Walking A Tightrope: Memories of Wu Jieping, Personal Physician to China's Leaders

Walking A Tightrope takes us behind the Bamboo Curtain and rice paper walls to reveal the secret facts poisoning relationships between Mao Zedong and his Premier, Zhou Enlai, manoeuvred by Mao's wife, Jiang Qing. It shows how she tried to seduce and entrap Dr. Wu in order to bring Zhou Enlai down. It is the only first-hand account by a trusted witness, who was their personal physician. As one of China's most prestigious physicians, Dr. Wu developed from an intellectual into a national leader of New China and became a vice chairman of the National People's Congress Standing Committee. He established his global reputation in the field of urology, (acknowledged as gifted during his post-doctorate studies at the University of Chicago). This book goes behind the scenes during China's most destructive and turbulent period, the devastating Cultural Revolution, characterized by Dr Wu as cultural extinction. Dr. Wu entrusted the inside story to his friend, Olivia Cox-Fill, on condition that she not reveal it until he was dead. It illustrates the lavish lifestyle and demands of some of the hierarchy against a background of the appalling conditions experienced by the populace. The new edition, with illustrative maps and photographs, considers the repressions of the past decade and invites readers to consider what they can do now to revitalise the embers of hope and promise, kindled during the period of reform and opening-up of China. It concludes with the author's reflections on the experiences of Dr. Wu and considers parallels with life in China today. --- Event Details: https://my.princeton.edu/rsvp?id=1964086