 The author of the novel we're going to dramatize on words at war this evening is here with us She is Lynn Tai Yi author of war tide We're honored to have you with us tonight miss Lynn I'm happy to be here. Would you tell us a little about war tide? Is it your first book? No, but it is my first novel and it tells of your own experiences while being bombed by the Japanese Oh, no, my book is a novel the story is imaginary But you were in Chongqing in 1940 during the heaviest bombings of that city. Yes, I was there Won't you tell us a little about it? But I do in my book, mr. Castello in my book I tell of the war tide just what is the war tide miss Lynn the war tide The war tide is a spirit mr. Castello a Spirit that has swept through China and met all men as one It is a spirit that unites men in the same peril and makes them into a single unit One called China one called strength. What is this spirit miss Lynn? The spirit is anger mr. Castello and courage and it is this spirit that makes us know that we shall win this war Our dramatization of your book doesn't follow exactly the incidents as you wrote them But I think it will preserve that spirit that is all that matters because the spirit is the war tide And one more question Lynn Tai Yi would you mind how old are you? I'm 17 years old words at war Tonight the national broadcasting company in cooperation with the council on books in wartime Presents an adaptation of a powerful new novel written by a 17-year-old girl the book war tide by Lynn Tai Yi My grandmother had nine fingers only nine. She was very proud of it. She said that all through her life She'd been blessed like that She said that our family was different special But we weren't special We were just a normal Chinese family living in Hongchou My father owned a silk chop shop and like most fathers. I guess he he was impractical my mother was a mother and I had two brothers a big one fine and a small one little bean Then of course there was the old lady my grandmother and there was me low-yen You see we really were a normal family That is until the war came Old lady, this is a lucky moment for you your grandson just married to the most beautiful girl in all of China Let me tell you a toy stoop when he marries anyone he stoop Mother did he stooped to marry royal pearl? Hush little bean, it is your brother's wedding. Your voice should not be heard until your own It shouldn't for heaven's sake. For heaven's sake what little bean? Shen oh Shen I think you'd better marry low-yen soon. Well, so do I little bean, but low-yen will not have me She won't why not? Why won't you have Shen? Hush little bean everyone will hear you. But if you marry Shen Then that would give me another brother Royal pearl is my new sister and Shen would be my new brother Please I think you should marry him mother. Don't you think so? What little bean? Don't you think Shen should marry low-yen? Oh, no little bean low-yen is too young only 17 Let them wait a while All right, but they look at one another so funny all the time like now Look mother if you're whispering look mother father look Shen and low-yen are whispering say But of course little bean they are in love It is time to propose the toast dear What's that the toast the toast? Oh, yes? Yes? Yes? Ladies and gentlemen Ladies and gentlemen my house is honored by your presence This is a happy occasion for the house of tai I Asked you to join me in welcoming my new daughter my son's wife royal pearl They live a long and happy life together may peace and plenty bless their house And may they have ten children and name them all after me Ladies and gentlemen, please another toast this time to my mother My mother Who is my home's most beautiful ornament? She is the I'm eighty years old and I have but nine fingers and I'm glad you all could come Shen Are you ready so soon for on what is it? Why do you look so sad and secret? It's your wedding brother. Please be happy come into the next room We have something to tell you There's not much time sister come What is it fine? What have you to say that makes you both look so? So you tell her Loin Loin the war is coming. Yes, I know but fine, and I must prepare to stop the Japs. I Don't understand the devils have thousands of planes. Loin thousands And we must keep them from crawling through our sky. We're to report to the airfield in Hong Kong When? now Shen loyin listen to me When I'm gone, they'll be only you to take care of our family Only you to take care of my wife. Oh No, fine royal pearl is very beautiful loyin. I Lever very much Please loyin there's no one else but you Little beam the old lady mother father royal pearl All of them depend on you You must stay and take care of them Promise me that when war comes you'll keep this family safe and strong promise You must promise loyin. I'll do my best fine Thank you. You're a good girl Goodbye sister and take care and loyin Keep royal pearl safe Yes, fine I'm gonna say goodbye to oh Shen yes dear. What is it? Shen Fine said the Japanese have thousands of planes. How many? How many of you? Oh, don't worry loyin? We'll stop them. They haven't a chance. How many planes have we're strong? And I'm afraid and we'll drop them right out of our so many planes. We have five That night the night was deep and the storm beat against my windows and I couldn't sleep The storm beat down upon the windows and I lay in bed thinking of Shen and my brother fine We've gone off to do battle in the sky. I Thought of my mother and my father And the old lady and royal pearl of little being my brother I Thought of taking care of them all And I heard laughter in the rain loud laughter gay and high very high Listen rain beat down fast and energetic and it wasn't laughter at all It was wailing voices weeping and sobbing weeping and sobbing and that was when the war came to my home It came and settled down and wouldn't go away the war war Nonsense the war won't come here The Japanese won't come here. They wouldn't dare father the war has come man king our capital has fallen No, not my king. Yes, mother and already the devils are on the edge of Hong Chu right here on the edge of town Listen father listen do you hear gun way? It's only the wind low yin not guns. Oh only the wind father, please I promised fine. I'd take care of everybody. Help me mother Royal pearl low yin. What should we do? You're making your brother cry. I won't have it. I won't have it come here little bean Stop making those noises Those aren't guns You hear Those are not guns only the wind The wind and war came down and it broke out like a plague in Hong Chou and all over Until it spread thick over China and ran into the sea And everywhere it went people recognized it The clouds fizzed and the sky cracked and up came the hell and down came the heaven and no one could tell them apart But the devils from the East Ocean have come The devils from the East Ocean have come Dead littered the earth and ghosts stalked in the sun and men were torn limb from limb And women were raped and slit open and that was what war Bombs flew as gracefully as birds and the old lived in the young died and God was mad and men were angry Men were angry and it was ugly But with it came a spirit Beneath this ugly world There was woven a hope came from the birth and death of men And this spirit made us want to spit and want to stir and it made us restless in feverish and The spirit was the war tide It swept in and there was light and there was happiness Because the spirit which was the war tide was anger and courage and it swept in and filled the people of China Mother and royal pearl and little being left for Chu Chang But father and my grandmother would not go and so I stayed behind with them and That night the Japs entered Hangzhou. I Hurryed to the silk shop to warn my father Father are you there? So dark Father They've torn up my silks Japs have torn up my silks. I found my father sitting dark and lonely in a corner of the store Around in piles and piles of silks were he slashed ruined. I Went up to him and found myself staring into the eyes of a madman My life's work Gone Father the devils are everywhere and they're burning everything and killing yes the devils They're the ones who did this. They're the ones who slash and burn That's it burn I'll burn them all all my silks Where's the match I want to find God and heaven where where is there a match? Here's one Right here a match See What you doing Now now we shall see the end of everything Watch no you see how the flame catches old Orange flame pretty That's my silks were pretty Watch no you know, it's a good fire See how it burns Choked on the smoke He stood there coughing and choking Flames spurt it up all around him and he wouldn't come out. I Tried to make him come but he wouldn't And then he tripped and fell into the biggest flame of all And I didn't see him anymore my son my son My old but you Yes Go bolt the door Both the door low-yen both the door they're all alone now All alone I hear nothing Nothing So lonely here The lamp quickly Don't say anything for your life don't say anything. It's there anyone here a woman here And child All over The devil is gone We'll go join your mother and little bean now We shall go child. Don't cry. We'll be safe in Chu Chang Nine-finger little slave they used to call me nine-finger little beggar Now they know Now my ancestors know Why I was made with only nine fingers It was not my mother's fault It was Buddha's blessing harsh child Shen will come back to you and the flowers will bloom and it will be all green and pretty outside Don't cry We arrived in the night And as we arrived there was a sound in the sky There was the sound of death and fire and it was the sound of Japanese planes We were four women and a little boy One woman old and pale as ashes and just as useless One beautiful and incapable royal pearl My mother Who didn't know that her husband my father was dead and I? Dare not tell her Because the war brings sorrow That allows no time for weeping and So we were on the war for waiting for the little steamer to take us down cold Take us to Shen Who will pay $600 for safety one ticket Little lady. Do you want the last ticket? I have four tickets and we need only one more for my little brother. He's very little. Oh, please don't make us pay for you Yeah, where is he? We're here say something little being hello The boy is small all right, but there's nothing I can do about it. I'm sorry We have not the money to pay for my brother's fare. Well, you'll have to leave him here then who wants this How can I sell the ticket if your troubles are louder than I am stop then Why you're even louder than the bomb Oh Here's sunny Don't worry up and get on that boat We have the ticket for little being the man gave us the ticket we have five not six six No, they're only five Where's the ticket for your father? Where is your father? Why is royal pearl crying? Mother I can't keep it from you any longer What kind of a world is this when we haven't even time for our sorrows? Tell me mother Father won't be coming He's dead mother. Oh He set a shop on fire and died in the flames and that's why we should go mother because father won't be coming Don't you cry? Please cry No matter what it's better to cry. We should miss the boat Come wife of my dead son. You stand there as a statue, but you must concern yourself with the living Later later you may remember and be haunted for the dead, but now Now there is no time come daughter. She won't come. She just stands there Oh goddess in heaven help me to touch my mother's heart and remind her of the world again help Mother I'm afraid the bomb. Yes, little bean Never mind We'll get on the boat now We'll get on the boat My brother fine. Oh everything will be all right and uncle No bonds nor blood and then we'll be men again not beasts. Oh Things will be all right and uncle a few seconds more so unbearable Measure your steps to an old woman's child. Excuse me. All right Mother royal pearl You're here at last. Oh We say fun. Can we be safe now quite safe little bean quite safe? Here old one welcome to hunker Oh Yes, Louie Louie in thank you for taking care of royal pearl and everyone so well fun. Where's Shen? Louie in Where is he? Is he dead? Oh, no But he's been wounded Where is he here in the hospital? He's been calling for you. You'd better go to him. Is he? badly wounded you You'd better go to Yes I'm here. You've come you really come Yes, Shen. Are you all right? Oh, yes, I'm all right, but you are you Shen I'm afraid to ask Oh, yeah, I've been wounded and don't tell me Please don't tell me. It doesn't matter because I don't mind You just fate Look, Louie and you must look See Is that all? Yes, that's all Just one arm shut away Do you mind? Well, I am do you mind I Love you Louie in will you marry me? Louie in will you And darling listen, I'll take care of you. You're so young and you've done so much. No, I'll take care of you I've only one arm true, but I have my legs in my head and everything else. I Can't fly anymore, but I can teach it. I Will teach flying in you You will teach sacrifice Will you marry me now? I Was afraid before Shen but now I know that in these times risk is nothing and Words like safety and reason and logic have no meaning It's only the heart that makes sense Because the heart hasn't been invaded by this terrible civilization yet Yes, I'll marry you Gladly I'm lucky so lucky and I hear something oh Shen yes, dear Not here to oh not here too. No, you listen to me. No, I won't Tired Shen so tired Wherever I go, there's a black wall and the blackness suffocates and tangles me up and there's no getting away I'm changing uncle bombs everywhere. There's nowhere on earth where there isn't death Bush loyan will be married and go to chun king. There'll be no bombs there and I'll teach flying in oh Shen I can't Not anymore Listen to me loyan. Listen to me War is an unpleasant black mask with death and blood and sacrifice a smear on it, but one day it will wear off You have a job to do again, and you will do it There is still sorrow and hardship and pain Bombs will fall and blood will be shed and we will all starve or die But the wartide has got his body and soul Don't you remember? anger and courage anger courage Look at me Don't you remember I? remember I remember It is a war time As the 30-second program of words at war we have brought you a radio version of war tide the novel by Lynn Tyee The book was adapted by Edith summer of the NBC staff Francis Heflin was heard as loyin and others in the cast were Billy Dasha Nell Harrison K. Renwick Edwin Bruce Stuart Brody Patricia wheel Alan Devitt Melvin Elliott Sanford Bickert and Rod Hendrickson The original music was by William Meader and Mr. YF Lee was heard playing the Chinese air who or violin The production was under the direction of Anton leader Next week words at war will present an adaptation of condition read by Captain Frederick Bell a story of a destroyer Words at war is brought to you in cooperation with the council on books in wartime By the national broadcasting company and its affiliated independent stations This is the national broadcasting company