In 1940 Li Na was born as the youngest son of a government official in a mansion in Nanjing. China was in the throes of World War II and the SinoJapanese War; Nanjing itself was in the grip of a Japanesecollaborationist government. Twentyone years later when Linow called Charlesabandoned China forever the nation was fully embroiled in the chaos of Chairman Maos Communist reform campaigns. This is the story of the tumultuous years in between years when Li lived through an almost unbelievable range of the emerging nations many identities. He saw his father arrested by Nationalist agents and thrown into prison then later released to flee as a refugee from Maos newly established Peoples Republic of China. He lived in the dangerous slums of Nanjing and in the thriving former French concession of Shanghai. He experienced both the heady taste of materialism in British Hong Kong under the influence of the decadent foreign \"white ghosts\" and crippling starvation in the harsh confines of a Communist reform school. At the same time this is Lis personal story of his quest for acceptance and approval from his family particularly his harsh manipulative father. While his fathers political ambitions caused the family incredible hardship and suffering Li still strove to please him bound by the traditional Chinese ideology of filial piety and his own desperate desire for his fathers love. Ultimately a play by his father for political power would test the limits of their fatherson bond and change their relationship forever.

ISBN: 9780061709548
Title: Bitter Sea Coming of Age in a China Before Mao
Author: LI CHARLES N
Format: Paperback
RRP: $24.99
Price: $15.95