Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal [Hardcover]

Meihong Xu (Author), Larry Engelmann (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 7, 1999

This is the acclaimed memoir of an extraordinary woman trained as an elite soldier in the Chinese Army, her forbidden love for an American, and her seemingly impossible escape -- with his help -- from the nation to which she had pledged her life. An astonishing testament to the enduring resilience of love and the human spirit in the face of even the most oppressive, hopeless conditions, Daughter of China offers a stunning look at life inside the rigid walls of Communist China, revealing in fascinating detail Xu's inculcation into the system -- a process so effective that she would willingly betray a friend or family member to prove her loyalty. Written with clear-eyed candor and stark eloquence, Daughter of China is at once a timeless, deeply moving story of a prohibited love affair and a dramatic depiction of life under Chinese Communism. As finely wrought as the best espionage fiction and containing all the emotional force of a novel, Daughter of China is all the more riveting because it is true.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

This is not your typical love story. In 1988, Xu, a young, married Chinese military intelligence officer studying at the Center for Chinese and American Studies in Nanjing, fell in love with Engelmann, one of her American professors. Their reckless behavior brought down the wrath of the Chinese authorities, who, suspecting an espionage connection, arrested her and had him expelled from China. After numerous harrowing experiences (told, in this frustrating narrative, alongside flashbacks from Xu's earlier life), the lovers are miraculously reunited, marry, and move to America. (They eventually divorce in 1999.) Much of the information contained here, if true, tells an interesting tale about the workings of Chinese military intelligence education. But the problem with this thrilling tear-jerker is that it is almost impossible to distinguish truth from fiction in a story told by a self-admitted accomplished liar. The book is marred by mendacity, inconsistencies, and improbabilities: Caveat lektor.ASteven I. Levine, Mansfield Ctr., Missoula, MT
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Kirkus Reviews

Both the memoir of a young Chinese peasant girl coming of age during the Cultural Revolution and a cross-cultural tragic romance which depicts the struggle between love for another individual and loyalty to one's country. Meihong begins life as an enthusiastic recruit of the People's Liberation Army, but she possesses a quickness of observation and critical insight which makes it impossible for her not to pick up on the many hypocrisies involved in her PLA training. One of the more revealing moments of the narrative is the drunken rebellion of a class of graduating seniors who have just learned that they will be sent to Tibet instead of being assigned the important posts that they were promised at the beginning of the training. After virtually destroying the camp, many of the soldiers end up deserting from the army before they reach their remote posts. The army does little to retaliate against the new graduates as they do not wish to offend their powerful families nor call attention to the unpopularity among the troops of the action against Tibet. Meihong continues to file her falsely positive reports, in order to please her superior officers, and is eventually graduated as a young army officer. In 1988, Meihong is assigned to the Center for Chinese and American Studies, a joint venture between Nanjing University and Johns Hopkins, where she meets and falls in love with Larry Engelmann, a visiting American. Her betrayal is discovered by the secret police, and she is arrested and interrogated for being involved with an enemy agent. Although her life is spared, her career is ruined, and her future possibilities are very limited upon her release. She is eventually able to get a message to Engelmann, and the two are married in 1990 after great bureaucratic difficulties. Not much as a sophisticated history or political analysis of China, but a fairly riveting love story nevertherless. -- Copyright ©1999, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 349 pages
• Publisher: Wiley; 1 edition (September 7, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471356735
• ISBN-13: 978-0471356738
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (48 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #984,753 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

29 of 34 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed, December 25, 1999

By 

Phillippa Crossan - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal (Hardcover)

I had mixed feelings about this book ... it is well written and I remained interested throughout, but I became increasingly disenchanted with the author, Xu Meihong. There seemed something rather cold and calculating about her. Larry Engelmann on the other hand, struck me as being generous and loving, but naive. Some of the story seemed improbable and while I believed most of it, I know enough about China to have some scepticism. I felt sorry for the men in Meihong's life: her first and second husbands, as I felt they were far more heroic and giving than she was. While doing her best to make a case for leaving her first husband on the grounds that he would be better off without her, and that she was doing him and his career a favour by divorcing him, I found her arguments unconvincing. Her motivation throughout the book seemed mostly self seeking and her love for Lin Cheng and Larry Engelmann rather lacking in depth and committment. I was not altogether surprised to find at the end of the book that she had left Larry.

I was also disappointed at her scant reference to the Tienanmen Square massacre. I'm sure there was much more that she could have said, especially as an eye witness.

Xu Mehihong is obviously an ambitious person and her story portrays this aspect of her personality throughout. She achieved her ambition to get to the West too, albeit through dishonest means. But I cannot say that my final impression of her was one that I particularly liked. All in all, this book left a slightly sour taste in my mouth!

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Life's roller coaster, October 22, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal (Hardcover)

I know the author of this book and have read his earlier books. I have always loved the way he tells a story and he is at his best in this one. He writes about the life of a Chinese woman he met in 1988 and goes into her family background for several generations. And he keeps himself out of the main picture until near the end of the story. Because I know the story in real life I am affected very much by what is revealed here. I love the story and I love the writing. I think anyone who grew up in Asia and who knows what life is like under a Communist government will see the truth in every word of this book. It is about difficult situations bringing out the best in people. My only wish is that it could be longer and have the real hero of the story talk more about himself and what made him do the things he did. But he chose not to write it that way. This is a book that makes you feel very good to be alive and to be able to be in love. I just wish it had a happy ending. I disagree with the author. The ending is not happy, despite his insisting that it is. It is not happy. But it is never to be forgotten.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Spy who used me?, July 27, 2000

By 

P Warden (St Joseph, MI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal (Hardcover)

Last week on a trip to Belgium I started to read a Tom Clancy book. I ventured into an English bookstore in Brussels and stumbled upon "Daughter of China." Being an American man recently married to a Chinese woman, I couldn't resist this read. Haven't been back to finish the Clancy book yet - this one was far more interesting and suspenseful.

I found this a great account of Chinese culture as it truly contrasts with western culture - things I've learned through my own relationship. The accounts of pervasive curruption and political power plays for self-interest were amazing, and probably generally true. The way people were thrown off their land and left with nothing but to suffer during the early days of Mao Communism were fascinating.

Unfortunately, I couldn't help but question Meihong's sincerety in her relationship with Larry. I think she must have used him to get to America. This feeling brings into question the truth of her account throughout. I also pity "The General." If still alive, this book can't be doing this interesting character any good. Meihong and Larry are obviously two very complex people. I find it hard to believe Larry, a traveled, well read and previously divorced man is really so naive. All of these thoughts have given me days of pondering, so I have to say this is the best book I've read in a long time. I'd like to meet both of the authors and share experiences.