Barbara Cole Reviews:

"Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal"
by Xu, Meihong and Larry Englemann

By the time you read this I will be back in China freezing and teaching management up near the Russian border. This will be my third time and the 10th place I've taught in China. The students will likely be young and too inexperienced to understand about Sears unethical auto repair practices and which companies were the WorldCom of their day. Some, however, may see shades of China Telecom or a joint venture misdoing in the readings. I can only hope none of them are undergoing the experiences of the Daughter of China:True Story of Love and Betrayal as told by Meihong Xu and Larry Englemann.

Xu is bright, industrious, loyal, but also a star-crossed lover. Her childhood fantasies were borne out when she joined the PLA, China's military, often receiving praise and awards for her performance. It sounds like an improved life for one whose great-great grandfather was killed by being dropped in boiling oil by bandits and whose grandmother had her baby daughter taken from her and dumped into the river by the grandfather.

Xu's first brush with love and law began when wrote a note to Lin Cheng, a fellow PLA student. Pursuing him and subsequently winning him by secret notes and clandestine meetings, she found herself being watched and warned against fraternizing with fellow male students.

Still, scholarly and military life seemed exciting and full of promise until Xu was asked to spy on Larry Englemann, the American professor teaching in Nanjing who took unusual actions such as arranging for all students to have texts for the classes. Englemann not only renews one's belief in the American man as a person of integrity but he also reverses the picture of the ugly American. Under pressure Xu lets Englemann be unfairly accused of wrongdoing for which he is asked to leave his work. The pressure does not let up with his departure as Xu finds herself imprisoned by the very comrades who had once been her colleagues. Only near superhuman effort and luck allow Xu and Englemann to escape the Party confines and begin a new life.

Of the numerous stories of Chinese life under Party rule I have read, none have been as captivating as this one. Xu shares life within the PLA, gives a strong personal history and also lets us into her heart as she tells of her first and second love. Although the story is presented mainly from Xu's view, we see a man unfairly accused, a man who is willing to go beyond reason for love and the incredible power of those who are the ultimate in control freaks. This is a story that must be read by anyone with any connection to China, to life under a non-democratic regime, or simply one who wants to experience the excitement of romance. Gothic romances pale in comparison with this compelling save- the-damsel story experienced only a few years ago and one which bridges east and west with love, integrity and betrayal. If only my students could read it and learn from it.

Daughter of China: A True Story of Love and Betrayal
Publishers: John Wiley and Son, 1999.