The Dragon's Pearl: Growing Up Among China's Elite - Tapa dura

The author was born into one of Thailand's most privileged and politically prominent families. She had the best of everything, and she wanted for nothing. Then, when she was 8, her life changed dramatically. She and her 12-year-old brother were sent to be brought up in Beijing under the direct auspices of Premier Zhou Enlai as his wards. That is the world in which Sirin and her brother spent the next ten years, and which she describes in this book. The author became close to her protector and "uncle" Zhou Enlai, and with "papa" Liao Chenghzi. She went swimming with Mao, was privy to major political and historical events and lived through Mao's economic Great Leap Forward. During the Cultural Revolution, her privileged world was torn assunder. Her brother was expelled from China and she was saved only by joining a unit of the People's Liberation Army deep in the countryside. Unlike many of her friends, she survived - and went on to a play a pivotal role in China's opening to the west and to Thailand.