C ULTURE
T
he sandstorm that swept Beijing for days in early May was
gone at last, but that evening Picun Village was struck by
an unexpected power outage. Fan Yusu walked past the vil-
lagers in the darkness, and sat down on a stone step by the roadside.
The silence of the night was repeatedly torn up by the thunder of low-
flying aeroplanes. “My ears have long since got used to such a roar. I
don’t find it noisy any more,” Fan told ChinaReport.
The 44-year-old nanny used the term “sandstorm” to describe her
recent and sudden fame. On April 24, NoonStory, a public WeChat
account that publishes original works by professional and amateur
writers, posted Fan’s 7,000-word autobiographical essay, titled “I Am
Fan Yusu.” The essay chronicles the Oliver Twist-like struggles of a
rural woman trying to build a life in the big city over three decades.
It also touches upon thorny issues such as the widening gap between
rich and poor, the urban-rural divide, discrimination towards migrant
workers and the government’s violent seizure of farmland.
Once published, the article immediately went viral on social media.
It received more than 20,000 comments and was shared more than
100,000 times in the first 24 hours. Literally overnight, Fan was cata-
pulted to literary stardom.Fan Yusu
A dickensian life in today’s Beijing
Within 24 hours of publishing a 7,000-word autobiographical essay on social media, migrant worker
Fan Yusu became China’s most sought-after writer, whipping up a huge storm in her life. When the dust
settled a week later, Fan talked with ChinaReport about her life, family and literature
By Liu Yuhang
The Picun Community Cultural Activity Centre,
where Workers’ Home is based, nourishes the
diverse culture of migrant workers in PicunFan Yusu takes care of a baby in an employer’s home
Photo courtesy of the interviewee