Forget Me

Xu Feng

Yilin Press

April 2021

68.00 （CNY）

Brief introduction：

In saving a single person you save the entire world.

Qian Xiuling saved 110 Belgian hostages from the German Nazis during World War II. A woman from southeast China born into a powerful family， she was awarded the “Hero of the State” medal for her gallantry by the Belgian government after the war. She later became known as the “Schindler of China”.

Famed writer Xu Feng spent 16 years researching and preparing materials for this book， including visiting and interviewing Qian’s descendants， old friends， and the only hostage still living today. He obtained exclusive details of stories once forgotten and rescued precious historical materials lost in time. Employing narrative literary techniques and styles to tell a true story， Xu Feng has recreated an engaging historical moment， brilliantly conveying the turbulence of an era through which the valiant qualities of a woman shine. Qian’s story elevates the noble spirit of internationalism， humanity’s aspirations for peace over war， the ultimate struggle for justice over evil， life over death， and humaneness in the face of barbarity.

Xu Feng

Xu Feng is a distinguished Chinese writer of novels， prose works and biographies. He has published 17 works totaling 5 million words， including Buyi Huzong （Chinese Ceramic Master： Biography of Gu Jingzhou）， Hua Fei Hua （A Flower in the Haze： Biography of Jiang Rong）， and Jiangnan Fanhuang Lu （Records of Jiangnan）. He has won many prominent literary prizes in China such as the Chinese Good Book Award， Chinese Writers Literature Award， Chinese Biography Award， Bing Xin Prose Award， Xu Chi Reportage Prize， and many others.

Moving forward， Qian Xiuling’s unavoidable emotional problems quietly emerged for all to behold.

There were men who pursued her， naturally. The everyday fresh air circulating in KU Leuven was always laden with a generous dose of pubescent hormones. In many of the things Qian Xiuling would later write， she mentions a certain medical student Ge Lixia， who ultimately became her companion. She talks about two men pursuing her at the time， and how she hoped to select one of the wooers soon. However， in the documentary filmed by Qian Xiuling’s granddaughter Tatiana， Was Grandma a Hero？ there is a rather touching scene where the lead actress from the soap opera， In the Sights of the Gestapo， Xu Qing， is chatting with Qian Xiuling in her own living room. Xu Qing playfully asks Qian Xiuling：

“So， mother， was it your husband chasing you， or you chasing your husband back then？”

A smile flits across Qian Xiuling’s face and she bashfully shrugs her shoulders.

“Ah-hah. So it was you who initiated it？”

Qian Xiuling proudly tosses her shortly cropped hair and curls her lip： “Uh-huh！”

This was a rare moment that captures Qian Xiuling as her most carefree and romantic self. The scene drags us back onto KU Leuven’s campus in 1932. Qian Xiuling was the top student in the Chemistry Department and her name had already begun to echo within the small classrooms and serene hallways. Her silhouette was often seen shuttling back and forth within the ancient， palatial and majestic library. Her back attracted all kinds of well-intended interpretations. Though it often led to the diplomatic rejection of a courageous suitor， the admirer at least was allowed the opportunity to enthusiastically speak with her， hanging on to her every word. Qiang Xiuling’s style was not to pay attention to how others saw a person or thing， but rather to put weight on how she felt about them. Within her emotional sphere， as long as she liked someone， she had no problem walking straight up to them. That was not the traditional Asian female’s way of doing things by waiting idly for a frog prince to turn up.

From a lot of the available historical photos， Gregory Perlinghi from her university days looked quite distinguished and refined， having the air of someone with noble， gentleman’s blood. The Russian and Greek genes he inherited from his parents made his blue eyes always appear so compassionate. The unperturbed temperament he acquired as a clinical medical student made his prudent mannerisms contradict his young age. People’s earliest memory of them was at an open evening party where Qian Xiuling was seen dancing with a student from the medical department. They danced to a waltz. After the song， they promptly disappeared from everyone’s line of sight. Decades later， a black and white photo emerged of the two nuzzling in a pine forest. Qian Xiuling’s granddaughter Tatiana found it in an album and brought it back to light. Qian Xiuling was openly expressing her happy and blessed state for later generations to see. Gregory Perlinghi was always outside of her laboratory waiting for her， carrying a bouquet of dewy violet roses and her favorite snack， a delicious baked waffle. Little did everyone know， they had already been in contact with each other well before then. It wasn’t an intentional arrangement， only a chance encounter that God could only arrange.

It was a lazy Sunday afternoon and Qian Qiuling was near the campus doing some shopping on a small street. At the corner of a small bar， a group pressing tightly in a circle drew her attention. She stepped up to see what they were looking at. It was an old man who had fallen over. An unfamiliar young man was also stretched out over him giving him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation. The old man’s face looked pale white and his lips were purple. Those who knew the man said he was a vagrant who would come by the bar and eat others’ leftover beer and food. The young man’s face was covered in sweat as he worked hard to resuscitate the man. Some of the students who knew him said he was a medical school clinical studies student. His name was Gregory Perlinghi. Her first impression of his look wasn’t panicky at all， but nimble and controlled. He busted through the crowd not to see what was going on but because he was deeply concerned for someone they were saying was teetering on the edge of life that maybe he could rescue. Who knows how much time passed but with eyes still closed， the right hand of the old man twitched a little. Then his eyes finally opened and his mouth let out an indistinct groan. One of the bystanders exclaimed： “He’s back！”

In that instant， perhaps Gregory received a kind of divine premonition. He tossed the sweat from his brow， turned around and saw the nervous expression of Qian Xiuling for the first time. He shouted at her without thinking：

“Hurry！ Call a buggy！”

Qian Xiuling trembled. She really didn’t know how she squeezed out of the throng of people to stop a buggy on the street. She did feel quite honored though， to have just been ordered about by someone who had saved another’s life. Later， she planned on riding the car to the hospital to lend a hand. She had unconsciously become the assistant of the old man’s resuscitator. But the car couldn’t accommodate three people. The medical student looked at her as he was holding the old man. Her heart suddenly felt the rush of a peculiar emotion. Leaning over and saving that man， he had been so calm and steady---his look both cool and fervent. This was the first time that Qian Xiuling had even paid any attention to a man. She sensed masculine vigor in his strong arms. She didn’t know his name， but she was convinced that she would see him again.