Novel gives glimpse of Jewish community in Tianjin

Memorabilia in the Earth, a novel for children, was written by Song Anna. The 67-year-old author and retired journalist, who has been committed to researching Jewish history in China, in particular in the city of Tianjin, for nearly 20 years, has had her work translated into 15 languages and published worldwide.

The novel illustrates the experiences of a Jewish girl, Sara, who lived in Tianjin during World War II. This was a time when the Jewish people faced harassment, and arbitrary arrest under the Japanese during the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45), but were protected by Chinese people.

The story goes like this: Sara's "memorabilia" is for her Tianjin nanny, whom she calls Amah, which means "mother", in some Chinese dialects.