One Child

The Story of China's Most Radical Experiment

By: Mei Fong

Narrated by: Janet Song

Length: 7 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

When Communist Party leaders adopted the one-child policy in 1980, they hoped curbing birthrates would help lift China's poorest and increase the country's global stature. But at what cost? Now, as China closes the book on the policy after more than three decades, it faces a population grown too old and too male, with a vastly diminished supply of young workers.

Mei Fong has spent years documenting the policy's repercussions on every sector of Chinese society. In One Child, she explores its true human impact, traveling across China to meet the people who live with its consequences. Their stories reveal a dystopian reality: unauthorized second children ignored by the state, only children supporting aging parents and grandparents on their own, villages teeming with ineligible bachelors, and an ungoverned adoption market stretching across the globe. Fong tackles questions that have major implications for China's future: whether its "Little Emperor" cohort will make for an entitled or risk-averse generation; how China will manage to support itself when one in every four people is over 65 years old; and, above all, how much the one-child policy may end up hindering China's growth.

©2016 Mei Fong (P)2016 Tantor

Critic reviews

"Finished just before the announcement of the policy's demise, One Child is a touching and captivating anthropological investigation of one of the most invasive laws ever devised." ( Kirkus)

Good Story

I liked this book, especially the time the author took to explore so many facets of Chinese cultural like the perception of women and the traditional role of children in a Chinese family. Good read.

I learned a lot from this book.

What a ripple effect the one child law had on so many things in China.

Bleak

I appreciate the raw viewpoint of this author. However, she makes China out to be a sad place. I taught English in China. While there indeed is great oppression from the government of China, I can tell you that I saw glimmers of hope among my students and their families. China is not done. There is hope.

Comprehensive but too emotional

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

Yes, in the best sections the book is very informative and comprehensive, discussing all of the relevant problem areas caused by the one child policy.

Unfortunately the first two chapters on the 2008 Olympics and Sicuan eathquake are not very relevant to the topics and quote often Mei Fong is too emotional, sentimental and opinionated, at times even sarcastic. I especially found the inclusion of the stories about her own miscarriage, fertility problems and children totally unnecessary. I would have preferred a more factual and objective approach.

What three words best describe Janet Song’s voice?

I didn't like Janet Song's delivery very much. She constantly reads in a very sad sounding delivery, making the often emotional writing even harder to bear. Her pronuciation of certain Chinese words is better than some other narrators but she still makes several mistakes.

Best Book Club Discussion Ever!!

Would you consider the audio edition of One Child to be better than the print version?

I enjoyed the audio version because I didn't have to struggle with the Chinese names. The book has several Chinese expressions which were beautifully spoken by the reader.

What was one of the most memorable moments of One Child?

There were too many to name. I loved the author's own maternal story paralleling the reporting of China's childbearing. The personal interviews were riveting. I knew nothing about the one child policy and was awed by it's ramifications.

Have you listened to any of Janet Song’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

She did a beautiful job telling the story in a factual way, yet not sounding like a reporter. She read with no discernible accent yet pronounced the Chinese names and phrases beautifully.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

The one child policy was often horrifically applied and tapped into a mindset already favoring males. The result will leave many of these beloved males without a wife or children.

Any additional comments?

I highly recommend this book, even if you think you have no interest in the policy. You will be amazed at the far-reaching effects. Think of all the people you know who adopted a Chinese daughter and you will never feel the same way again.

A warning to American Marxists

Mei Fang’s story demonstrates the continued failures of communists and tyrannical governments. Americans must be aware and better understand the genius of our constitutional government. We must reject this rabid American Marxism embraced by the current democrat party.

Not what I expected!

I was very impressed with the narrator, I usually prefer when authors read their own journalistic books because it feels so much more genuine than when career narrators do it. But this is the first time I have felt like the narrator was reading her own personal story... when she wasn't.

The story itself is fascinating, horrifying and incredibly eye opening, I have always known the basic gist of the one child policy, who hasn't, but never really thought about the consequences of the restrictions nor the reality of what enforcement measures might be used.

I also loved how the authors own personal story related to the topic, I don't think I've ever enjoyed an epilogue quite so much as this one.

window into China life and politics

loved the book. very hard to hear some of the horrible stories but also some great ones. proves the mistake when humanism becomes the sum of all things and govt replaces God.

The content and the sinking feeling that this all truly happened

Even though I am Asian (Filipino), life in China especially during and after the implementation of the one-child policy is so exotic to me and otherworldly...

It is dark and horrifying historical truths that are known but not deeply understood but once you are deeply aware of such, it will give you a great insight into human nature and how often, even though we mean the best for the greater good of all, our actions towards a better world, is often founded/created by misguided beliefs and shaky understanding of reality, society, and how human beings react to current obstacles and will react to the future ones, that lead to the complete opposite of the results we intend to make

No one truly can predict the future 100% or less of such.

Spoiler alert (But it does not exactly ruin anything)

The story of Mei Fong was made up regarding China and its one-child policy.

“There was a land so poor that the emperor of that land demanded each parent must have only one child… this made the land of the old. I don't know how this story ends.”

A great summary of the whole book in story form. This made me realize a lot of things and opened my eyes to the reality of parenthood, child raising, being a child, a child turning to an adult, an adult deciding a child’s future, and a child deciding his future.

Thank you Mei Fong for writing this and allowing it to turn into an audiobook. This benefits me even if I am not Chinese.

Truth is stranger than fiction, and often sadder

Thoroughly researched and woven with a personal narrative that effectively humanized government policy, I would recommend the book highly, despite the reader who missed the horror and the humor of the writing, pronouncing "underpant's (referring to the ctv bldg) erection" in the the same detached tone as "infanticide". I heard the author interviewed once and would have much preferred her rich voice and obvious intellectual and emotional investment to this cool reading.