History of Wanxian: The city received its present name during the Ming dynasty (1368--1644), and became a foreign treaty port in 1902. In 1926 two British gunboats bombarded the city, causing massive fires, when the local warlord took to commandeering foreign vessels for the transport of his troops. Following this incident, a boycott on the loading and unloading of British vessels was enforced for several years. This became known as the Wanxian Incident. As the halfway city between Yichang and Chongqing, Wanxian was a main port for East Sichuan merchandise (including large quantities of hung oil, used in treating wooden junks). Early travelers commented on the huge number of junks anchored at Wanxian. Junks also used to be built here from cypress wood found in the nearby hills.

In 1941-1949 the Chinese were at war resisting the Japanese. Then they had the civil war. Many of the men died. The remaining ones were helped to find brides by the army. Usually the girls were pretty, young, and well-educated. The men were older, farmer-soldiers, and poorly educated. The girls had no voice in the matter. Qu Yi's in-laws had such an army-arranged marriage, but her mother in law was lucky, because his family was quite rich, from Shanghai, and he was well educated. He even spoke English and was sent to work in the new Chinese embassies in Greece and Germany. He was still single at age 35. Qu Yi's mother in law had just graduated from university and was working in foreign service. They fell in love after marriage, and they have a happy marriage. A couple of years after they were married the Cultural Revolution started. Qu Yi's father in law was suspected of spying because he was British-school educated and his family had been well off. He was imprisoned. His wife was told to divorce him or be sent with her children to the countryside. She was a heroine and refused to divorce him, because if she did, he would have no hope at all. Qu Yi's husband was then 8 months old and went to live with his maternal grandmother in Chongqing. His 3.5 year old sister and his mother were sent to the country, and their new village people were told that they were the wife and child of a spy. They were very badly treated, and their health was badly damaged. Qu Yi's husband's sister and her husband and child emigrated to the United States to Boston. They first went to Japan where Qu Yi's sister in law got a masters degree.

People from the older generation never want to talk about their lives during the Cultural Revolution. They don't trust that their words won't bring them terrible trouble.