While the Chinese capital is getting ready to host the leaders of the Pacific Rim for their annual summit, families enjoy the autumn sun and its last rays to walk in Beihai Park, in the shade of willows bordering the lake and surrounding the White Pagoda. Grandmothers radiate happiness; couples make selfies with their latest smartphone and their children, less and less unique, express their joy. Three generations get together.
Mao’s generation did not forget the misery and famine, which succeeded a century of violence, civil wars and foreign occupations marked by atrocities. But they also know that this ...