Logs in the Time of Coronavirus

Abstract

This paper researches the role of journal keeping in the time of coronavirus from China to America, focusing on mainland and overseas Chinese women’s writings of this pandemic in the form of diary. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic and geopolitical tensions between the People’s Republic of China (PRC) and United States of America (USA), this daily-based documentary genre appeared on the Internet and provided nuanced individual perspectives in contrast to the grand official narrative and stimulated heated debates. From Ai Xiaoming’s “Wuhan Diary” to Zhang Lan’s “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” Dou Wanru’s “Notes on New York’s Epidemic” and Wang Ruochong’s “New York Epidemic Diary,” then to Jiang Xue’s “Chang’an Decameron,” I explore how these literary logs have recorded everyday activities and emotional changes during the outbreak, what personal stories of the disadvantaged and marginalized told us about the human cost and social impacts of the disaster beyond the governments’ grand narratives, and why they have become so popular and controversial. Relating the genre to gender, I select five women writers’ diaries that provide their readers with feminine perspectives of the plight. The phenomenon is worth studying as it demonstrates diary-writing as therapy against the trauma of the plague. The multifaceted mode of these writings is made possible by a prosaic style that not only contains a variety of contents but also embraces the voices from all walks of life in different tones, including those of the women writers themselves that negotiate their gender as well as ethnic identity in the difficult time of COVID-19.

Notes

Notes

This essay is supported by the Hong Kong Research Grants Council’s General Research Fund and Hong Kong Baptist University. I thank my colleague Emma Zhang 張宏絢 for her helpful suggestions.

1 Guobin Yang 楊國斌, The Wuhan Lockdown (New York: Columbia University Press, 2022), 72.

2 Hongwei Bao 包宏偉, “Diary Writing as Feminist Activism: Guo Jing’s Wuhan Lockdown Diary (2020),” Modern Chinese Literature and Culture Resource Center, Apr. 2020, https://u.osu.edu/mclc/online-series/hongwei-bao/ (accessed July 17, 2020).

3 See Hélène Cixous, “The Laugh of the Medusa,” in New French Feminisms: An Anthology, ed. Elaine Marks and Isabelle de Courtivron (New York: Schocken, 1981), 245–64; Jonathan Culler, “Reading as a Woman,” in his On Deconstruction: Theory and Criticism after Structuralism (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1982), 43–64; Kristine Blair, Radhika Gaijala, and Christine Tulley, eds., Webbing Cyberfeminist Practice: Communities, Pedagogies, and Social Action (Cresskill: Hampton Press, 2009).

4 Valerie Raoul, “Women and Diaries: Gender and Genre,” Mosaic: An Interdisciplinary Critical Journal 22, no. 3 (Summer 1989): 58.

5 Mary Jane Moffat, Foreword to Revelations: Diaries of Women, ed. Moffat and Charlotte Painter (New York: Vintage, 1975), 5–8; quoted in Raoul, “Women and Diaries,” 61.

6 Raoul, “Women and Diaries,” 62.

7 Ibid., 63.

8 Zhao Feng Chenzi 趙楓晨子, “The Gendered Pandemic in China: A Feminist Online Ethnographic Study,” the University of Hong Kong, 14 May 2021, https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=nQIPcMolQwg (accessed August 30, 2022). I am indebted to Emma Zhang for the reference to this YouTube lecture. Guobin Yang, however, in his The Wuhan Lockdown, 84, argues that “lockdown diaries share some of the features of war diaries” such as self- mobilization.

9 See my review of Fang Fang, Wuhan Diary: Dispatches from a Quarantined City, trans. Michael Berry, Modern Chinese Literature and Culture Resource Center, August 2020, https://u.osu.edu/mclc/book-reviews/choy-wuhan/#_ftn2 (accessed July 14, 2022).

10 For a study of the label “little pink,” see Kecheng Fang and Maria Repnikova, “Demystifying ‘Little Pink’: The Creation and Evolution of a Gendered Label for Nationalistic Activists in China,” New Media & Society 20, no. 6 (Oct. 2018): 2162–85; pdf available at ResearchGate, https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kecheng-Fang/publication/320304556_Demystifying_Little_Pink_The_creation_and_evolution_of_a_gendered_label_for_nationalistic_activists_in_China/links/5a601b37aca2727352458c27/Demystifying-Little-Pink-The-creation-and-evolution-of-a-gendered-label-for-nationalistic-activists-in-China.pdf (accessed August 24, 2022).

11 Yang, The Wuhan Lockdown, chap. 4; Guobin Yang, “Listening to the Wuhan Lockdown,” Fairbank Center, February 17, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=bon8ghrdkos; Guobin Yang, “The Wuhan Lockdown and the Limits of Critique,” UVA East Asia Center, April 1, 2022, https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=UxbgHHK2XFs (both accessed August 22, 2022). Thanks to Emma Zhang for the references.

12 Anonymous English translation of this entry of Ai’s diary is found in New Left Review 122 (March and April, 2020), https://newleftreview.org/issues/II122/articles/xiaoming-ai-wuhan-diary (accessed August 24, 2022).

13 Ibid.

14 Yang, “The Wuhan Lockdown and the Limits.”

15 Ai Xiaoming, “Ai Xiaoming’s Wuhan Diary 2: The Last Parting in the Plague City” (“Ai Xiaoming Wuhan riji 2: Yicheng nei de yongbie shike” 艾曉明武漢日記2: 疫城內的永別時刻), February 8, 2020, Matters, https://matters.news/@tianguowawa/艾曉明武漢日記2-疫城內的永別時刻-bafyreiddrqgno3xevqvqn6zt2ip3nylkharxebpp5wctgqnz5fchws5cqu (accessed July 15, 2022).

16 Ai Xiaoming, “Ai Xiaoming’s Wuhan Diary 3: The Weather Turns Cold Again After Getting Warmer Suddenly; When It Is Time to Live, It Is Just Time to Die” (“Ai Xiaoming Wuhan riji 3: Zha nuan huan han, fang sheng fang si” 艾曉明武漢日記3: 乍暖還寒, 方生方死) , February 11, 2020, Matters, https://matters.news/@tianguowawa/艾曉明武漢日記3-乍暖還寒-方生方死-bafyreifwwafzswfborjwzna5dppaqx2tpqru2zvlbzms62j5sdawjk5drm (accessed July 15, 2022).

17 Ai Xiaoming, “Ai Xiaoming’s Wuhan Diary 6: Gone” (“Ai Xiaoming Wuhan riji 6: Zou le” 艾曉明武漢日記6：走了), February 27, 2020, Matters, https://matters.news/@tianguowawa/艾曉明武漢日記6-走了-bafyreib2hsqbystmtgp4ywjmkg2sxys7e4oybawswqgbs5ue2uy72q5poq (accessed January 15, 2022). I thank Zhang Xiaoya 張曉雅, editor of Matters.News, and the author Ai Xiaoming for their permission to use the painting.

18 Fang Fang, Wuhan Diary, February 20, 2020; entry dates instead of page numbers are provided in the main text hereafter for the convenience of reference to different versions of this diary.

19 Ai Xiaoming, “Lockdown Diary: What on Earth Do you Want to Read?” (“Fengcheng riji: Nimen daodi xiang kan shenme?” 封城日記：你們到底想看什麽?), March 8, 2020, Matters, https://matters.news/@tianguowawa/封城日記-你們到底想看什麽-bafyreibmwmgs4szrjgi3r4ez4flenaqtcjph3eoshw2sjsjrdj2i4c6xhm (accessed January 15, 2022). Ri 日 is a dirty word in the Northern Chinese dialect.

20 Ai Xiaoming, “Lives and Deaths in the Sifter (guo)” (“Shaiziguo li de sisi shengsheng” 篩子角（guo）裏的死死生生), March 11, 2020, Matters, https://matters.news/@tianguowawa/篩子角-guo-裏的死死生生-bafyreihrfw7pomzl3jcif5l2xzhiynbk2hstu6tvhut65hcren5u45e7du (accessed July 16, 2022). Here jiao 角, as the author suggested, is pronounced as guo in the Wuhan dialect and thereby implies the “nation-state” (guo 國). For the story about Dr. Ai Fen of the Wuhan Central Hospital, see Fang Fang, Wuhan Diary, March 11 and 14, 2020.

21 Ai Xiaoming, “This Spring, Silent and Exhausting: The Anti-Epidemic Experience of a General Practitioner in Wuhan” (“Zhe ge chuntian jijing qie pibei—Wuhan shequ yisheng de kangyi jingli” 這個春天寂靜且疲憊——武漢社區醫生的抗疫經歷), China Digital Times, July 6, 2020, https://chinadigitaltimes.net/chinese/649344.html (accessed September 15, 2022).

22 Ibid.

23 Ai Xiaoming, “Death Is Innumerable Words” (“Siwang jiushi qianyan wanyu” 死亡就是千言萬語), Matters, September 24, 2020, https://matters.news/@tianguowawa/70258-死亡就是千言萬語-代序-bafyreie7xxhgafeob75k5kvc6kaikkaf2nb2yjjh32svwyw2vwyjw4h6uu (accessed September 9, 2022). This was intended to be a preface to an English translation of Ai’s book manuscript which, however, has never been completed.

24 Jacques Derrida, Writing and Difference, trans. Alan Bass (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1978), 211.

25 Ai Xiaoming, “To Write Is to Love Life” (“Xiezuo jiushi ai shengming” 寫作就是愛生命), March 13, 2021, Matters, June 17, 2021, https://matters.news/@freedompractise/145966-艾曉明-寫作就是愛生命-matters第五季自由課-bafyreifgg5lucczgx3k6dpwyxtsjgqp2e4uieqd2ieb3lluq5tub26qgra (accessed September 9, 2022). Here Ai put “personal/individual writings” (geren xiezuo 個人寫作) in opposition to “collective writings” (jiti xiezuo 集體寫作), such as political “confession” (jiantao 檢討) and the aforementioned Lei Feng’s Diary.

26 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic” (“Yiqing zhong de Niuyueren” 疫情中的紐約人), New York LanLan’s Blog (Niuyue LanLan de boke 紐約藍藍的博客), Caixin, March 11, 2020 (posted on March 12, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224825 (accessed November 20, 2021).

27 Niuyue LanLan, “Real Life in a New Coronavirus Epidemic Area in the USA” (“Zai Meiguo xinguanzhuang bingdu yiqingqü de zhenshi shenghuo” 在美國新冠狀病毒疫情區的真實生活), Caixin, March 6, 2020, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224814; Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 6 and 7, 2020 (posted on March 8, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224818 (both accessed October 14, 2021). In less than twenty days, according to the entry “Cats and Dogs at Animal Shelters in New York All Adopted” (“Niuyue ge chongwu binansuo de mao gou quan bei lingyang guang le” 紐約各寵物避難所的貓狗全被領養光了), Caixin, March 25, 2020 (posted on March 27, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224744 (accessed October 17, 2021), the number of infected persons in the State of New York reached 30,000.

28 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 7 and 16, 2020, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224819 (accessed October 14, 2021). Trump was born in Queens, New York.

29 Niuyue LanLan, “Cats and Dogs.”

30 For instance, Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 8, 2020 (posted on March 9, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224821 (accessed August 22, 2022) and March 11, 2020. Blasio reported his opinion that there was no need to wear facemasks, although he changed his mind only three days afterward.

31 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 6, 8, 11, 14–16, 2020 (cont., posted on March 17, 2020), March 17–20, 2020, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224815, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224817, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224820, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224823, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224824, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224827; Niuyue LanLan, “Never Seen the Broadcast of One Single News around the Clock” (“Cong mei jian 24 xiaoshi zhi bofang yi ge xiangguan xinwen” 從沒見24小時只播放一個相關新聞)k], Caixin, March 21, 2020 (posted on March 22, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224320; Niuyue LanLan, “Ten Thousand Standby Medical Workers Ready to Be on Duty” (“Yiwan yihu de houbei duiwu suishi zhunbei huangang” 一萬醫護的後備隊伍隨時準備換崗), Caixin, March 22, 2020 (posted on March 23, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224380 (all accessed October 16, 2021); Niuyue LanLan, “Mask-Wearers in New York No Longer Looked As Aliens” (“Zai Niuyue dai kouzhao bu zai bei shiwei yilei” 在紐約戴口罩不再被視為異類), Caixin, March 24, 2020 (posted on March 26, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224640 (accessed August 16, 2022); Niuyue LanLan, “Cats and Dogs.”

32 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 14 and 15, 2020.

33 Ibid., March 13, 2020, http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224813 (accessed October 14, 2021); March 15, 2020.

34 Ibid., March 20, 2020.

35 Niuyue LanLan, “Mask-Wearers in New York.”

36 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 17 and 18, 2020.

37 Ibid., March 14, 15, 17, and 18, 2020.

38 Niuyue LanLan, “Cats and Dogs.”

39 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 6 and 7, 2020; acquaintance’s comment cited in Zhang Enjie 張恩杰, “Chinese Woman Writer Zhang Lan Died in a Traffic Accident: New York Epidemic Diaries Ended without a Farewell” (“Huaren nü zuojia Zhang Lan chehuo shenwang: Niuyue yiqing riji chengwei meiyou zaijian de gaobie” 華人女作家張蘭車禍身亡 紐約疫情日記成為沒有再見的告別), Beijing Youth Daily (Beijing qingnian bao 北京青年報), March 31, 2020, http://epaper.ynet.com/html/2020-03/31/content_350798.htm?div=-1 (accessed October 3, 2021).

40 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 13, 2020; my translation.

41 On March 18, 2020, the diarist also expressed her mission to record the “truth” (zhenxiang 真相) of history.

42 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 12, 2020 (posted on March 13, 2020), http://lanlan.blog.caixin.com/archives/224826 (accessed October 13, 2021).

43 Niuyue LanLan, “New Yorkers in the Epidemic,” March 19 and 20, 2020.

44 Niuyue LanLan, “Never Seen the Broadcast of One.”

45 Ruochong Wang, “New York Epidemic Diary” (“Niuyue yiqing riji” 紐約疫情日記). NYChinaRen.com, April 7, 2020, https://www.nychinaren.com/hotnews/413427.html (accessed October 2, 2021).

46 Niuyue LanLan, LinkedIn, https://www.linkedin.com/in/ruochongwang (accessed January 31, 2022).

47 Wang, “New York Epidemic Diary,” April 4, 2020 (posted on April 5, 2020), https://www.nychinaren.com/hotnews/413186.html; April 5, 2020 (composed on April 6, 2020, posted April 7, 2020), https://www.nychinaren.com/hotnews/413427.html (both accessed July 21, 2022).

48 Wanru Dou, “Notes on New York’s Epidemic: The Simple-mindedness of US Statistical Figures” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Meiguo de tongji shuzi hantou hannao” 紐約疫情日記：美國的統計數字憨頭憨腦), Caixin, April 1, 2020 (posted April 2, 2020), https://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225317 (accessed July 27, 2022); for the most updated figures, see Johns Hopkins Coronavirus Resource Center, “Covid-19 Dashboard by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering (CSSE) at Johns Hopkins University,” Johns Hopkins University & Medicine, https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html (accessed July 25, 2022).

49 Wanru Dou, “More Panic, More Hopeful” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Yue shi konghuang, yue you xiwang” 越是恐慌, 越有希望), March 31, 2020 (posted on April 1, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225201#more (accessed August 18, 2022). This was the first instalment of Dou’s diary that ended on June 19, 2020 (posted June 21, 2020), the day when Cuomo gave his last daily briefing on the pandemic.

50 Wanru Dou, “Even New Yorkers Have Their Day to Be Discriminated Against” “Niuyue yiqing riji: Niuyueren jingran ye you bei qishi de shihou” 紐約人竟然也有被歧視的時候), April 3, 2020 (posted April 4, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225475 (accessed July 27, 2022); “Trump and Fauci, the Duo” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Chuanpu he Fuqi zhe yi dui” 川普和福奇這一對), April 7, 2020 (posted April 9, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225968 (accessed August 5, 2022).

51 Wanru Dou, “America Just “Likes” High Figures?” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Meiguo jiu ‘xihuan’ shuzi gao?” 美國就「喜歡」數字高？), April 8, 2020 (posted April 9, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225978 (accessed August 5, 2022).

52 Wanru Dou, “America, Where Is Your Valyrian Steel Weapons?” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Meiguo, ni de Waleiliya gang jian ne?” 美國, 你的瓦雷利亞鋼劍呢？), April 4, 2020 (posted April 5, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225664 (accessed July 31, 2022).

53 Ibid.; English original.

54 Wanru Dou, “Besides Doctors, Viruses Are Afraid of Jokes” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Bingdu chule pa yisheng, hai pa xiaosheng ba” 病毒除了怕醫生, 還怕笑聲吧), April 2, 2020 (posted April 3, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225414 (accessed July 26, 2022).

55 Wanru Dou, “The Queen’s Speech Reminiscent of a Past Mine Disaster” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Cong nüwang de yanjiang xiangqi yi duan kuangnan wangshi” 從女王的演講想起一段礦難往事), April 6, 2020 (posted April 9, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225955 (accessed August 4, 2022); original English quotation.

56 Dou, “Even New Yorkers Have Their Day.”

57 See, for example, Wanru Dou, “The Obsession with and Rebellion against New York, Like the Besieged City of Marriage” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Dui Niuyue de milian he fanpan, ru hunyin de weicheng yiban” 對紐約的迷戀和反叛, 如婚姻的圍城一般), May 27, 2020 (posted May, 28, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/229144 (accessed August 7, 2022).

58 Dou, “America, Where Is Your Valyrian Steel Weapons?” For Harari’s article, see The Financial Times, March 20, 2020, https://www.ft.com/content/19d90308-6858-11ea-a3c9-1fe6fedcca75 (accessed August 3, 2022).

59 Wanru Dou, “A Battle More Ferocious Than the Virus” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Yi chang bi bingdu geng fengkuang de edou” 一場比病毒更瘋狂的惡鬥), April 11, 2020 (posted April 13, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/226332 (accessed August 6, 2022).

60 Wanru Dou, “Trump, the Media and “An Enemy of the People” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Chuanpu, meiti yu ‘renmin gongdi’” 川普、媒體與「人民公敵」), May 1, 2020 (posted May 2, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/227611 (accessed August 6, 2022). The cited anonymous article on the microblogging platform Weibo 微博, “What Is the Most Essential Element that China Relies on America?” (“Zhongguo yilai Meiguo de zui hexin yaosu shi shenme?” 中國依賴美國的最核心要素是什麼？), is available at Daily Focus (Jiaodian ribao 焦點日報), April 29, 2020, http://www.jdrbw.com/pingshuo/1928.html (accessed August 6, 2022).

61 Wanru Dou, “Do Asian Americans Need to Prove Their “Americanness”?” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Meiguo Yayi xuyao zizheng ‘Meiguoren qizhi’ ma?” 美國亞裔需要自證「美國人氣質」嗎？), April 5, 2020 (posted April 6, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/225664 (accessed August 3, 2022).

62 Quoted in Wanru Dou, “Who Should Be Ashamed of One’s Birth, Andrew Yang or Tyrion?” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Yang Anze he Tili’ang, shui gai wei ziji de chusheng xiuchi?” 楊安澤和提利昂, 誰該為自己的出生羞恥？), April 9, 2020 (posted April 10, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/226092 (accessed August 5, 2022).

63 Dou, “A Battle More Ferocious Than the Virus.”

64 Dou is also concerned about racism against African Americans, for example, the deadly cases of Eric Garner (1970–2014) and George Floyd (1973–2020). See Dou, “The Obsession with and Rebellion against New York”; and the following entries until the last one, “Love New York! Because, New York Loves You.” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: ‘Ai Niuyue ba! Yinwei, Niuyue ai ni.’” 「愛紐約吧！因為, 紐約愛你。」), June 19, 2020 (posted June 21, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/230375 (accessed August 7, 2022).

65 Wanru Dou, “Today Beijing Is a Bit Hot, While New York Is a Bit Cold” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Jintian Beijing youdian re, Niuyue youdian leng” 今天北京有點熱, 紐約有點冷), April 10, 2020 (posted April 11, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/226152 (accessed August 6, 2022). The phrase “handing a knife” is derived from the Chinese leftists’ accusation of Fang Fang allowing her diary to be translated and published by foreigners, and the expression “neither spread nor take heed of the rumor” refers to the Wuhan police warning of Dr. Li not to disseminate the discovery about the new coronavirus. See my review of Fang Fang’s Wuhan Diary.

66 Wanru Dou, “The Great ‘Rebels’ Make the Absolute Power Concede” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Liaobuqi de ‘panjun’ rang juedui quanli rangbu” 了不起的「叛軍」讓絕對權力讓步), April 17, 2020, http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/226665 (accessed August 6, 2022).

67 Wanru Dou, “How Would Shakespeare Write Trump, the ‘Insane King’?” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Chuanpu zhe ge ‘feng wang’, Shashibiya hui zenme xie?” 川普這個「瘋王」, 莎士比亞會怎麼寫？), April 23, 2020 (posted April 25, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/227134 (accessed August 6, 2022).

68 Wanru Dou, “It’s Time for New York to Heal the Healers” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Niuyue dao le zhiyu zhiyuzhe de shihou” 紐約到了治癒治癒者的時候), April 29, 2020 (posted April 30, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/227497 (accessed August 6, 2022). For news reports on Dr. Breen and EMT Mondello, respectively, see Corina Knoll, Ali Watkins, and Michael Rothfeld, “‘I Couldn’t Do Anything’: The Virus and an E.R. Doctor’s Suicide,” The New York Times, July 11, 2020, https://www.nytimes.com/2020/07/11/nyregion/lorna-breen-suicide-coronavirus.html; Susan Edelman, Tina Moore, Khristina Narizhnaya, and Dean Balsamini, “EMT John Mondello Kills Himself After Less Than Three Months on the Job,” New York Post, April 25, 2020, https://nypost.com/2020/04/25/nyc-emt-commits-suicide-with-gun-belonging-to-his-dad/ (both accessed August 6, 2022).

69 Wanru Dou, “A Letter from My Daughter, an Encouragement from a Fighter to a Fighter” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Nüer de xin, zhanshi dui zhanshi de guli” 女兒的信, 戰士對戰士的鼓勵), May 11, 2020 (posted May 12, 2020), http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/228199 (accessed August 7, 2022).

70 See, for example, Wanru Dou, “President Trump ‘Proclaims Himself Emperor’; Governor Cuomo ‘Rises in Rebellion’?” (“Niuyue yiqing riji: Chuanpu zongtong ‘chengdi’, Kumo zhouzhang ‘zaofan’?” 川普總統「稱帝」, 庫莫州長「造反」？), April 15, 2020, http://douwanru.blog.caixin.com/archives/226519 (accessed August 6, 2022).

71 Michael Smith, “Desperation Inside China’s Most Brutal Lockdown Yet,” The Australian Financial Review, January 7, 2022, https://www.afr.com/world/asia/desperation-inside-china-s-most-brutal-lockdown-yet-20220107-p59mjp (accessed January 9, 2022).

72 Jiang Xue, “The Ten Days of Chang’an” (“Chang’an shi ri”), first found on WeChat, January 4, 2022, https://mp.weixin.qq.com/s/1wEgqbX-vhfx2zOrNc-4lQ, is no longer available there: “Unable to view this content because it violates regulations.” I thank my student assistant Kelly Kai Ning Lui 呂啟寧 for categorizing the contents of this diary.

73 Jiang Xue, “Jiang Xue’s Xi’an Diary: The Ten Days of Chang’an—My Lockdown Decameron” (“Jiang Xue Xi’an riji: Chang’an shi ri—Wo de fengcheng shi ri zhi” 江雪西安日記：長安十日——我的封城十日誌), Daily Headlines (Meiri toutiao 每日頭條), January 6, 2022, https://mrnews.cc/220106/7.html (accessed January 13, 2022). For a news report of the bleeding pregnant woman, see Lin Jin 林瑾 and Lin Zhiying 林芷瑩, “Epidemic Situation in Xi’an” (“Xi’an yiqing” 西安疫情), HK01, https://www.hk01.com/即時中國/720684/西安疫情-孕婦流產事件醫院未提補償-市衛健委主任遭警告處分 (accessed January 16, 2022).

74 Yangyang Cheng, “Viral Stories: On Guobin Yang’s ‘The Wuhan Lockdown’,” Los Angeles Review of Books, February 9, 2022, https://lareviewofbooks.org/article/viral-stories-on-guobin-yangs-the-wuhan-lockdown/ (accessed August 30, 2022).

75 Raoul, “Women and Diaries,” 62.

76 Vincent Dowd, “What Can We Learn from Robinson Crusoe Writer’s 1722 Plague Book?” BBC News, April 22, 2020, https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-52353832 (accessed October 17, 2021).

77 Raoul, “Women and Diaries,” 62.

78 Kathryn Carter, “Feminist Interpretations of the Diary,” in The Diary: The Epic of Everyday Life, ed. Batsheva Ben-Amos and Dan Ben-Amos (Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2020), 40.