Nien Cheng's Powerful Memoir
...f commerce or persons representing the powers that be. The Red Guards, encouraged by their number and unrestrained by modesty, wisdom or compassion were human nature at its worst. Nien Cheng's "Life and Death in Shanghai" is a personal account of a woman's life during the cultural Revolution of Mao Zedong in china. In 1966, a group of Red Guards breaks into her house and takes Nien Cheng captive, under the notion that she is a "spy" for the imperialists. For siz years, she remains in prison. The story focuses on those years and how she dealt with herself and her captors. The most amazing part of this book is that, even under the pressure of countless interrogations and relentless accusations, Cheng does not confess and does not lie. "The more logical and intelligent course was to face persecution no matter what I might have to endure," says Cheng. Even after six years of torture, Mrs. Cheng still stays strong, and it is only because of her strength and determination (and maybe even stubbornness) that she is able to survive. One might read this book not only for historical analysis of the time period, but for some sort of insight as to what it was actually like to be in this woman's shoes, or just to be living in such a paranoid society. "Determined to find fault, the Revolutionaries refused to see virtue." It didn't matter whether or not one actually committed a crime--it merely mattered whether one was thought to have committed a crime. Nien Cheng pulls the reader into her story through her vivid descriptions and heart-wrenching discourses. One cannot help to sympathize with this woman and after reading her story, it almost feels like one could know what it was like to be in her position. It's a frightening thought, but that is what makes the story so absorbing. A poignant, captivating memoir, Life and Death in Shanghai is a book that truly encompasses the experiences a person may have encountered living in Communist China. Through the use of her personal trials and tribulations during this time, Nien Cheng gives the reader a look into the many aspects of this time period. Even though she was innocent, Cheng was a victim of the Communist government and as a class enemy she tells of her encounters with the Red Guard, life in prison...