Mao Rong, director of legal affairs, Asia Pacific Region of Eastman Kodak Company.

Mao and her colleagues at a party.

Mao (center) with her colleagues.

At her home in Washington DC in 1996.

Mao Rong with a neighbor girl while receiving “re-education” in the countryside, 1975.

Mao Rong (center) at the Yale Law School graduation ceremony, 1984.

Mao Rong’s life was changed by the economic reform and opening up which began 30 years, and today she serves as the director of legal affairs, Asia Pacific Region of Eastman Kodak in China. Reminiscing about her younger days during the Cultural Revolution, Mao says that she never dreamed she would one day become a lawyer.

Mao Rong was born in Beijing and raised within a traditional siheyuan (Beijing courtyard) near the Forbidden City at the center of the city. Like many of her generation, she experienced the Cultural Revolution and various political campaigns while in primary and high schools. However, despite that chaotic period in China, Mao Rong always found her space with peace and joy in the courtyard surrounded by the lanes and parks of her neighborhood.

After graduating from high school in 1974, Mao and most of her classmates were sent off to a village in Beijing’s Yanqing County, for “re-education.” Though today it is only an hour’s drive from the city proper, back then the village was so backward that it was beyond Mao’s imagination, even from her perspective 30 years ago. As she recalls, only one family among the 36 households in the village owned a clock. The villagers rose at sunrise to work the fields and returned home at sundown; thus most could not read a clock, since it was useless for their daily life.

Seriously lacking water and with no large stretch of land available, for their food the villagers grew corn, barley, millet and sweet potatoes on the small plots of flat land in the mountains. No meat or vegetables were available at all. Mao Rong says that her life might just continue in this way because, according to the policy then, she and her classmates were supposed to live in that village indefinitely, a fate awaiting tens of thousands of China’s “Educated Youths,” whose lives changed forever amidst the upheavals of the Cultural Revolution.

At the end of 1976, after spending two hard years in the village, Mao was recruited to work at an electrical equipment factory in Beijing. In the eyes of many of her peers, she was a lucky girl. The job was near her home at a state-owned enterprise, which was deemed an enviable place to work, under the planned economy system of the day. At the factory, she first worked as a construction worker, building workshops alongside another 20 “return-to-city students.” Later she was assigned to manufacture wood moulds for casting.

Mao Rong took the national college entrance examination in 1979, when the country resumed the mechanism of selecting candidates for colleges and universities that was suspended during the Cultural Revolution. Mao successfully passed the examination and was enrolled at the prestigious Peking University, majoring in international law. This coursework laid a foundation for her future career.

After four years’ study in international law, she decided to go abroad to further her study and experience the world beyond China. In 1983, when she completed her undergraduate study at Peking University, was accepted to Yale Law School, from which she later earned her master’s and doctoral degrees in law.

Mao Rong was about to enter a completely different world. She wondered what the country would be like, and what kind of school life was waiting before her, because China was then a country lagging far behind Western countries. When she arrived on campus, Mao spent much time and energy learning how to use pay-phones, Xerox machines, and even the libraries that opened all its shelves to readers. The barriers she confronted in this new world were more cultural and conceptual than those of the language itself. She recalls that she had a hard time grasping the course of “Property.” Though she well knew its linguistic definition, it was very difficult for her to understand the meaning without any experience with the concept in China.

Today, many youngsters go abroad to study; now in a very different position because China is now a much stronger country. More importantly, the economy, finance, IT and education of China are much more integrated into the world economy. It is true that the world has become smaller and flatter.

Having first worked many years with law firms in the United States, Mao and her husband decided to move back to China in 1996, and she joined the legal department of Kodak China in late 1998. As a lawyer, she says that the developments of legal and juridical systems in China have been incredible. There are now hundreds and thousands of pieces of legislation covering all fields of the law, while in the 1970s there were in total fewer than 10 in China. She often finds that she does not have enough time to catch up with all the new laws and regulations.

Today, increasing numbers of Chinese citizens are learning much about the United States. In the States, there are more reports on China as well. However, in general, the US populace knows little about China. For instance, many who receive her business card will often ask her the same question repeatedly: “What is your first name, Mao or Rong? Should I call you Rong or Mao?” She will explain, “Mao is my surname, and Rong is my first name,” as well as the reason why Chinese people put their surnames first.

As the legal director in charge of all legal matters for the entire Asia Pacific Region, Mao Rong’s schedule is full, but she says that she loves the legal profession and enjoys doing her job. She is most gratified by fulfilling her role as a bridge facilitating better communication between China and the U.S. on the strength of her unique background and her intimate understanding of the cultural, social and legal systems of both countries. And what she experienced over the past 30 years, together with the significant developments of China, provides Mao Rong with a unique perspective on life.

Looking back, Mao appreciates the value of the time she spent in the village and at the factory. Five years are a relatively short period in one’s life, but she says that the gained benefits will stay with her forever, because the experience provided her with a better understanding of society, people and roots of the Chinese culture, and this enabled Mao Rong to appreciate what she has earned today, and made her into a stronger and more down-to-earth person.

Looking at the many highrises through the window of her office in Beijing’s Central Business District, Mao Rong says that so many changes have taken place in China in the past three decades because of China’s opening-up policy. Like other big cities in the world, Beijing now is a very busy metropolis with a large population, sprawling roads and ever-increasing numbers of cars, as well as the inevitable traffic jams.

Mao and her husband still reside in the same hutong (narrow lane) where she spent a good portion of her childhood. Though today the lane does not exhibit much change, the living standards of her neighbors are much improved over 30 years ago when she left China. For example, many of her neighbors now own cars, which must squeeze into the narrow hutong on one side with much care at the end of the day. At the same time, she somewhat misses the quiet and peace of the old days.

Nevertheless, as a Beijinger, Mao Rong enjoys life here, and she feels fortunate to have returned to the courtyard, a place imbued with pleasant childhood memories.

(Photos courtesy of Mao Rong)