Wang China — 1966 We Are the Stuff that Genes Are Made Of

Werewolves are usually born, not bitten. It’s genetic, like having blue eyes or large breasts. Silicone can amend the latter, and contact lens the former, but modern science has not yet discovered a way to transform man into wolf. The werewolf gene is usually recessive. Becoming a werewolf by being bitten or scratched is common in modern horror fiction, but rare in actuality. We like to believe we control our destiny, but fate is written in tiny strands of DNA. Wang was the first of his family in living memory to metamorphosize.

Wang grew up in rural pre-capitalist China, the oldest of two sons. His brother, Bao, was eight years younger. His father, Li, was a hard man, quick to anger, fast with a strap. Mei, his mother, viewed the world through tear-stained lenses. She had been married too young to a man she did not love, or even like. She feared her husband and resented Wang.