About the Book
“It was in May 1974 when I was on Lowu Bridge that a tiny germ of an idea came to my mind. At that time, I didn’t know what it was exactly, although I had a vague feeling that I had a story to tell. I wrote notes and short accounts that read like a ledger. I was a novice, and I lacked the skills. Soon I shelved the project.
In 1996, I began to write in earnest. I was hesitant at first to tell my story, because I still had friends and relatives in China. Although Post-Mao China seemed to be better, the country was still under communist rule. But by then, I had two young daughters and was given a new and important purpose of writing my book. Born and raised in sunny California, my daughters had no idea of what it was like for their grandmother and father to live in totalitarian China. I wanted them to understand that freedom came with sacrifice.”
Roy Cheng Tsung
About the Author
Born in New York City in 1941, Roy Cheng Tsung went with his parents to Beijing in 1953. In 1976 he returned to the U.S. with his mother. He worked for Stanford University Medical Center for thirty years implementing information system projects. He was a translator and interpreter for Chinese and American businessmen, educators, scholars and foreign trade officials.