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On The Great Wall

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In the 1950s, Mao embarked upon a crash modernization program for China. His regime encouraged educated expatriate Chinese to return and lend their skills to the building of a new China.

The author's family had been ripped apart by the Japanese invasion, during which time American missionary nuns cared for her. She won a scholarship to a U.S. college after WWII, then remained in the U.S. until 1957. Homesick and thoroughly apolitical, she was eager to come home. Immediately upon her return, Penny (a nickname given by the nuns) met Yao Tung-ping, a young professor of metallurgy just back from Germany. It was love at first sight, and they soon married.

Penny became a teacher of English. Tung-ping was assigned to the country's new rocketry program, and soon rose to a leadership post in the Chinese scientific establishment. They worked long hours and earned a modest living, but were immensely happy, especially because of their three delightful young daughters. Then their world fell apart.

During the Cultural Revolution, anyone with ties to West, or whose forbears were not among the poorest of the poor, came under suspicion. Even a loyal, committed communist like Tung-ping suffered abuse. One terrible day, a crazed mob of Red Guards beat him to death.

That led Penny to a decades-long quest for justice. Tarred unjustly as a traitor nearly 40 years ago, Yao Tung-ping is now officially hailed as one of the 50 greatest heroes of the revolution, and a father of China's space program.

In its original Chinese edition, this book sold over 100,000 copies in China. It is a fast-paced narrative that should appeal to people who like several different genres: history, personal memoirs, even love stories.