Daughter of China: The True Story of Forbidden Love in Modern China

by Meihong Xu, Larry Engelmann

A powerfully written memoir in the bestselling tradition of WILD SWANS and FALLING LEAVES

Genres: China, Nonfiction, Memoir, History, Biography, Biography Memoir, Politics

378 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

Reviews

[Gary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Meihong Zu grew up during the horrors of the Cultural Revolution which saw tens of millions of people in China ruthlessly murdered by the Communists.

She recalls one of her schoolteachers being sent to a labour camp for crossing out an incorrect letter ,written by a schoolgirl, of Mao Tse Tung's name and correcting it.
She also recalls the loud hateful chanting against individuals accused of being "class enemies" and "rightists" at rallies to humiliate these unfortunates and prepare for them for imprisonment or execution.
The author describes the horrors of public executions and where condemmned innocents were shot to death to the vicious chanting of red mobs.
Very often after the executions, the murdered victims were rushed to a nearby room or tent to have their organs removed for transplant.
Organ harvesting of dissidents and minorities (such as the Tibetans and Fang Gong Buddhists) is massive industry in Communist China today.
Education in Red China was and remains today nothing other than brainwashing, indoctrination and memorization. In referring to the public executions Meihong recounts that "All of us- adults and children- had been so steeped in hysteria and group thinking for so long that what we witnessed seemed necessary and natural. We believed that we could save ourselves only by sacrificing the lives of our alleged enemies. We never imagined for a moment that we were being manipulated by our own leaders".

She also recounts the massive killing of pets by dog-killing squads that moved from house to house and village to village as owning a pet was seen by the Communist authorities as a carryover from the old order, a bourgeois practice.

Meihnong was inducted into the "People's Liberation Army" at a very young, becoming a member of an elite intelligence corps. She was sent to spy on a visiting American professor, Larry Engelman, but soon found her old loyalities divided as she got to know him.
She refused to continue activities against him and was so imprisoned and tortured. This is her story.

She also recounts the the 1989 Tianmen Square massacre in which the PLA killed thousands of students, old people, women and children and randomly fired into apartments where they saw lights and movements.

[Tejas Janet · Rating 4 out of 5]

Daughter of China is a memoir full of fascinating background about the author's upbringing, schooling, family, and life in China. Born in 1963 and recruited into the People's Liberation Army in 1981, she became one of an exclusive, dozen, young women selected as the first female recruits (known as "the Twelve Pandas") to attend the PLA’s Institute for International Relations.

This is also a love story and tale of intrigue that culminates with Meihong Xu's desperate efforts to join her American-born husband in the US. Four stars is on the generous side given the some times choppy, repetitive quality of the writing, but three stars felt too stingy.

My biggest criticism actually lies with the brief, dissatisfying afterword that I felt undermined the strength of the story that came before. Including it was an unfortunate decision in my opinion. Perhaps it might have worked if it had been written by Meihong Xu rather than Larry Engelmann. The change in voice was awkward and disrupted the mood created by the preceding carefully told narrative, and shifted the focus to questions about their life and experiences after 1990, which is when the narrative really concludes and should have been allowed to stand.

[Rishi Prakash · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the story of the author which also takes us through the evolution of China covering a period of almost 40 years from 1950 - 1990. Her story which runs parallel to China's intriguing years is like a movie which makes you realise why truth can be stranger than fiction.

She was one of the twelve girls selected after a rigorous process and tests where almost every single Chinese girl had applied and would have given anything to be a part of the first batch of female cadets to be recruited in the reputed PLA Institute for International Relations which train students to become an intelligence agent and also commissioned as Officers which is a huge thing in the country.

She finally left China in December 1990 for USA to start a new life after her life collapsed in her country...this is the story of dreams of an individual but it can very well be true for all of us...

[Rebecca Lovin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Book nerds, read it!!!! Awesome book. People who read to brag about your literacy, don’t bother. You know who you are. This is a great book and should not be wasted on the uninterested.

[Arja · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extrem spanned, würds jedem sehr witerempfehle wo sich für China interessiert. sBasiert ufere wahre Gschicht und paar Sache sind eifach erschreckend.


Spoiler: Sie wachst uf em Land uf, het aber sGlück dass sie als eini vo 13 Fraue vo ganz China für e spezielli Soldateusbildig usgwählt wird. Dete lernt sie ihre zuekünftige Maa kenne, was scho nöd guet ahchunt will i dere akademie beziehige verbote sind. Nachdem sie ihre abschluss hend hüratet sie. Sie chunt paar jahr später ane uni wo amerikanischo dozente unterrichet. Sie wirf beuftreit de eint Professor chli uszspiopniere, aber sie isch sich sicher dass er unschuldig isch und verliebt sich i ihn. dArmee bechunt das mit und sie wird verhaftet und über Wuche befrägt. Mir Glück chunt sie us em Gfängis, deff aber nie meh det hii. Am schluss macht sies denn doch, aber zu ihrere sicherheit muss sie umbedingt us em land use. Die eifachst möglichkeit isch dass sie de amerikansicji Professor hüratet.(sie und ihre maa hend sich scheide lah, ihre maa het sie aber immer unterstützt und sie sind jetzt Fründe) Das macht sie denn und nach wieder mega viel schwirigkeite cha sie i dUsa.
Ich finds eifach immer no krass dass es e echti Gschicht isch! Mega spannendi und extrem starchi (und intelligent) Persönlichkeit aber sicher au nöd e eifachi. Am schluss nach paar Jahr in Amerika scheidet sie sich vom Professor wasi hald mega entüschend gfunde han, aber isch hald sEchte Lebe haha

[Larry Dew · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic non-fiction detailing multi-generational stories of pre-communist war-lords, WWII Japanese invasion of China, the Cultural Revolution, the PLA training, corruption within the PLA as well as the corruption necessary to uphold the tyrannical PRC communist regime, unable to honestly correct/better itself, including Tiananmen Square massacre where the PLA intentionally killed students and local citizens to regain order. On top of these multi-generational struggles, this book tells the story of Meihong Xu as she grew up in a small peasant village, is selected to be the first of 12 women to attend select military training in an elite PLA squad, her struggles dealing with internal political factions within the PLA and then, finally, an escape from socialist struggles to now live in California. Excellently written, analytically intriguing, with a gripping story make this book hard to put down. Excellent book.

[Jafreen Alamgir · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved MeiHong Xu!❤❤❤

[Ke Yu · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story is dramatic; the writing is okay, though rather uneven.

[Joke Kolthoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

alhoewel het genoeg elementen in zich heeft om het tot een boeiend boek te maken vind ik dat niet zo goed gelukt.

[Meghan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating glimpse into life in communist China. Written in compelling prose.

[Jan Norton · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is quite a story. It’s a gripping memoir. It is an insight into Japan and how the people survived. It is almost improbable.

[lia · Rating 5 out of 5]

so good, teared up, beautiful brave story

[Gary]

On p. 117.

[Bigsna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The remarkable story of a military spy who is then treated as an enemy of state, in the backdrop of a cautiously protective and paranoid China in the cold war era. No wonder they say that if this story wasn't true, a Hollywood script writer would have written it.

The simple language and first person narrative transports you into that time and place in China, when the country's most defining transitions take place and where Meihong's life path unfolds. Reading the first hand experience and perspective of a former 'red' citizen is an eyeopening account of the fear psychosis that was built under Chairman Mao's rule - something that is deeply reminiscent of how North Korea functions even today.

The stories of the two women, other than Meihong, that impacted me a lot were those of her aunt and her paternal grandmother. Those are extraordinary stories of principle, courage and endurance... and make you wonder about the measure of human capacities for tolerance. I like this story because it is true and honest, and becasue it shows you how the worst can happen to the best of us, and how even the worst will one day be behind you. Yet there will be more to come and the only thing you have to do is try and keep your courage, trudge on and make the most of what you have.

[+Chaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think Hitler said it best when he wrote that people are not moved by facts and logic, but by emotions and feelings. China has proven this well. This book brings that concept to mind. Meihong Xu and Larry Engelmann have given the world a brief but, limited look into China that most Americans have no concept. It was gripping and held me to every page. As I read I wanted to know more about the system that was blocking Meihong passage to freedom. Yes, I to was disappointed with the ending, however for some of those who have seen the world for what it is and not as others would like it to be, we see a happy ending. The world is full of tears. That’s the reminder that I got from this book.

[Kay · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an absorbing read that taught me a lot about how the changes that went through China with the Great Leap Forward, and Mao's influence, affected the population. Told eloquently and clearly from a very personal perspective, it doesn't try to apologise or excuse what happened but focuses on the loss of ideals, faith in the system and how individuals are repressed so easily from success.

It wasn't what I was expecting, but that kind of pleasant surprise is just what I love from a book like this. I finished it feeling like i really began to understand the atmosphere and secrecy of how China worked and how maybe we should all always question what we are told and not just accept a bureaucratic truth.

[chucklesthescot · Rating 3 out of 5]

Since I read 'Wild Swans' I've been fascinated by stories of life in Communist China before, during and after the Cultural Revolution. I first read this book in the library then hunted down my own copy.

Meihong Xu is a patriotic young woman who wants to serve her country but when she meets the foreigners, hears about new ways to live and learns about love, she is not so sure of what she is doing. Branded as a traitor and scared she might die, her only hope is to get out of China with help from an American professor friend.

You get so involved in this story that it makes you angry and sad, and also makes you grateful to live in a liberal country with more personal freedom.

Book rating: 3/5

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was well written in the sense of giving the reader an in-depth look at how the PLA works (or worked since this was written years after Mao Zedong). The order of the book was a bit awkawrd once you near the end. It starts with the author in prison and then goes into a history of her village. Then, she describes her interrogation and then back to her past and how she became a PLA soldier. I found the first half the most inriguing. Yet, despite this minor annoyance, I really enjoyed this book. What an even greater eye opener into a woman's life under Communist China. Highly recommend.

[Ada · Rating 3 out of 5]

To learn about the life of Meihong was really interesting and sad. It's hard to fathom what she and her ancestors went through in dealing with the unsettling life under Mao and other dictators. I thought I was in for a happy ending, but it left me feeling very conflicted about some of the choices she made. Some of the language and lived realities of Meihong's life detailed in the story made it difficult for me to give this more than three stars, but it is a great book to help you feel grateful for our freedom.

[Redfox5 · Rating 4 out of 5]

From the back I was expecting this to be a gripping and exciting love story. I didn't get that. The grand romance is actually very brief and as far as I can tell, nothing actually seems to have happened in China. What I did get instead was a veiw of China that I didn't even think would still be happening. This all happens on the year that I was born, which is only 23 years ago. I wonder if this book is banned in China? Makes me want to read more books about this sort of thing. I did enjoy this book very much even if it wasn't what I thought it would be like.

[Grada (BoekenTrol) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like I said in my status update, I was not really sure what to think of this book. I'm glad I continued reading, otherwise I would have missed a good and interesting read.

I liked this book and the insight it gave me on how the Chinese society works (or worked, since the book has been written over a decade ago). I liked the way the story was written, memories, thoughts set off another part of Meihong Xu's life story.

Despite I have no experience on China or with Chinese bureaucracy, the book felt strangely familiar, part of it could have happened in the Soviet Union too.

[Mark · Rating 5 out of 5]

Uplifting book, hopeful and optimistic approach to life. I was right there with the author sharing the fears the joys the suspense the love. The human race is not hopeless after all is it?

of course the book was written ten years ago. now the love birds are getting divorced or are divorced and who knows where things are at?

what is the truth anyway?

but I still liked the romantic notion of the book... but maybe it is all deception.... who knows... she may still be a spy for the PLA... hidden in plain sight.

[Shauna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I so wanted to give this book 5 stars. I know, I'm eternal optimist, but the afterward killed it for me--who doesn't want a happy ending? This book is the story of Meihong Xu, a peasant girl from China who becomes an officer in the PLA, then later becomes disillusioned with how China is being run. She meets an American professor with whom she falls in love and is eventually able to escape to the United States. It is a fascinating story and gives insights into China that will blow your mind. Just skip the epilogue and you'll be fine.

[Kerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very interesting read. I have read and taught about China for many years and have spent a bit of time there. It is an amazing place. Mao's time in charge was such a tragedy. It started so well and ended so badly and it is hard to know where this incredible country's future lies. The irony is that our capitalism is now totally dependent on it, but will the years of corruption and desperation allow it to fix its own internal issues. A very interesting personal story about the dangers of authoritarianism and government oppression and the power of education.

[Jenny · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was interested in reading this book because part of it takes place in the Johns Hopkins Nanjing Center (HNC), which is affiliated with the JHU School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). I work at SAIS and have visited the HNC. I found the first two-thirds of the book riveting. Meihong's life in China before and during her time at the HNC was fascinating and the writing style did not get in the way of the story. The last third of the book seemed something of a let-down and anti-climatic. Of course, this is non-fiction, so they wouldn't want to change the facts.

[Rose Large · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an interesting read because it came from a different perspective. I read Feather in the Storm: A Childhood Lost in Chaos where it was written from a farmers point of view. In Daughter of China it was written from someone who was accepted and trained as a PLA officer. In that aspect it was interesting to compare the two lives. However I didn't care for the writing. It had no flow and very choppy and sometimes confusing. You never knew which part of her life you would read next.

[Peta Brettig · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the history side of this book and once again I am glad to have been brought up in Australia! I was interested in the main characters journey and her upbringing in communist China but didn't really get the love side of the story. Maybe it was just the way the story was written but the relationship didn't build up, I ended up finding it hard to believe they were actually into each other because there wasn't much focus on that. Good for the history but it wasn't a page turner for me.

[Margie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's an incredible book for teaching about the thinking of both the Chinese govt and its people. But its ending was disappointing; I wanted a fictional happy ending. But this wasn't fiction and its characters weren't inventions. But burning questions remain for me: What's happened to Larry Engelmann and Meihong Xu since 1999?

[Gitta · Rating 4 out of 5]

A true story about the trials, oppression, and rules that have saturated Chinese history. This book tells the story of a girl who experienced difficulties as a soldier in the PLA. As years went by she eventually forgot why she wanted to be in the Chinese military in the first place and goes against almost everything and everyone she loves to get out.

[Annamarsiana · Rating 4 out of 5]

The personal and political struggles of this Meihong under the communist regime in China were just inseprable this book. It is so touching and moving (I set tears when reading this)... and at the same time also so shocking, how cruel this communist army was...