The author had a strong bond with American establishments, where he had all his education in China before 1949 revolution. This cost him an enduring ordeal as he had been ostracized into countryside to embark on primary farming labor and health services. Firmly believing his fate would change after Mao, he never ceased preparing for just that by learning foreign languages and new medical developments in countryside. Surely enough he had it after Mao's death when he resumed teaching job in a medical school, where he often served the English interpreter for American visiting professors. Surprised by his fluency in English and updated medical knowledge, they sponsored him to visit America as he had dreamed. But a miracle burst out. arrival. After experiencing a host of cultural shocks and retraining he settled in well and proved himself not only a competent psychiatrist, board certified, but also a successful bilingual literary writer. How come? Dr. Liu acknowledges his family, especially his wife, had given him unlimited strength to endure the hardest time, as depicted in his touching poem on an elegant scroll shown on the book cover.

Same as the author's Chinese novels published respectively in California, China, and Taiwan, this English version tells about a Dr. Wang's rocky emotional life. He has been romantically involved with three women at different phases of life. His first adolescent love was an American girl, Cox, who is born in China. In his twenties he meets Dr. Wu, his second love. Both end abruptly against their will in pain because of politics. After barely surviving the cultural Revolution, he comes to America in the late 1970s. Here he meets a young nurse, Guan, from Hong Kong, but twenty years younger. At ending of the story, Dr. Wang and these three women have a chance to meet at a party in Los Angeles. The unspoken passions between Wang and his former loves have persisted across the Pacific over the years. The congregation learns that the 50-year-old bachelor will marry one of the three women. The reunion is bitter and sweet. It reflects Dr. Wang's miseries in his life, an epitome of China's modern history, like 'Dr. Zhivago' for the Russians. What we see here is a special slant on China's modern history that would lead to the current rapid rise, a reaction to its darkest age showcased by Dr. author uses knowledge of the subconscious to create the characters and dreams to enrich the expression in the novel. It was marked by a Chinese national psychiatric journal as 'A living textbook in psychodynamics.

Same as the author's Chinese novels published respectively in California, China, and Taiwan, this English version tells about a Dr. Wang's rocky emotional life. He has been romantically involved with three women at different phases of life. His first adolescent love was an American girl, Cox, who is born in China. In his twenties he meets Dr. Wu, his second love. Both end abruptly against their will in pain because of politics. After barely surviving the cultural Revolution, he comes to America in the late 1970s. Here he meets a young nurse, Guan, from Hong Kong, but twenty years younger. At ending of the story, Dr. Wang and these three women have a chance to meet at a party in Los Angeles. The unspoken passions between Wang and his former loves have persisted across the Pacific over the years. The congregation learns that the 50-year-old bachelor will marry one of the three women. The reunion is bitter and sweet. It reflects Dr. Wang's miseries in his life, an epitome of China's modern history, like 'Dr. Zhivago' for the Russians. What we see here is a special slant on China's modern history that would lead to the current rapid rise, a reaction to its darkest age showcased by Dr. author uses knowledge of the subconscious to create the characters and dreams to enrich the expression in the novel. It was marked by a Chinese national psychiatric journal as 'A living textbook in psychodynamics.

The author had a strong bond with American establishments, where he had all his education in China before 1949 revolution. This cost him an enduring ordeal as he had been ostracized into countryside to embark on primary farming labor and health services. Firmly believing his fate would change after Mao, he never ceased preparing for just that by learning foreign languages and new medical developments in countryside. Surely enough he had it after Mao's death when he resumed teaching job in a medical school, where he often served the English interpreter for American visiting professors. sponsored him to visit America as he had dreamed. But a miracle burst out. Dr. Liu passed the medical licensure exam at one shot right following his arrival. After experiencing a host of cultural shocks and retraining he settled in well and proved himself not only a competent psychiatrist, board certified, but also a successful bilingual literary writer. How come? Dr. Liu acknowledges his family, especially his wife, had given him unlimited strength to endure the hardest time, as depicted in his touching poem on an elegant scroll shown on the book cover.