Summary

Book 2, Chapter 3, “Opium-Smoking Bandit” – Lee remembers how Chairman Mao summoned those in the creative arts to a conference in which he said the creative arts could be pursued, but not for fame or individualism - only for the State. Lee remembers how some, like his father’s friend, the writer Ling Ling, opposed being forced to write for the State, but was sent to prison and had the right way of thinking beaten into her. Lee remembers how his father, a writer, was reeducated at a camp due to his friendship with Ling Ling. However, Lee recalls his father continuing to write things that drew the ire of the Communists and the Leftists, leading to his father being labeled an opium-smoking bandit with a diseased mind. Lee remembers how, before his father could be imprisoned, his father fell ill.

Book 2, Chapter 4, His Father...