In his account of translating Fang Fang's Wuhan Diary during the COVID-19 pandemic (Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City, HarperCollins, 2020), Michael Berry asks, “What does it mean when the act of translation – an act of shared understanding, communication, and cultural exchange – becomes contorted and contaminated to the point that it is viewed as act of political aggression?” (p.156). While Fang Fang was criticized widely in China because of her candid portrait of Wuhan under lockdown, Berry, a professor of contemporary Chinese cultural studies at UCLA and a prolific, well-known translator of Chinese literature, was attacked and vilified for allegedly conspiring with Fang to circulate her supposed fabrications beyond China. He observes that, “… what was at stake went far beyond Wuhan Diary; it was a story that involved translation, COVID-19, the US–China trade war, cyber-politics, disinformation campaigns, and the role of writing as testimony, civil engagement, and community building” (p.7), forming the interwoven narrative of Translation, Disinformation, and Wuhan Diary.

As an Englishman who lived in China during the entirety of the COVID-19 pandemic, much of what Barry recounts is familiar: the shock, the fear, the conspiracy theories, the strict control of information and movement, constant surveillance, the suspicion wrapped in often frightening nationalism (“No foreigners,” read one sign in a restaurant close to my university). Unlike this reviewer, however, Berry was living and working outside China at the time of the pandemic, and yet he still became part of the story, the recipient of expletive-laden, often violent and threatening email and Weibo messages. “Your family will live in hell forever and never get peace,” exclaimed one of his attackers; “Your son will die in three days,” promised another (p. 74). Berry's role as translator catapulted him into the middle of a digital tsunami – according to the book's subtitle, a “transpacific cyber campaign” that framed his translation in a “black-and-white way” as an “anti-Chinese political act” (p. 78).

This connects with the principal theme of Berry's book, namely disinformation campaigns and the Chinese government's ambition to control narratives in and about the country. In particular, he draws parallels with the Cultural Revolution and the weaponization of culture during that period to describe a “new cyber Cultural Revolution” (pp. 137–138) where hate campaigns and struggle sessions now occur online. Berry notes that attacks on Wuhan Diary constitute “an ideological battle” over who has “the power to shape narratives and control discourse and the power to silence voices that diverge from the correct story” (p. 128). It also connects with President Xi Jinping's call to all Chinese – including its agents of propaganda and public diplomacy, as well as all cultural workers – to “tell the China story” and to tell it “well.” The question is, of course, who decides which is the “correct” or “authentic” story and what it looks like. Berry reveals that Fang Fang was a “correct” voice. After all, she had been a high-ranking government official, and much of Wuhan Diary lauds the work of volunteers and calls on readers to follow government protocols. But she also demanded accountability for the mistakes, mismanagement, and the disinformation. This, says Berry, is when Fang Fang crossed the line.

It would be easy to focus on Berry's analysis of Wuhan Diary and its impact on modern China. So much detailed information is packed into this slim volume that it is a rewarding read for anyone interested in how China managed the COVID-19 pandemic and how Wuhan Diary accelerated the weaponization of information, art and discourse. Berry reveals how VPNs are prohibited except among a select few who are tasked with engaging in information warfare outside China; how the now ubiquitous QR codes contributed to the further dissemination and legitimation of state-sanctioned narratives; and how the campaign against Fang Fang unfolded in popular culture, including rap, online skits, poems and even digital online art. Whereas the Cultural Revolution was directed (at least in theory) against a particular class, the cyber Cultural Revolution in the pandemic seemed mobilized against one Chinese writer and her American translator.

Just as fascinating is the insight Michael Berry provides into his routine as translator and the personal impact of working on this project during COVID. He recounts the often-sleepless nights of work necessary just to keep pace with Fang Fang's writing as well as meet other translating deadlines; discussions about the nuances of choosing one book title and subtitle over others; the onset of illness, the pressure of childcare during lockdown, and the stress of migrating his teaching online. “Suddenly,” he remembers as the translation neared completion, “after weeks of blurry vision, carpal-tunnel-like hand and arm pain, exhaustion, and daily drama associated with changing deadlines and publications, I was now a direct target” (p. 38). Even his own students at UCLA began to question his participation in the project, speaking engagements were cancelled, he was removed from the jury of an independent Chinese film festival, old friendships with Chinese colleagues were severed, and his Amazon book pages were flooded with hostile comments.

Yet Berry manages to end the book on a positive note. In a chapter called “The light,” he recounts receiving many messages of support. One said, “Please don't pay any attention to all of these rumours and malicious comments. Nationalist sentiments are currently extremely high in China today and it has already gotten to the point where diverse voices are barely tolerated. One day, future generations will look back upon these curses and attacks and laugh at them” (p. 206).

This is a highly readable, revealing, and at times very disturbing account of what it means when translation becomes a political act. Read in conjunction with Fang Fang's Wuhan Diary, Michael Berry's book is not only a significant contribution to understanding the weaponization of discourse during the COVID-19 pandemic, but also a major commentary on civil society, power and language in China.