'Life and Death in Shanghai' by Nien Cheng

Life and Death in Shanghai, Nien Cheng (5)

I seldom give a perfect score to a book, but I regularly cite this as one of my favorite non-fiction books. In this book Ms. Cheng has intertwined her harrowing experiences during the Cultural Revolution with the relatively confusing historical events. You are captivated by a personal story mixed with a history lesson. For those of us who have visited China, but were either not born or were too young to remember the tumult of the communist beginnings in the 50’s through 70’s, it is fascinating to see the struggles of power that happened yearly – like a ping pong match between groups competing to be more ‘Mao-ist’. Nien Cheng lived in Shanghai through it all. Given her husband’s position (working for Shell Oil), their money (a lot) and her eventual position at Shell after her husband died, she becomes a target of the Red Guard. They are determined to expose her as an international spy. One of the biggest reveals of the book is that she wrote it – so you know she survives – but you don’t know how. By the end of the fascinating events, I came to believe it was by combination of personal strength, the intelligence to use anything around her to her advantage, and plain confusion and stupidity of the events around her. This story is ultimately a sad one, but very much worth reading.