Slideshow: The Silent Strength of Liu Xia

• “The Power of Silence” by Liu Xia, November 1998.

   

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• Living together with the dolls,
  Surrounded by the power of silence,

   

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  Surrounded by the power of silence,">

• The world open around us,
  We communicate in gestures.

   

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  We communicate in gestures.">

• "Untitled" by Liu Xia, February 1997.

   

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• When I am alone
  I often see

   

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  I often see">

• you take
  my hand

   

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  my hand">

• We walk within book after book
  Our hearts full of sadness”

   

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  Our hearts full of sadness” ">

• "Untitled" by Liu Xiaobo, November 17, 1996.

   

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• We had no wedding certificate,
  No legal guarantee,

   

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  No legal guarantee,">

• God did not witness us.
  We planted our tree in the sand,

   

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  We planted our tree in the sand,">

• Our wedding chamber in a cell,
  Embracing and kissing

   

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  Embracing and kissing">

• Under the jailers’ gaze.

   

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• "Untitled" by Liu Xiaobo, from No Enemies, No Hatred: Selected Essays and Poems. Translation: Susan Wilf.

   

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  No Enemies, No Hatred: Selected Essays and Poems. Translation: Susan Wilf.">

• “Your lifelong prisoner,” he wrote, “I’m your lifelong prisoner, my love; I want to live in your dark insides.”

   

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• “Tell it to the Dolls – For Liu Xia Who Plays Every Day with Dolls” by Liu Xiaobo

   

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• When you tell it to the dolls
  Avoid the truth

   

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  Avoid the truth ">

• Just use the names
  But leave out

   

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  But leave out">

• The facts.

   

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• Liu Xia, from “Government Officials Like to Make People Suffer", Spiegel Online International.

   

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• “I am not politically involved. I behave as if I live in a different world. We discuss politics as little as possible at home. My husband knows that it doesn’t interest me.”

   

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On September 26 Tienchi Martin-Liao profiled Liu Xia in her column Blind Chess. Liu Xia, the wife of imprisoned writer Liu Xiaobo, has been under house arrest since 2010, when her husband was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Though no one has been able to contact her, Liu Xia’s photography was exhibited at the Berlin Literature Festival in September 2012. The photography was also compiled as a book entitled The Silent Strength of Liu Xia. Sampsonia Way is pleased to be able to share a selection of Liu Xia’s photographs, with permission of the publisher, as well as quotes and poems by Liu Xia and Liu Xiaobo. These selections have been paired with Liu Xia’s photographs by Sampsonia Way.

Born in 1959 in Beijing, Liu Xia is a poet, painter and photographer, and the wife of 2010 Nobel Peace Prize Winner Liu Xiaobo. For over three decades Liu Xia has been one of the most notable figures of the contemporary Chinese art world. Her work in various media focuses on freedom of expression but remains rooted in traditional Chinese values and styles. Liu Xia is prohibited from public exhibit in China and her work is shown only in private or on the Internet. In 1996, Liu Xia married the writer Liu Xiaobo, imprisoned for his writings in favor of democracy. Since his arrest, Liu Xia has become her husband’s spokesman to the outside world. After Liu Xiaobo was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2010, Liu Xia, though never charged or convicted in China, was put under house arrest. She has been deprived of all means of contact since January 2010.

Biography of Liu Xia taken from The Silent Strength of Liu Xia.