Bamboo Swaying in the Wind: A Survivor's Story of Faith and Imprisonment in Communist China [Hardcover]

Claudia Devaux (Author), George Bernard Wong (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2000

Claudia Devaux & George Bernard Wong, S.J. Bamboo Swaying in the Wind reveals the extraordinary life story of Chinese Jesuit George Bernard Wong, who was imprisoned in China for more than 25 years for his religious beliefs.  It is a story of romance, joy, political intrigue, cultural revolution, historic oppression, and living hope.  Readers come to know a man of profound faith and endurance who not only survived years of incarceration and solitary confinement but was able to emerge from these experiences with his gentle spirit still intact.  In telling his tale, Wong offers readers spiritual and human insights that can only come from one who has lived such a life. Much of Wong's story remained blocked from memory until recent, gentle talks with coauthor Claudia Devaux drew it out.  Set in a broader cultural context, the narrative allows readers to appreciate this unique personal account of how one man bridged East and West to live out his Jesuit vocation and serve Chinese Christians in our time.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Many historical texts have addressed the demise of religion in China after the Communists took over in 1949, but personal narratives from Catholics in China have been almost nonexistent. For this reason, this memoir by a Chinese Jesuit priest who was imprisoned for more than 25 years will draw a large audience, but most readers will come away discouraged because it does not live up to its potential. Wong's story of being jailed for his faith is indeed compelling, but Devaux's editorial intrusions make the narrative unnecessarily choppy and confusing. At the beginning of each chapter, Devaux comments on the information to come, often explaining what is clear through Wong's words alone. She would have done better to provide more detailed historical background; readers unfamiliar with Chinese protectionist policies, Western missionary activity, or the bloody Taipei Rebellion will struggle to understand the religious and political forces at work in Wong's story. In the last chapter Devaux attempts to provide the thick description that would make this oral history more accessible (such as how Catholicism adapted to native Confucian practices, why the philosophy of St. Ignatius is so appealing to the Chinese, and how the titular metaphor of a "bamboo swaying in the wind" reflects Wong's tenacity), but these analyses come too late. China buffs, historians, and Catholics will find this story mildly interesting, yet lament what could have been.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Booklist

Wong, a Chinese-born Jesuit priest, provides a first-person account of his 25-year imprisonment by Chinese Communists. Devaux provides the broader historical context for the Communist revolution and its systematic repression of religion, and the efforts of Jesuits to spread their faith in China. The result is a merger of the Chinese culture and the religious culture of the Jesuits. Wong traveled to California in 1939 to begin studying for the priesthood. By the 1950s, when Wong returned to China, the Communists had begun to stamp out religion, terrorizing priests and other agents of the churches. Wong spent seven years in prison, eight years in forced labor camps, and was for several more years prevented from leaving China. He endured attempts at brainwashing and sessions of intimidation and humiliation, during which he was accused of idealism. Wong secretly continued the practice of his religion and ministered to others, surreptitiously baptizing those who requested it. He recounts how the tenets of the Jesuit and Buddhist religions helped him and other prisoners resist Chinese repression. Inspirational. Vanessa Bush
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Hardcover: 206 pages
• Publisher: Loyola Pr; 1St Edition edition (September 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0829414584
• ISBN-13: 978-0829414585
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,841,637 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Story of Faith, Hope, and Love, October 9, 2000

By 

Eva R. Weber (San Francisco, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bamboo Swaying in the Wind: A Survivor's Story of Faith and Imprisonment in Communist China (Hardcover)

Although I am an avid reader, I have not often come across books with such depth of content AND superb style. Faith, hope, and love have been realized to heroic levels in the life of Father George Bernard Wong, S.J., whose life is portrayed in Bamboo Swaying in the Wind. I appreciate the introductions to each chapter, full of history and other relevant information. Our youth ought to study such high quality, excellently written literature and ponder such an exemplary role model who was blessed, despite all he endured, by a peacefulness that surpasses all understanding. I am grateful to have come across this masterpiece.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Jesuit to Remember..., June 30, 2006

By 

Mateo el Feo (Virginia, USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Bamboo Swaying in the Wind: A Survivor's Story of Faith and Imprisonment in Communist China (Hardcover)

After reading this book, I want to thank Fr. Wong for living the Jesuit Ideal. He saw God in all things, and he was a faithful son of the Church. I also want to thank Mrs. Devaux for bringing his story to us through this beautifully written book.

Fr. Wong's life gradually unfolds before the reader as each page goes by. And the life he lived makes me proud to be a Catholic and proud to be a human being.

It's the little things in Fr. Wong's life story that touched me the most. For example: his seminary days conversing with fellow seminarians exclusively in Latin--an excercise in learning the Church's "native" language; his private celebrations of the mass in his Chinese jail cell, bringing the hope of Christ into a place which--otherwise--had no hope; the way his living out the Gospel impacted those around him, both family and friends. Truly, all who encountered him must have felt a familial bond with him, even if they were only brothers in spirit.

Fr. Wong's is a "quiet" story. Though his life story is anything but uneventful, there isn't a complex plot with exciting turns throughout the book. It is Fr. Wong's humanity that draws the reader in as his story unfolds. The book ends at the twilight of his life, living a peaceful life in the Bay Area of California.

In addition to getting insight into the formation of seminarians a generation ago, I took away an increased awareness of the plight of Christianity in Communist China. His perspective also revealed the complexity of the issue of the Communist controlled "Patriotic Catholic Church" and the underground Catholic Church that is faithful to the Holy Father.

Whether you are Catholic or not, Fr. Wong's story can be a source of hope for us all.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Spiritual Journey Within, September 27, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Bamboo Swaying in the Wind: A Survivor's Story of Faith and Imprisonment in Communist China (Hardcover)

I recommend this book for anyone who wants to strengthen, or become more in touch with their own faith. This is not an "action-packed" novel; it's a lovely story on how man can endure tremendous obstacles with his own inner strength. Keep it on your nightstand, and read a couple of chapters each night before you go to bed.