What happens
In a poor Chinese village, a scholar from the city addresses the villagers and asks them to raise their hands to attend a literacy school. Most refuse, believing education is not meant for farmers and workers. The story follows Dr. James Yen, who had seen the illiterate laborers of China in France during the First World War and resolved to simplify the language and spread reading to the masses. The tale traces how his teaching and the lessons of the schools gradually change the lives of the villagers, the Pacific Story program presenting it with commentary by Justice William Orville Douglas.
A village in China, with later scenes in Hollywood-era radio studio framing and the Chinese countryside during the 1920s through 1940s.
Characters: Wong, Yufe, Dr. James Yen, Charles, Mr. Chow, Justice William Orville Douglas
Listen for: The village elder's speech and the villagers' hesitation to raise their hands, and Dr. Yen's explanation of why illiterate farmers can still learn.
Written from the episode itself; it never gives away the ending. Every recording is remastered for the stream: cleaned of rumble, hiss and mains hum (and the old TV whine where we found it), then levelled in two passes to steady broadcast loudness, so one show is never quieter than the next.