TED2019
Nanfu Wang: What it was like to grow up under China's one-child policy
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China's one-child policy ended in 2015, but we're just beginning to understand what it was like to live under the program, says TED Fellow and documentary filmmaker Nanfu Wang. With footage from her film "One Child Nation," she shares untold stories that reveal the policy's complex consequences and expose the creeping power of propaganda.
Nanfu Wang - Documentary filmmaker
Nanfu Wang uncovers untold stories about human rights in China. Full bio
Nanfu Wang uncovers untold stories about human rights in China. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
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My name is Nanfu.
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In Chinese, "nan" means "man."
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And "fu" means "pillar."
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My family had hoped for a boy,
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who would grow up
to be the pillar of the family.
to be the pillar of the family.
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And when I turned out to be a girl,
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they named me Nanfu anyway.
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(Laughter)
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I was born in 1985,
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six years before China announced
its one-child policy.
its one-child policy.
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Right after I was born,
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the local officials came
and ordered my mom to be sterilized.
and ordered my mom to be sterilized.
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My grandpa stood up to the officials,
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because he wanted a grandson
to carry on the family name.
to carry on the family name.
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Eventually, my parents were allowed
to have a second child,
to have a second child,
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but they had to wait for five years
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and pay a substantial fine.
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Growing up, my brother and I
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were surrounded by children
from one-child families.
from one-child families.
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I remember feeling a sense of shame
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because I had a younger brother.
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I felt like our family did something wrong
for having two children.
for having two children.
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At the time, I didn't question
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where this sense of shame
and guilt came from.
and guilt came from.
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A year and a half ago,
I had my own first child.
I had my own first child.
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It was the best thing
that ever happened in my life.
that ever happened in my life.
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Becoming a mother
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gave me a totally new perspective
on my own childhood,
on my own childhood,
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and it brought back
my memories of early life in China.
my memories of early life in China.
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For the past three decades,
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everyone in my family had to apply
for a permission from the government
for a permission from the government
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to have a child.
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And I wondered
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what it was like for people
who lived under the one-child policy.
who lived under the one-child policy.
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So I decided to make
a documentary about it.
a documentary about it.
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One of the people I interviewed
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was the midwife who delivered
all of the babies born in my village,
all of the babies born in my village,
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including myself.
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She was 84 years old
when I interviewed her.
when I interviewed her.
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I asked her,
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"Do you remember how many babies
you delivered throughout your career?"
you delivered throughout your career?"
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She didn't have a number for deliveries.
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She said she had performed
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60,000 forced abortions
and sterilizations.
and sterilizations.
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Sometimes, she said,
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a late-term fetus
would survive an abortion,
would survive an abortion,
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and she would kill the baby
after delivering it.
after delivering it.
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She remembered how her hands would tremble
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as she did the work.
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Her story shocked me.
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When I set out to make the film,
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I expected it would be a simple story
of perpetrators and victims.
of perpetrators and victims.
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People who carried out the policy
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and people who are living
with the consequences.
with the consequences.
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But that wasn't what I saw.
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As I was finishing
my interview with the midwife,
my interview with the midwife,
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I noticed an area in her house
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that was decorated
with elaborate homemade flags.
with elaborate homemade flags.
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And each flag has a picture
of a baby on it.
of a baby on it.
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These were flags
that were sent by families
that were sent by families
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whom she helped treat
their infertility problems.
their infertility problems.
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She explained that she had had enough
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of performing abortions
and sterilizations --
and sterilizations --
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that the only work she did now
was to help families have babies.
was to help families have babies.
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She said she was full of guilt
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for carrying out the one-child policy,
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and she hoped that by helping
families have babies,
families have babies,
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she could counteract
what she did in the past.
what she did in the past.
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It became clear to me
she, too, was a victim of the policy.
she, too, was a victim of the policy.
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Every voice was telling her
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that what she did was right
and necessary for China's survival.
and necessary for China's survival.
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And she did what she thought
was right for her country.
was right for her country.
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I know how strong that message was.
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It was everywhere
around myself when I grew up.
around myself when I grew up.
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It was printed on matches,
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playing cards,
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textbooks, posters.
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The propaganda praising
the one-child policy
the one-child policy
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was everywhere around us.
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[Anyone who refuses to sterilize
will be arrested.]
will be arrested.]
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And so were the threats
against disobeying it.
against disobeying it.
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The message seeped into our minds
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so much so that I grew up
feeling embarrassed
feeling embarrassed
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for having a younger brother.
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With each person I filmed,
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I saw how their minds and hearts
can be influenced by the propaganda,
can be influenced by the propaganda,
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and how their willingness
to make sacrifices for the greater good
to make sacrifices for the greater good
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can be twisted into something
very dark and tragic.
very dark and tragic.
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China is not the only place
where this happens.
where this happens.
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There is no country on earth
where propaganda isn't present.
where propaganda isn't present.
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And in societies that are supposed to be
more open and free than China,
more open and free than China,
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it can be even harder to recognize
what propaganda looks like.
what propaganda looks like.
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It hides in plain sight as news reports,
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TV commercials, political campaigning
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and in our social media feeds.
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It works to change our minds
without our knowledge.
without our knowledge.
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Every society is vulnerable
to accepting propaganda as truth,
to accepting propaganda as truth,
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and no society where propaganda
replaces the truth
replaces the truth
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can be truly free.
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Thank you.
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05:51
(Applause)
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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nanfu Wang - Documentary filmmakerNanfu Wang uncovers untold stories about human rights in China.
Why you should listen
Nanfu Wang's Peabody Award-winning documentary, Hooligan Sparrow -- which follows maverick activist Ye Haiyan as she faces government surveillance and harassment after advocating for sexually abused schoolgirls -- was shortlisted for a 2017 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. She also directed and produced I Am Another You, winner of the Special Jury Prize at the 2017 Cannes Film Festival, and her latest film, One Child Nation, which explores the history of China's birth policy and its profound effects on generations of Chinese parents and children. It won the Grand Jury Prize at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival.
Originally from a remote village in China, Wang overcame poverty and a lack of access to formal education en route to earning three master's degrees from Shanghai University, Ohio University and New York University. She teaches editing at the School of Visual Arts as well as cinematography at New York University.
Nanfu Wang | Speaker | TED.com