Nien Cheng is a widow who worked for Shell in China after her husband passed away. Although initially excited about the changes the Communists promised, that hope soon gave way to reality. Caught up in the Cultural Revolution, her life was completely destroyed. She was imprisoned, tortured, her daughter murdered, and yet eventually she was vindicated. Her only crime... well that't the thing. She never committed a crime. Her existence as a relatively wealthy Chinese was her crime. Refusing to "confess" and so reduce her punishment, Cheng stood bravely when almost none of her peers resisted the enormous pressure.
What I loved most about the book was the insight into human nature. Government officials and common people could so easily go along with the the party line, no matter that it shifted constantly in contradictory ways. All that mattered was self-preservation. While it's certainly discouraging to see the lengths people will go to delude themselves, it's also refreshing to see truth so graphically displayed. Humans are fallen and sinful and will bask in lies if lies will promise safety. We know that eventually truth wins out and the safety offered is a chimera, but in the meantime, humans will love the dark if the dark promises one more day. Unsurprisingly, Cheng is a Christian, so she had the hope of another world and a rock on which to stand. Although she only mentions her faith from time to time, I can't help but believe that was the difference between her and those who folded under the pressure.
Even today, I'm reminded that Christians have not been given a spirit of fear. We are to stand, safe in the knowledge that truth will prevail and this is not our home. Unfortunately, that time on earth may not always be pleasant and may even be painful. But the story does not end there.
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