Return to the Middle Kingdom: One Family, Three Revolutionaries, and the Birth of Modern China

By Yuan-Tsung Chen

In the spirit of the classic Wild Swans comes this epic tale spanning three generations and three separate revolutions. Mixing biography and history into a single ambitious story, Yuan-Tsung Chen views China's rebirth in modern times from the perspective of her late husband's family.? Ah Chen, a landless peasant, fought in the Taiping Rebellion against the Manchu court in 1850-64. But when Western powers helped crush the uprising, Chen was forced to flee to Trinidad as an indentured servant. Decades later, his son Eugene rose from poverty to become Trinidad's first Chinese lawyer before moving to London, where he met Sun Yat-sen and became his close aide. Inspired by Sun, Eugene returned to China and led the 1911 revolution that overthrew its last dynasty. Finally, Eugene's son Jack--the author's late husband--used his artistic and journalistic talents to illustrate and explain the Chinese Marxist Revolution to the outside world. When Jack (whose first language was not Chinese) was seized by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution, his wife Yuan-tsung was forced to serve as his translator during interrogations. Ordered to write a confession--" Go back three generations to see what crimes your family has committed against the revolution!" --Jack and Yuan-tsung began to piece together the family's dramatic history.? This remarkable story, spanning a turbulent century and a half, is the compelling result.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402756976
• ISBN13: 9781402756979
• Release Date: June 2008
• Publisher: Union Square Press
• Length: 401 Pages
• Weight: 1.85 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.5" x 6.6" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Return to the Middle Kingdom

I really enjoyed the book and felt it was a worthwhile read. Told from the perspective of an insider,(Yuan-tsung Chen) it expanded my views and knowledge of China and how it became what it is today. I highly recommend the book for both the entertainment and education value. If you have or hope to have business or investments in China, the book could be of great value. Thanks for your work Ms Chen, Brad Linder

What an Adventure Book!

The drama of RETURN TO THE MIDDLE KINGDOM unfolds like an adventure film, such as INDIANA JONES, filled with exciting actions, one leading to another and each becoming more gripping than the previous one. I just follow the narrator and feel compelled to explore farther and deeper into the strange, mysterious, intriguing Middle Kingdom.

Must read

This book provides an in-depth account of how events in the past 100 years have shaped the modern China and the involvement of one family during this period. A must read for anyone who is interested in China and likes good story telling!!

Amazing.....

Opening the book, I see a map marked with the three routes which the three revolutionaries of the Chen family take, from places inside the Great Wall to the Gobi Desert. The next page is the Cast of Characters which hints at what I'll see if I follow along the three routes. The first character is the Republican Senator from Idaho, William E. Borah, who helped Eugene Chen (the second revolutionary) expose President Wilson's secret pact with Japan, double-crossing China. Right under his name is Mikhail Borodin, a Communist International agent who was sent by Lenin and who helped Eugene implement the "Russia-oriented" policy. What sharp and dramatic contrast! I can't help being lured into the story.

Alien Land

The book has great characters as well as a great story line. It opens with the appearance of Ah Chen, the first revolutionary of the Chen family. He was born nearly 180 years ago in a totally alien land. I saw such a creature in old, yellowing photos, who looks to me like a different species from another planet. But after reading a page or so, the boy Ah Chen springs to life. He is just like the little boy next door, mischievous, playful and friendly. As he grows up, he has a dream of pursuing success and happiness just my friends and I have.