Wuhan Diary

Wuhan Diary (Chinese: 武汉日记; pinyin: Wǔhàn rìjì) is an online diary written by Chinese writer Fang Fang about the life of the people of Wuhan, China during the Wuhan lockdown during efforts to quarantine the center of an outbreak of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and stop it spreading.[1][2][3] An English translation of the diary, titled Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City, was published in book format by Harper Collins in June 2020.

Wuhan Diary
AuthorFang Fang
FrequencyDaily
FormatOnline diary
PublisherSelf-published
First issue25 January 2020 (2020-01-25)
Final issue
Number		25 March 2020 (2020-03-25)
60
CountryChina
Based inWuhan
LanguageChinese

Background

During the 2020 Hubei lockdowns, her Wuhan Diary (武汉日记), the daily account of the locked down city's posted on social media, was widely made public. However, each post was quickly deleted by censors.[4] Fang Fang's Weibo account, which had more than 3.8 million followers, was shut down in February. It was later reinstated.[5] Fang Fang started the diary on 25 January 2020, two days after Wuhan was locked down.[6][7][8] She published her 60th and what she called her final entry shortly after midnight on 25 March 2020, hours after the authorities announced that Wuhan's lockdown would end on 8 April.[9] Fang wrote her diary from her house in Wuhan's Wuchang District, where she lives alone.[10]

An English translation, titled Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City, translated by Michael Berry, was published in book format by Harper Collins in June 2020.[11] Berry has received angry and death threat emails for translating the diary.[12][13]

According to the Global Times, a nationalistic state-run tabloid under the administration of the Chinese Communist Party, the publication has drawn outrage from the Chinese audience, due to the diary's imagery of the Chinese government and the alleged use of second-hand sources. The speed of its English and German translations, which both became available to pre-order on Amazon on 8 April, merely 2 weeks after the completion of its original Chinese Weibo version (which was finished on 25 March), also drew criticism and speculations of "potential collaborations with foreign influences" according to the Global Times.[14][15] Michael Berry, who started translating “Wuhan Diary” into English since late February, 2020, denied such allegations, said he translated the book in order for “the world to learn from China’s experience in Wuhan”.[12] The German version was translated by Michael Kahn-Ackermann, and was published by Hoffmann und Campe Verlag on May 30,2020.[16]

In her Wuhan Diary, Fang Fang has called for an end of the Internet censorship in China: "Dear internet censors, you should let Wuhan people speak".[17]

See also

References
  1. "Chinese writer faces backlash for 'Wuhan Diary'". Bangkok Post. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  2. "She Kept a Diary of China's Epidemic. Now She Faces a Political Storm". The New York Times. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  3. "Notes on Covid-19 outbreak: Chinese writer Fang Fang faces death threats for 'Wuhan Diary'". India Today. 22 April 2020. Retrieved 22 April 2020.
  4. "Fang Fang: The 'Conscience of Wuhan' Amid Coronavirus Quarantine". The Diplomat. 23 March 2020.
  5. Davidson, Helen (10 April 2020). "Chinese writer faces online backlash over Wuhan lockdown diary". The Guardian. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  6. Lau, Mimi; Xie, Echo (18 April 2020). "Coronavirus: Chinese writer hit by nationalist backlash over diary about Wuhan lockdown". South China Morning Post. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  7. Su, Alice (21 March 2020). "Two months into coronavirus lockdown, her online diary is a window into life and death in Wuhan". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  8. Wu, Yuwen (2 March 2020). "Chinese propagandists don't want you to read this diary on the coronavirus lockdown in Wuhan". The Independent. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  9. Wong, Chun Han (1 April 2020). "A Wuhan Writer Rages Against China's Communist Machine and Becomes an Online Star". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  10. Sherwell, Philip (12 April 2020). "Coronavirus in China: Wuhan's chronicler of daily lies branded a 'traitor'". The Sunday Times. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
  11. "Wuhan Diary by Fang Fang". Harper Collins.
  12. Michael Berry (26 June 2020). "I translated 'Wuhan Diary' to amplify the author's voice of courage". The Washington Post.
  13. "'Wuhan Diary' Brings Account Of China's Coronavirus Outbreak To English Speakers". NPR. Retrieved 14 May 2020.
  14. Cao, Siqi (8 April 2020). "Chinese vigilant on deifying writer Fang Fang amid publication of Wuhan diary in English". Global Times.
  15. Cao Siqi and Chen Qingqing (10 April 2020). "Fans disappointed as Wuhan Diary's overseas publication 'gives ammunition to antagonist forces'". Global Times.
  16. "Wuhan Diary". Hoffmann und Campe Verlag (in German).
  17. Kiki Zhao (14 February 2020). "The Coronavirus Story Is Too Big for China to Spin". The New York Times.
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