![]() ![]() Some time following, while Ting-Xing was still a child – her father was compelled to hand it over to the government in return for some nominal compensation. ![]() Ting-Xing’s father had inherited a rubber factory in Shanghai, and was running it when the communists came to power. These notes don’t nearly capture the emotional depth and storylines in Ting-Xing’s memoir, which of course are fleshed out in compelling detail. For one thing, it left me deeply grateful and with a new appreciation for being born and able to live in a free country.įurther below are some of my notes on the book (WARNING: CONTAINS SPOILERS). This memoir is an amazing place to start when trying to better understand the day-to-day experience of those living under this system, and this memoir and hopefully others like it might help give some of that human context and enrich the more high-level historical viewpoint. It was difficult to hold my interest because I felt there must be deep and very human stories underneath all those facts and figures, which seemed to be missing. Many parts of her story are deeply tragic and even depressing, but there’s also an underlying uplifting element of the power of her human spirit to pursue meaning and happiness even in the face of seemingly unthinkable challenges.Īs someone who is interested in the communist period in China, I did dip my toe in once or twice with some more academic-leaning historical books, which felt a little bit like a recitation of statistics, dates and names. What an incredible, compelling story – I would highly recommend it. ![]() I recently finished A Leaf in the Bitter Wind, which is a personal memoir by Ting-Xing Ye of her life growing up as one of 5 children of a former factory owner in communist China. ![]()
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