In this essay for Anthropology News, a public-interest magazine, I tell the story drawn from my fieldwork at a self-organized Mongolian language school in Inner Mongolia, China. Here, a group of retired elderly Mongolian Chinese dedicated themselves to learn their heritage language, classic Mongolian, through singing and performing old Mongolian songs. This particular story centers on a performance of one of the most beloved songs, The Semiconductor Radio Made in Shanghai.
This story follows the experiences of these performers and their audience. In their pursuit to share what they believe to be the truth of their people’s past, the performers poured their hearts into the performances. However, without their knowledge, their earnest efforts unintentionally created a narrative that diverged from the reality understood by their audience. This is a story where deception rears its head by accident, as everyone imagines their own version of truth.
