Liu Xiaobo | Monologue of a Survivor – 【June Fourth】Memoir

In 1989, Liu Xiaobo was arrested for participating in the “June Fourth” Tiananmen student movement. After being detained for more than a year, he was released after writing a “Confession.” However, regaining freedom did not bring peace to the mind of this gentle intellectual. “Various question marks tormented me, although my life was calm on the surface, the struggle deep in my heart never stopped. And the most fundamental question is: Do I have enough courage and wisdom to face myself and be responsible for my actions, thoughts, and ideas?” Facing the souls of the dead, the people in prison, the lies about June Fourth both inside and outside China, and his own June Fourth experience and inner world, Liu Xiaobo had no choice. “Self-confession” was his only way out of the prison of his heart.

In the book, he attempts to uncover all the lies and contradictions of the “June Fourth” incident! He severely self-analyzes, blames, and repents, the inner torment and intense struggle are heartbreaking; the repeated dialectics between falsehood and sincerity are confusing; he mercilessly despises the incompetence of the intellectual elite, criticizes the power struggles and utilitarianism of the student leaders, providing readers with another perspective on the student movement; his transparent, naked, and painfully torn description portrays the most detailed and heart-wrenching June Fourth memoir and confession to date.

“From April 26, 1989, when I boarded the plane in New York to return home, to around 11 p.m. on June 6, 1989, when I was arrested and imprisoned, it was only 49 days, but this time was the most thrilling days of my 34-year life. Whenever I think of it, I feel it is so long and profound. It is an unhealable wound in my soul. The years not only cannot erase it, but make it more vivid. My life seems to be forever stagnant in this period of time. It is a tomb, burying the 34-year-old me, and giving birth to a me who does not know who I am.” — Liu Xiaobo