Book Review: Return to the Middle Kingdom by Yuan-Tsung Chen

I have always considered myself reasonably well readthe murky waters of politics he went. Eugene Chen's
and reasonably well versed in modern history. Asstory is worthy of a book by itself, and indeed there
soon as I started to read Return To The Middleis at least one. Eugene rose to the lofty position of
Kingdom, I realized just how little I really knew aboutForeign Minister in Sun Yatsen's Kuomintang party and
the birth of modern China. We all have seen pictureswas a key figure in trying to broker peace between
of the remnants of the great Dynasties that ruledboth the internal and external interested parties. In
for thousands of years, the magnificent wall thatmany ways China was in the midst of a civil war, and
was erected to keep their enemies out, the fabulousat the same time its sovereignty was being
terracotta armies to protect the dead, and thethreatened by Europe on one front, Japan on
priceless ornaments and works of art.another, and Russia on the third. Interestingly enough
We also think we know a little about today's China,it was Russia that Eugene turned to for support, yet
we have all seen the National Geographic styleEugene was far from enamored with the Russian
photos of downtrodden workers wearing drab unisexstyle of communism feeling that it could not be made
outfits and peddling their rattley bicycles through theto work within the social structure of China.
smog laden cities. Having never been to China IThe third generation of the Chen family is Jack, and
cannot comment on whether this is the way it is, orit is Jack that was the reason for Yuan-Tsung Chen
the way it is portrayed by western eyes, thoughto write this book. She was his wife from 1958 until
one thing is clear, China has a less than stellarhis death in 1995. Jack too was political animal, and a
reputation in the areas of free speech and humanhighly successful one until Mao's Cultural Revolution, a
rights.decade of intellectual purges (1966-1975). Even with
The question is, How did this Country move fromfriends in high places, and a sometime acquaintance
one system to another? Author Yuan-Tsung Chenwith Mao himself the couple found themselves staring
has taken a very unique approach, her book coversdown the gun barrel of the feared Red Guards.
three generations of the Chen family, and this wasInterrogated, humiliated, and finally exiled, political life
three generations that each in their own way helpedin China at least, was at an end for the Chen family.
forge the country and the politics. By following theThis is an incredibly well researched and well written
Chen's the veil is lifted.book. Part biography, part history book, Return To
Most of us in the west have heard the names MaoThe Middle Kingdom sheds much light on a fascinating
Zedong, Chaing Kaishek, and Zhou Enlai, but howperiod of history. It also explores everyday life, and
many can explain the delicate, and on occasion not solifestyles, something that few straight history books
delicate interplay between them? Who were thesedo. The family sacrifices that all three generations
men, and what drove them?made for their country are almost unbelievable.
Author Yuan-Tsung Chen explores almost 150 yearsThis book also gave me an understanding of maybe
of tumult, her story begins with the Birth of Ahwhy China is such an insular society today, and that
Chen, roughly translated Grandfather Chen in 1830, areason has its roots in the 1800's Opium War, China
peasant farmer, carpenter, and even on occasionswas being turned into another India, a plaything for
barber, who became involved in the abortive Taipingthe Europeans to rape and pillage.
rebellion. This resulted in him becoming an indenturedI can wholeheartedly recommend this book to
laborer in order to make his hasty escape to Trinidad.anyone that has an interest in modern history. I will
As famous as the following two generations he maywarn you though, this book has so much detail within
not be, but it is clear where the revolutionary geneits 400 pages that it will take you a while to read. As
comes from.a reviewer I usually budget 3 days for a book this
His son Eugene Chen became the first Chinesesize, it took three times that to read it! My wife was
lawyer in Trinidad, and although he became verybeginning to think I had forgotten how to read.
successful the call of his mother country was tooYou can order your copy from Amazon or through
strong, and in 1912 he journeyed to Peking and intoYuan-Tsung Chen's web site.