Vermilion Gate by Aiping Mu

Vermilion Gate by Aiping Mu

Aiping Mu was born to parents prominent in the Communist hierarchy - her father was Political Commissar for the Beijing region and her mother ran one of the city's universities - and in her early years lived the pampered life of the Party elite: luxury housing, guards, servants and private schooling. Both parents were considered intellectuals within the Party and from the start experienced the factional infighting and periodic purges which culminated decades later in the Cultural Revolution and the break-up of the family. Aiping herself was one of the first Red Guards before being denounced as a bourgeois intellectual and exiled to a remote province. In the guise of following one family's rising and falling fortunes VERMILION GATE tells the story of modern China itself, written from the perspective of one who grew up close to the seat of power in history. With rare insights into the life of the political elite and the mechanics of power and patronage in Beijing, the focus is also upon more domestic issues such as the family and the role of women in this unique and powerfully moving book.

Mu's life story is so remarkable that even the barest outline is difficult to absorb. . comparisons to Jung Chang's Wild Swans are inevitable, but Mu's book is similar only in that it is long and gripping . . . it provides a rare glimpse of life in the highest revolutionary circles * THE TIMES *
[A] highly readable memoir... * TLS *
A gripping tale. * IRELAND ON SUNDAY *

Aiping Mu left China, her family and 6-year-old son in 1988. The crashing of the Democracy movement in Tiananmen Square a year later means she has only recently been able to return.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780349112855
ISBN 10	0349112851
Title	Vermilion Gate
Author	Aiping Mu
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Paperback
Publisher	Little, Brown Book Group
Year published	2002-02-07
Number of pages	848
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.