Carried by a donkey during the People's Liberation Army's triumphant march to Beijing in 1948-49, a newborn at the birth of New China. Spent her formative years in an idyllic showcase boarding kindergarten, sometimes sitting on the lap of frequent visitor Ho Chi Minh. Daughter of a cabinet minister and member of the communist elite, she saw up-close the power struggles as the turbulent years unfolded: purges, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, and reform attempts. Marched with Che Guevara through Tiananmen Square while in middle school. Faced a crowd of thousands calling her...