Life on Hold--
Thirty Years in Communist China
"Wong's literate and moving work is a testament to his resolution not to capitulate to his oppressors.... Wong's vindication was his ability to retain his humanity in his increasingly inhuman world."
--Publishers Weekly
"To understand the Communists and know the life style under the Communist rule, Thirty Years in Deep Freeze-My Life in Communist China is must reading."
--Minyang Lee, Ming Pao
For over half a century, the western world has been intrigued by the mysterious phenomenon known as Communist China. This fascination has been responsible for the success of many books-books describing life and politics inside a nation that guards its secrets and distrusts outsiders.
Thirty Years in Deep Freeze is another view of that world, as seen by an educated intellectual from a well-to-do family, who spent the better part of his life trying and failing to adapt to the new society of Mao's China. Wong plodded from job to job, as a teacher, journalist, editor, and translator, and as a farm and factory laborer. But wherever he was, he never felt he contributed to the society that owned him, and never felt that he benefited from the "liberation" forced upon him.
Although this story is filled with anger and regret, it has its share of humor and irony. Wong candidly admits that he acted unwisely at times. He describes his extramarital affairs and his arrogance in the face of his accusers, who were also his colleagues.
East and West may never see eye to eye. But first-hand accounts like Thirty Years in Deep Freeze can help us understand what life in Communist China has been like for half a century.
Chih-chih Yi-ling Wong was born in Shanghai in 1933. Since 1979 he has lived in the Los Angeles area. he has written articles for The Los Angeles Times, The Wall Street Journal, and major Chinese newspapers in the United States and the Far East. The Chinese edition of this book was published in Hong Kong in 1996. |
