with loss in different ways: some (like Jade’s father-in-law and Taohua’s husband) awaken to realization that something important needs to be done; some (like Taohua) accepts it passively, attributing it to fate, but go on with life; some (like Jade) reflects on the meaning of life and carry on; some (like Jade’s husband) works harder for their ideals; some (like Fred) blames others for their loss. Furthermore, the novel also implies a huge loss of the society – which is left to readers to be realized – coped with all the characters in their individual ways.
Are you currently working on any new writing projects, and if so, can you share any details about them?
Yes, I am currently working on two new writing projects, again, with the theme of love and devotion, to explore humanities. The settings will be in China and beyond China. I hope I won’t disappoint you if I keep details to myself at this time.
Photos courtesy of Hasu August
Post Author
