The Dragon's Pearl

For a child of the 50s and the 60s, I find myself woefully ignorant of what was happening the world when I grew up. The Dragon's Pearl describes the childhood of a girl about my age - but on the other side of the world. China was and is frightening to many of us who have grown up in the US and in Europe. But it was a complete surprise to me that the US essentially held Thailand by the noose after the war - fearing the Chinese so much that they threatened to pull needed money and help out of Thailand if Thailand had any contact with China. This story is of a Thai child who was placed in China - as a connection of good will between political strategists in Thailand and China. It almost got her killed. The author weaves a skillful tale - more colorful at the beginning than at the end, but colorful nevertheless. She tells a story that never appeared in MY history books, and I'm happy that I've added this book to my library.

A senior Thai politician, Sang Phathanothai, is skeptical of Thailand's Cold War U.S. connections. With the approval of the Prime Minister he sends his young son and daughter to grow up in China as a gesture of good will. The daughter, Sirin, recounts her life with Liao Chenghzi, Zhou Enlai and others forty years later.Some absolutely fascinating glimpses of the Chinese elite (Zhou saying one thing in public while admitting to her that people are starving during the Great Leap Forward; Mao at a swimming pool with other leaders; Liao Chengzhi looking at the smashed remains of his house during the Cultural Revolution) as well as of Field Marshal Pibulsongkram, Pridi Phanomyong in exile from Thailand, and other Thai leaders. She also recounts an early proposal for Sino-American rapprochement from President Johnson, relayed to China for her father, and the painful consequences it entailed for her during the Cultural Revolution.