Beyond Lowu Bridge
Poetry | Soft cover | 238 pages
The gripping memoir of a Chinese-American boy’s return with his parents to China and their experiences during two decades living under Mao.
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.
Roy Cheng Tsung
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.
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.
A fascinating glimpse of life in Beijing in the shadow of Mao and the fanatical Red guards during a tumultuous and dangerous period.
Jack Swenson, author of Zoo Story
The climax of Roy Cheng Tsung’s sensitive memoir made me eager to race ahead and complete his round trip between countries, cultures, and political upheavals that changed his world, and ours.
Douglas Murray, President Emeritus, Lingnan Foundation
This is a book for anyone interested in this period of modern Chinese history, for anyone who has ever tried to adapt to a different social environment and, indeed, for anyone interested in the human condition.
Genevieve Dean, University of Sussex
A story of humanity and decency in the face of dehumanizing policies and imperatives for self-preservation.
Thomas Fingar, Oksenberg-Rohlen Distinguished Fellow, Stanford University
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