The Secret Listener: An Ingenue in Mao's Court

by Yuan-Tsung Chen

A personal account of life in the orbit of Mao and Zhao En-Lai and one woman's effort to tell what it was like to be at the center of the storm.

The history of China in the twentieth century is comprised of a long series of the 1911 revolution, the civil war between the communists and the nationalists, the Japanese invasion, the revolution, the various catastrophic campaigns initiated by Chairman Mao between 1949 and 1976, its great opening to the world under Deng, and the Tiananmen Square Massacre.

Yuan-tsung Chen, who is now 90, lived through most of it, and at certain points in close proximity to the seat of communist power. Born in Shanghai in 1929, she came to know Zhou En-Lai-second only to Mao in importance--as a young girl while living in Chongqing, where Chiang Kai--Shek's government had relocated to, during the war against Japan. That connection to Zhou helped her save her husband's life in Cultural Revolution. After the communists took power, she obtained a job in one of the culture ministries. While there, she frequently engaged with the upper echelon of the party and was a first-hand witness to some of the purges that the regime regularly initiated. Eventually, the commissar she worked under was denounced in 1957, and she barely escaped being purged herself. Later, during Cultural Revolution, she and her husband were purged and sent to live in a rough, poor area. She and her husband finally moved to Hong Kong, with Zhou's special permission, in 1971.

A first-hand account of what life was like in the period before the revolution and in Mao's China, The Secret Listener gives a unique perspective on the era, and Chen's vantage point provides us with a new perspective on the Maoist regime-one of the most radical political experiments in modern history and a force that genuinely changed the world.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, China, Asia, Biography Memoir, Memoir

320 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2021

Reviews

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Accurate historical records of China during the late 1940's through 1980's and beyond are rare. Mao's rise to power - the communist take over in the late 1940's through early 1950's - led to purges, redactions, and rewritten historical records. To have a first person account of that time from someone who was neutral (well not really but mostly - wanted to "save her own skin") is vitally important. It should be noted and applauded that she wrote this book at age 90. Unfortunately, it is painfully poorly written, lacking vital information needed for understanding what was going on at any time in the narrative. People and places are mentioned, then never discussed again. She makes a lot of assumptions as to the reader's understanding of Chinese history, which is ironic given the point of the book. It also left me with more questions than answers in relation her family and friend outcomes, her time in the United States, and her decision to move back to Hong Kong.
Book club March 2024

[PSexton · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely thought provoking. An autobiography, so an intimate look into an individual's personal history being on the side of the targeted population during the enactment of Mao's edicts for reform. Fascinating to understand how such a proud country as China with so many intellectual accomplishments in culture, medicine, arts, literature could be subverted to its current state. Reading the book left me with a sadness, based upon the depiction of how inhuman certain humans can act, but also a respect for the author's mind and incredible Spirit as well as the uplifting moments of simple kindness. This book will stay with me for a while. Well-written.

[Austin Barselau · Rating 4 out of 5]

”All my life I have been waiting for China to be allowed to face its Maoist past bravely and unflinchingly, and especially to restore the humanity of its victims. But rather than allow the faces of the past to re-emerge, the Party authorities are further obliterating them, as they push ahead in an ever more Orwellian direction… To me, this is personal, not abstract. I went through the purges. I witnessed events from up close. It was far from pretty. I feel I am under an obligation to write about what I witnessed, saw, and understand as truth” -Yuan-tsung Chen

The Secret Listener is a memoir of one woman’s experiences amidst the revolutionary fervor of Maoist rule in mid-20th century China. Chen, who as a young girl moved from southern China to Beijing after the founding of the new China to pursue a career in writing, worked in the country’s Central Film Bureau, where she witnessed firsthand the cultural destruction of what she labeled the “Maoist juggernaut.” Chen’s aspiration to throw herself “into the revolutionary movement” and join the Beijing government gave her a front row seat into the societal chaos inflicted by Mao’s reformist campaigns. She witnessed the depravity of the different waves of repression, where seemingly nobody was spared. She herself became victimized by those powerful currents during the Great Leap Forward and later the Cultural Revolution, where she and her husband were ostracized as bourgeois bureaucrats and sent to the countryside to perform menial labor.

Among the few lucky ones who escaped, Chen left China with her family in 1971 and moved to the US to teach Chinese and pursue her writing career. Now over 90 years old, Chen has produced a memoir to not only reflect on her youthful foibles in joining Mao’s movement, which she later regretted, but also disseminate the truth about a time and country where truth was heavily repressed.

[Janet · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting inside detail of the Chinese revolution, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.

[Bethany Neumeyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fascinating inside look at China under Mao. Chen tells her story thoroughly and well. Nonfiction isn’t always my favorite, but this reads like a novel.

I won this book through a Goodreads giveaway.

[Lit Folio · Rating 5 out of 5]

In a time when I am seriously questioning the fate of America in the midst of a major political party playing 'footsie' with dismantling our very constitution--this is a fact--right now there is serious discussion to 'change' the constitution--where we have one state, in particular, playing with fascistic ideas like censorship, pulling books off school library shelves, changing curricula on the college level, leaves me with grave concerns. I fear Americans have been too smug and soft in thinking that we are indomitable. I fear the ignorance that abounds in our population at large and so I am reading books like Ms. Chen's, an excellent, superbly written personal account of the horrors that befell China in the last century. "It can't happen here", was the chant years ago until Sinclair Lewis wrote a novel with that exact title. It regained popularity after Trump won in 2016.

Well, right now, memoirs like Ms. Chen's should be required reading in classrooms around this country.

I loved her feisty manner, her smarts in all things, social and political, and especially the way she bristled yet maintained her independence with a difficult and demanding mother. It is compelling reading throughout and actually gets really juicy once Mao's 'Cultural Revolution' takes place. How Ms. Chen and her husband endured such insane and humiliating behavior is beyond me. But Chen maintains her smarts and resilience through every ordeal, and especially at the end of her time in mainland China before finally getting her family out of there. It took guts and persistent smarts and stamina. What a remarkable woman and what a gorgeous read. And it should be better known.

[Paul · Rating 5 out of 5]

In the midst of many of the tumultuous social upheavals and campaigns during Mao Zedong’s rule of China — especially the “Letting a Hundred Flowers Bloom and Letting a Hundred Schools of Thought Contend” policy, the Anti-Rightist Campaign, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution — Chen brings the chaos, purging, and social dislocation down to the human level of its impact on individual lives, including her own and those she closely associated with or observed.

Someday historians would argue over what happened during the disastrous campaign known as the Great Leap Forward. They would debate about the power struggles, ideological conflicts, and personal contentions of those in positions of influence. But my peasant friends would pass into anonymity, each of them just a number in the statistical effort to measure the tragedy. But to me the human cost had faces, those of the craggy, all too human individualists I had gotten to know in my time in the Red Flag Commune, whom I would never forget and never see again. (p. 184)

"You are not able to bring back the past to correct your mistakes," Xia told me. (p. 246)

And to conclude her account, Chen explains her motivation in writing the book:

All my life I have been waiting for China to be allowed to face its Maoist past bravely and unflinchingly, and especially to restore the humanity of its victims. But rather than allow the faces of the past to reemerge, the Party authorities are further obliterating them, as they push ahead in an ever more Orwellian direction. History is being whitewashed. Millions of dollars being spent on museums and documentary films that are packaging and prettifying the past, especially the part of the past that includes Mao's purges and their devasting effect.

To me, this is personal, not abstract. I went through the purges. I witnessed events from up close. I saw the transition from one social and political order to another. It was far from pretty. I feel I am under an obligation to write about what I witnessed, saw, and understand as truth. (pp. 270-271)

[Ryo · Rating 4 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book for free in a Goodreads giveaway.

This memoir was really fascinating for me, as a person who wasn't all that familiar with the details of what happened under Mao's regime in China. The book describes the horrors of living in that era well, with a lot of details about how terrifying it was to work in China during that time. The author describes the fear of purges and the general paranoia that resulted from Mao and his deputies punishing any kind of criticism. The end of the book felt rushed, though, as the author and her husband are once again banished to the countryside, but they then engineer their final escape to Hong Kong (this is mentioned on the book's inside jacket so it's not a spoiler), all within a chapter, and then their lives enjoying their freedom are summarized in a five-page epilogue. But it was overall an interesting look from an insider's perspective of a harrowing time in China's history.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

"The Secret Listener" is a bit of an awkward title for a fascinating book. Yuan-Tsung Chen has given us her memoir of growing up before the Communist takeover and then, finally, through life under Mao. Of particular note is how we see the on-the-ground inconsistencies of Maoist China, the ways in which regular people made do in order to survive, no matter the policy dictates around them. As well, the book shows its characters to be imperfect beings, neither saints nor sinners. This is one I'll be thinking about for some time.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

While I had a good idea of the book’s historical timeline the author gave me a more personal and closeup view of the events leading to the People’s Republic of China. With that closeness the reader can see the role character played as people took advantage of situations and others for personal gain while proclaiming to one of the masses. The author went through hard times but also had good fortune to have the aid and support of others at critical times and, most crucially, escaping to Hong Kong and then the United States, where this story could be told.

[alicia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Between 3.5-4 stars. It was an important and fascinating read following the author’s life as it progressed through this pivotal point in Chinese history. So much of what is happening today there and in places like Xinjiang or HK could have been predicted by some of these early signs. The only reason I docked it is because there were certain sections that got a bit too personal with the author, like especially in her teen and younger years. It will be fine for most but it kind of made it hard to distinguish whether it wanted to be more a historical narrative or a personal memoir.

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoy learning history through storytelling. I was highly engrossed in the author’s story because the pacing felt just right and the memoir is brimming with brave vulnerability and honesty that humanizes this period of time in China. It made me reflect on how I used to study history with an analytical, detached perspective and how important it is to instead look at history through people’s stories. Will look into more Yuan-Tsung Chen books.

[Kevin B. Jennings · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book. It puts a human face on the horrors of Maoist China and transports the reader to that time and place with vivid detail and a powerful narrative. It is a must read for anyone who has even the slightest interest in Chinese history.

[Foster · Rating 5 out of 5]

A real page-turner, Chen’s book is an important account of a dark period not just in China’s history, but in human history. It is staggering what people will do to each other when under the spell of a personality cult.

[Robin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mao's China (The Great Leap Forward, etc.) fascinates me and this author rights movingly about being in the midst of it. Much to learn here from her experiences (and between the lines). If you are interested in China, this is a must read!

[Steve Erickson · Rating 5 out of 5]

an important voice in recording this part of China’s history

Finding truth in history requires reading the first hand experiences of those who lived it. This book provides an important window into a tumultuous period in China’s past that has links to its society today.

[Rogue Fern · Rating 4 out of 5]

Memoir is the best way I've found to try to get a personal understanding of a culture that is completely foreign to me, and twentieth century China sure is a doozy. This book is a compelling presentation of one woman's experience, without being (or trying to be) a modern history.

[John Salois · Rating 5 out of 5]

Stunning. Worth every sentence. Every word.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

Disjointed at times, but an interesting account.

[Monica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fascinating personal account of life under Mao and the repeated threats of ideology driven purges, from a really interesting vantage point.

[Erin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting and well written. Enjoyable read.

[Janet Holt · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rating: 5
Read for WSGS 201

[Caleb Geiger · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not my typical read, but I really enjoyed it. I had a bit of trouble finishing it, not for any particular reason I can point to, but otherwise a surprisingly interesting read.

[Caitlin Fischetti · Rating 5 out of 5]

Parts of this book were slow but I really liked it. Learned a lot of stuff I didn’t know.