LIFE AND DEATH IN SHANGHAI by Niem Cheng Praise for Life and Death in Shanghai - “Far from depressing, it is almost exhilarating to witness her mind do battle. Even in English, the keenness of her thought and expression is such that it constitutes some form of martial art, enabling her time and again to absorb the force of her interrogators’ logic and turn it to her own advantage.” —Christopher Lehmann-Haupt, The New York Times - “A triumph of the human spirit … Here is the most stunning human document out of China since the Cultural Revolution—perhaps since the Revolution itself.” —Clifton Fadiman - “A harrowing story of personal suffering and tragedy, and at the same time a savage and compelling indictment of Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, if not of Chinese communism itself … an extraordinary testament to human brutality.” —Elena Brunet, Los Angeles Times - “Her book is unquestionably one of the best ever written about the Cultural Revolution.” —Houston Chronicle - “An almost unbearably vivid picture of personal suffering and triumph.” —Chicago Tribune Author's note THIS BOOK is a factual account of what happened to me during the Cultural Revolution. The events are recorded in chronological order, just as they occurred. Every word spoken at the time, the reader will soon understand, was vitally important. Indeed, my survival depended on what was said to and by me. I had ample time again and again to recall scenes and conversations in a continuing effort to assess their significance. As a consequence, they are indelibly etched on my memory, and my book, including the words quoted as direct discourse, is as nearly as possible a faithful account of my experiences. With some reluctance, I use in this book the now standard pinyin system for the transliteration of most of the Chinese names. Among the few exceptions are such old, familiar forms as Hong Kong (pinyin: Xianggang) and Kuomintang (Guomin-dang), and my husband’s, my daughter’s, and my own name (Zheng), which I prefer to continue to spell in English as I have done for more than fifty years.
