At the age of fifteen my grandmother became the concubine of a warlord general.

When a man gets power, even his chickens and dogs rise to heaven.

...go in the direction your head is pointed in.

I think because of their terrible past, particularly this century, the Chinese have come to accept cruelty more than many other people, which is something I feel very unhappy about

If children were brought up to become non-conformists it would only ruin their lives. So parents all over China who loved their children told them to do as Chairman Mao said. It was not possible to tell them anything else.

...boredom was as exhausting as backbreaking labor.

If you have love, even plain cold water is sweet.