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The Man on Mao's Right: From Harvard Yard to Tiananmen Square, My Life Inside China's Foreign Ministry
No other narrative from within the corridors of power has offered as frank and intimate an account of the making of the modern Chinese nation as Ji Chaozhu’s The Man on Mao's Right. Having served Chairman Mao Zedong and the Communist leadership for two decades, and having become a key figure in China's foreign policy, Ji now provides an honest, detailed account of the personalities and events that shaped today's People's Republic.
The youngest son of a prosperous government official, nine-year-old Ji and his family fled Japanese invaders in the late 1930s, escaping to America. Warmly received by his new country, Ji returned its embrace as he came of age in New York's East Village and then attended Harvard University. But in 1950, after years of enjoying a life of relative ease while his countrymen suffered through war and civil strife, Ji felt driven by patriotism to volunteer to serve China in its conflict with his adoptive country in the Korean War.
Ji's mastery of the English language and American culture launched his improbable career, eventually winning him the role of English interpreter for China's two top leaders: Premier Zhou Enlai and Party Chairman Mao Zedong. With a unique blend of Chinese insight and American candor, Ji paints insightful portraits of the architects of modern China: the urbane, practical, and avuncular Zhou, the conscience of the People's Republic; and the messianic, charismatic Mao, student of China's ancient past—his country's stern father figure.
The youngest son of a prosperous government official, nine-year-old Ji and his family fled Japanese invaders in the late 1930s, escaping to America. Warmly received by his new country, Ji returned its embrace as he came of age in New York's East Village and then attended Harvard University. But in 1950, after years of enjoying a life of relative ease while his countrymen suffered through war and civil strife, Ji felt driven by patriotism to volunteer to serve China in its conflict with his adoptive country in the Korean War.
Ji's mastery of the English language and American culture launched his improbable career, eventually winning him the role of English interpreter for China's two top leaders: Premier Zhou Enlai and Party Chairman Mao Zedong. With a unique blend of Chinese insight and American candor, Ji paints insightful portraits of the architects of modern China: the urbane, practical, and avuncular Zhou, the conscience of the People's Republic; and the messianic, charismatic Mao, student of China's ancient past—his country's stern father figure.
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First published January 1, 2008
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June 7, 2022
a beautifully written memoir of Ji Chaozhu's life near the pinnacle of Chinese leadership ... in addition to his views on the history and personalities, there are many interesting stories that may find their way into my current novel-in-process
January 4, 2016
a good easy reading, pass through years of 1930s to 2001, from where his family fled Japanese invaders to US, and warmly welcomed by the new country. He had a easier life with so many warm hearts American friends, attended Harvard but went back China full of patriotism and passion wanting to fight in the Korean war for China. He became English interpreter for Zhou Enlai and Mao in the end because of his perfect English and mastery of American culture. During 1950s to 1980s, he described a lot of insider experiences during Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, Nixon Summit, historical events happened on Tiananmen Square. He's caught in turbulence in the endless struggles Mao set up for the whole country, he once thought to himself "Chairmen Mao , are you mad?" , but he has a high respect for Zhou after working with him closely for many years. One disappoint is the June 4 1989 Tiananmen square event, he "dare not " or "could not" give any insight what really happened there and then, he was stationed as Ambassador in UK at that time and returned to Beijing just at the end of May. He's a person full of pride of Chinese culture , but growing up in western environment, he's open, easy to speak out his mind , just because of his family strong relationship with Communist party, he's not throw into jails or beaten to death like lots of his other colleagues during those terrible time, instead he was repeatedly sent to farms to be 'reeducated' by peasants. I really feel sad when reading the part about what people went through during Mao's crazy years. and wondering why nobody stood up to rebel. The whole country was upside down, heritage was destroyed, dignity and integrity was crushed to dirt while outside world was transformed by computer revolutions ( just read the Innovators by Walter Isaacson).
July 31, 2019
It is a bit difficult to pinpoint why I am giving this one five stars. I suppose at some level it must have to do with a "next-to-the-throne" person spending his youth in America and only then becoming a part of the mix in the world's most populous country as a government functionary whose English skills, learned in New York and at Harvard, were in the middle of 20th century world politics.
And "Little Ji" (his nickname) is not above having been disciplined harshly in the Mao years of cultural revolution and spending time in re-education camps planting rice. He recalls his earlier years working on a Vermont farm, and somehow they become marginally equable. For all that I am still, after finishing his book, not clear that his politics would have been much different without the exposure to the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party - he comes across as a remarkable individual.
He seems never to have entirely lost his sense of humor even as his Foreign Ministry bosses never quite trusted his wife due to Taiwanese associations. He does share a few instances of wild disappointment at things that transpired in Chinese politics when people that he admired were removed. And while he does not go into gory detail he does acknowledge that injustice ran rampant at times. This story is passing into history, but I think it has lessons already for understanding the peculiar relationship between the United States and China.
And "Little Ji" (his nickname) is not above having been disciplined harshly in the Mao years of cultural revolution and spending time in re-education camps planting rice. He recalls his earlier years working on a Vermont farm, and somehow they become marginally equable. For all that I am still, after finishing his book, not clear that his politics would have been much different without the exposure to the inner workings of the Chinese Communist Party - he comes across as a remarkable individual.
He seems never to have entirely lost his sense of humor even as his Foreign Ministry bosses never quite trusted his wife due to Taiwanese associations. He does share a few instances of wild disappointment at things that transpired in Chinese politics when people that he admired were removed. And while he does not go into gory detail he does acknowledge that injustice ran rampant at times. This story is passing into history, but I think it has lessons already for understanding the peculiar relationship between the United States and China.
May 31, 2017
If you are looking for the soul searching, self-criticism made famous, or infamous, by Moaist communism, Ji Chaozhu's: The Man on Mao's Right is not that book. This is the autobiography of a man who was an intimate witness to the political and diplomatic thoughts of China's Chairman Mao.
Ji Chaozhu was Chinese born and American educated. He would return to serve the then new communist People Republic of China. This would mean surviving its arcane and often self-defeating party politics. His ability to thread the political dangers and skill with American English and psychology would earn him a steady role as Chairman Mao's interpreter and ultimately positions of Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations.
It is said that everyone is a hero in his own story. For all his modesty, Chaozhu sees himself as a good man doing good work. He is not an apologist for China. He will not speak to, excuse, or admit to any of the excesses American of the Cold War care to recite.
Unlike any of the many Russian or Iron Curtain Country based autobiographies published since the fall of the Soviet Empire, The people of the PRC have no reason to engage in self-analysis based on having lost. The PRC still proudly flies the Red Flag. This is cause for westerners to be concerned about events from the North China Sea to the China Indian border, but these event do not color the contents of Chaozhu's book.
I recommend The Man on Mao's Right for its value as a story from the viewpoint of the man who lived it. I recommend it as a chance to read the history of the Cold War from the viewpoint of someone on the other side. I recommend it as a simply told story by a man who cannot be as uncomplicated as his story telling.
On reflection it is the apparent simplicity of Chaozhu that should draw your attention. One aspect of Russian Communist autobiography was the need to say things by what is not said, or by what is implied. Chinese Communist Chaozhu more than hints that every Communist Chinese party functionary functioned under the threat of being denounced by the anonymous, arbitrary or jealous. It is in what is not written or covered by party based formula that we may be able to glimpse the mind of Ji Chaozhu.
Ji Chaozhu lived a life "From Harvard yard to Tienanmen Square [and] Inside China's Foreign Ministry". This alone makes this an interesting read. Waiting for a similar history that will recount an American version of this kind of life may be a wait in vain
Ji Chaozhu was Chinese born and American educated. He would return to serve the then new communist People Republic of China. This would mean surviving its arcane and often self-defeating party politics. His ability to thread the political dangers and skill with American English and psychology would earn him a steady role as Chairman Mao's interpreter and ultimately positions of Ambassador to the United Kingdom and Under-Secretary General of the United Nations.
It is said that everyone is a hero in his own story. For all his modesty, Chaozhu sees himself as a good man doing good work. He is not an apologist for China. He will not speak to, excuse, or admit to any of the excesses American of the Cold War care to recite.
Unlike any of the many Russian or Iron Curtain Country based autobiographies published since the fall of the Soviet Empire, The people of the PRC have no reason to engage in self-analysis based on having lost. The PRC still proudly flies the Red Flag. This is cause for westerners to be concerned about events from the North China Sea to the China Indian border, but these event do not color the contents of Chaozhu's book.
I recommend The Man on Mao's Right for its value as a story from the viewpoint of the man who lived it. I recommend it as a chance to read the history of the Cold War from the viewpoint of someone on the other side. I recommend it as a simply told story by a man who cannot be as uncomplicated as his story telling.
On reflection it is the apparent simplicity of Chaozhu that should draw your attention. One aspect of Russian Communist autobiography was the need to say things by what is not said, or by what is implied. Chinese Communist Chaozhu more than hints that every Communist Chinese party functionary functioned under the threat of being denounced by the anonymous, arbitrary or jealous. It is in what is not written or covered by party based formula that we may be able to glimpse the mind of Ji Chaozhu.
Ji Chaozhu lived a life "From Harvard yard to Tienanmen Square [and] Inside China's Foreign Ministry". This alone makes this an interesting read. Waiting for a similar history that will recount an American version of this kind of life may be a wait in vain
May 5, 2013
The book holds your attention for its smooth and polished read. Ghost writer Foster Winans is credited in the Preface. The language is very measured, void of the kind of emotions expected from someone who gave up a good life in the west to face tremendous deprivation, stress and betrayal in post-revolutionary China.
The author, who had a US childhood and Harvard education, experienced firsthand, the Japanese bombardment, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, re-education in the countryside, Nixon's visit to China and a host of other events of the century. One wonders how anyone survived any one of these, since each pushes the limits of human health and stress tolerance.
To cover the full life, each event had to be shorn of details. Because of this, this book can't really be taken alone.
Other books flesh out the times.The Private Life of Chairman Mao is the most complete that I have read. It gives an inside look at how the Great Leap Forward was initiated and later how the Gang of Four controlled most internal and external operations creating a life threatening environment based on pettiness. This background helps to consider how the gift of the glass snail from Corning Glass and small acts such as talking to high school aquantances subjected Ji to more worry than he lets on.
Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary gives the details of Ji's mentor. This book provides a lot about the "office" politics that Ji only mentions. It gives a more detailed treatment of Zhou's medical (non) treatment and how the "young ladies" monopolized the chairman.
Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World gives perspective on the Nixon visit. China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia gives an American perspective on some of these big events.
The author, who had a US childhood and Harvard education, experienced firsthand, the Japanese bombardment, the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution, re-education in the countryside, Nixon's visit to China and a host of other events of the century. One wonders how anyone survived any one of these, since each pushes the limits of human health and stress tolerance.
To cover the full life, each event had to be shorn of details. Because of this, this book can't really be taken alone.
Other books flesh out the times.The Private Life of Chairman Mao is the most complete that I have read. It gives an inside look at how the Great Leap Forward was initiated and later how the Gang of Four controlled most internal and external operations creating a life threatening environment based on pettiness. This background helps to consider how the gift of the glass snail from Corning Glass and small acts such as talking to high school aquantances subjected Ji to more worry than he lets on.
Zhou Enlai: The Last Perfect Revolutionary gives the details of Ji's mentor. This book provides a lot about the "office" politics that Ji only mentions. It gives a more detailed treatment of Zhou's medical (non) treatment and how the "young ladies" monopolized the chairman.
Nixon and Mao: The Week That Changed the World gives perspective on the Nixon visit. China Hands: Nine Decades of Adventure, Espionage, and Diplomacy in Asia gives an American perspective on some of these big events.
October 23, 2008
Mr. Ji has an obvious command of the English language. He also apparently has a good command of rhetoric because rhetorical arguments are what make up the bulk of this book.
Ji is a flag-waving pro-Communist despite enduring political embarrassments during the Cultural Revolution. His devotion stays away from fanatical but it is zealous nonetheless. Ji doesn't miss a chance to make disparaging comments about Taiwan for instance. Talk about the Tiananmen massacre focuses mostly on the "scandalous" and "disgraceful" comments of a single student protest leader.
Ultimately this book doesn't give much insight into the mindset of modern China that a National Geographic mini-series couldn't give you. And as a side note, Ji didn't even like Mao that much, but he was a huge fan boy for Zhou Enlai. That makes the choice of title somewhat confusing.
Ji is a flag-waving pro-Communist despite enduring political embarrassments during the Cultural Revolution. His devotion stays away from fanatical but it is zealous nonetheless. Ji doesn't miss a chance to make disparaging comments about Taiwan for instance. Talk about the Tiananmen massacre focuses mostly on the "scandalous" and "disgraceful" comments of a single student protest leader.
Ultimately this book doesn't give much insight into the mindset of modern China that a National Geographic mini-series couldn't give you. And as a side note, Ji didn't even like Mao that much, but he was a huge fan boy for Zhou Enlai. That makes the choice of title somewhat confusing.
July 22, 2017
"The Man on Mao's Right" is the memoir of Ji Chaozhu, a Chinese diplomat who worked as an interpreter for several decades before being promoted to more substantive positions, ending his career as China's ambassador to Great Britain and a stint as undersecretary general of the UN. His personal story in intertwined with many important events in modern Chinese history, from the Japanese invasion and a peripheral role in the communist's rise to power (his older brother was a confidant of Zhu Enlai and more or less a Chinese communist agent in the United States), to the Korean war, the early decades of Chinese communism, the Great Leap Forward, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, the fall of the Gang of Four and the rise of post-Maoist China under Deng Xiaoping.
Ji went to school in Manhattan and was a scholarship student at Harvard before most of the family moved back to China to help Chairman Mao build the new China. He is a Chinese patriot and a thoroughgoing Confucian Mandarin at heart, who managed to retain these ideals through decades of purges and ideological twists and turns in China, which also means he is not inclined to kick up controversy and cross the party's red lines, even in his old age. The memoir seems honest and frank enough when it comes to his personal life, but the politics and political commentary are filtered through a lifetime of extreme care and awareness of what words can mean and what limits are to be kept in mind. He may have exactly these beliefs and attitudes, or he may think these are the beliefs and attitudes he considers safe to share. Opinions that the CCP now considers safe are freely shared, those that could upset the CCP apparently never entered Ji's head. That's just how it is in this book.
But that is not to say the book has no revelations. The everyday details ARE the revelation here. The bombed out moonscape of North Korea where the Chinese and North Koreans lived in tunnels as they battled it out with the most powerful army on earth; the truce village at Panmunjom and its peculiar diplomatic standoffs; the living conditions in the Chinese foreign ministry in the 1950s (his first "house" with his wife is a lean-to one room shelter with a tin roof and cardboard walls); the living conditions of the peasants he is sent to for "re-education" (they store urns of urine, and keep them inside the room to prevent it being stolen by other farmers; it is valuable as fertilizer); the purges of the cultural revolution and the way people become "non-people" when they were out of favor (friends will not meet them, nobody will mention their name, as if they never existed); his struggles with Nancy Tang (the other famous interpreter of the day, closer to the gang of four, so able to push him around during the cultural revolution), how hungry Chinese diplomats were during the famine days of the Great Leap Forward, what it meant to eat good food abroad, and how they would save their meager travel allowance to buy dried milk for starving relatives back home), and so on and so forth. It is a fascinating life, and well worth reading about.
The section about the cultural revolution in particular is a must-read. Even though Ji is very intensely nationalistic, pro-CCP and generally an extremely careful mandarin who has surely written this book with as much care about being on the right side of history as he was in his long service, he still paints a truly horrendous picture which is even more horrifying because of his calm detachment. He describes the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution as China's "Lord of the Flies" moment, when the Red Guards were unleashed and society went mad. He estimates that in Beijing (in July and August 1966), about one person was beaten to death per block (in a city which has thousands of city blocks). How many countless thousands were beaten to death, blown up with dynamite, forced to eat shit or whatever other torture the young students could come up with, all across China, is incalculable. Children reported their parents, siblings stopped talking to suspect siblings. Sons and fathers disappeared and were not mentioned in case someone would slander you by association. People divorced their wives and mothers hanged themselves and all this while the cadres being set upon were almost all fervent supporters of the CCP and the revolution.
It is noteworthy that Ji Chaozhu is much more shocked by the cultural revolution than he was by the Great Leap Forward. He himself estimates that some 30 million probably died in that (man-made) famine but he mentions it as a statistic, with no great feeling attached to it. The way he, his family and others of his background and class (educated mandarins) were treated in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution strikes him as a much worse crime than the way 30 million peasants were starved to death. This sort of makes sense, but is worth noting.
Ji (like many Chinese, even within the CCP) was supposedly a convinced communist, but the book makes almost no mention of any Marxist theory or analytical framework. Nor is there any explanation for why he, avowedly Marxist in 1950, saw nothing worth noting in China's historic transition to capitalism. The impression he conveys is that while he diligently read the Marxist literature that was ubiquitous in his time, he was always far more "Chinese nationalist" than Communist. This may be his lifelong Mandarin caution speaking, or he may really be uninterested in Marxist economics or even in Marxism per se.
Anyway, a fascinating book. Well worth reading.
PS: A few years after the publication of his book, his wife told an interviewer: “Let’s just say we’re survivors..That’s what he’s trying to say.”
Ji went to school in Manhattan and was a scholarship student at Harvard before most of the family moved back to China to help Chairman Mao build the new China. He is a Chinese patriot and a thoroughgoing Confucian Mandarin at heart, who managed to retain these ideals through decades of purges and ideological twists and turns in China, which also means he is not inclined to kick up controversy and cross the party's red lines, even in his old age. The memoir seems honest and frank enough when it comes to his personal life, but the politics and political commentary are filtered through a lifetime of extreme care and awareness of what words can mean and what limits are to be kept in mind. He may have exactly these beliefs and attitudes, or he may think these are the beliefs and attitudes he considers safe to share. Opinions that the CCP now considers safe are freely shared, those that could upset the CCP apparently never entered Ji's head. That's just how it is in this book.
But that is not to say the book has no revelations. The everyday details ARE the revelation here. The bombed out moonscape of North Korea where the Chinese and North Koreans lived in tunnels as they battled it out with the most powerful army on earth; the truce village at Panmunjom and its peculiar diplomatic standoffs; the living conditions in the Chinese foreign ministry in the 1950s (his first "house" with his wife is a lean-to one room shelter with a tin roof and cardboard walls); the living conditions of the peasants he is sent to for "re-education" (they store urns of urine, and keep them inside the room to prevent it being stolen by other farmers; it is valuable as fertilizer); the purges of the cultural revolution and the way people become "non-people" when they were out of favor (friends will not meet them, nobody will mention their name, as if they never existed); his struggles with Nancy Tang (the other famous interpreter of the day, closer to the gang of four, so able to push him around during the cultural revolution), how hungry Chinese diplomats were during the famine days of the Great Leap Forward, what it meant to eat good food abroad, and how they would save their meager travel allowance to buy dried milk for starving relatives back home), and so on and so forth. It is a fascinating life, and well worth reading about.
The section about the cultural revolution in particular is a must-read. Even though Ji is very intensely nationalistic, pro-CCP and generally an extremely careful mandarin who has surely written this book with as much care about being on the right side of history as he was in his long service, he still paints a truly horrendous picture which is even more horrifying because of his calm detachment. He describes the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution as China's "Lord of the Flies" moment, when the Red Guards were unleashed and society went mad. He estimates that in Beijing (in July and August 1966), about one person was beaten to death per block (in a city which has thousands of city blocks). How many countless thousands were beaten to death, blown up with dynamite, forced to eat shit or whatever other torture the young students could come up with, all across China, is incalculable. Children reported their parents, siblings stopped talking to suspect siblings. Sons and fathers disappeared and were not mentioned in case someone would slander you by association. People divorced their wives and mothers hanged themselves and all this while the cadres being set upon were almost all fervent supporters of the CCP and the revolution.
It is noteworthy that Ji Chaozhu is much more shocked by the cultural revolution than he was by the Great Leap Forward. He himself estimates that some 30 million probably died in that (man-made) famine but he mentions it as a statistic, with no great feeling attached to it. The way he, his family and others of his background and class (educated mandarins) were treated in the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution strikes him as a much worse crime than the way 30 million peasants were starved to death. This sort of makes sense, but is worth noting.
Ji (like many Chinese, even within the CCP) was supposedly a convinced communist, but the book makes almost no mention of any Marxist theory or analytical framework. Nor is there any explanation for why he, avowedly Marxist in 1950, saw nothing worth noting in China's historic transition to capitalism. The impression he conveys is that while he diligently read the Marxist literature that was ubiquitous in his time, he was always far more "Chinese nationalist" than Communist. This may be his lifelong Mandarin caution speaking, or he may really be uninterested in Marxist economics or even in Marxism per se.
Anyway, a fascinating book. Well worth reading.
PS: A few years after the publication of his book, his wife told an interviewer: “Let’s just say we’re survivors..That’s what he’s trying to say.”
July 25, 2012
Excellent, casual and inside history of the 20th century People's Republic told by a man who was born in 1930, fled the Japanese to America with his family, attended Harvard and ultimately became the primary interpreter for Zhou Enlai, a secondary interpreter for Mao, and a major figure in Sino-American diplomacy of the 1980s. Fascinating, and easily readable.
December 30, 2020
I enjoyed reading the book and did find some interesting storylines in Ji's book, things like what really happened during the Korean War armistice negotiations, the frictions between Mr. Ji and his fellow two female interpreters who received favoritism from Mao, the power struggle inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the cultural revolution, and a few other chapters of Ji's long career which spanned over 44 years. Those background stories during the cold war may eventually become a stepping stone for anyone interested in Chinese history to dive a little deeper in the cold war history. As a matter of fact, I started reading a little more about the cold war and learned a lot from reading other books and from the internet. My conclusion about Ji's book is that a lot of the views expressed by Ji are one-sided and that of typical China's official views.
I don't fault Mr. Ji for what presented to us. I think he is earnest and true to himself in this book. As a side note, I find that Ji's family members are interesting. Ji's elder brother, Chaoding, who completed his college education and earned a PHD in economics both in the US. He was a undercover Communist and served in the Nationalist Guomingtang's cabinet as an prominent economist and later in mainland China under Mao's regime. Himself was a mysterious and fascinating figure in Chinese history. His younger brother, who decided to stay in the US after 1949 when People's Republic of China was established, became a Hollywood actor.
Let me give you an example about what I looked into further and how the history unfolded with different views and perspectives.
A typical scene Ji describes about the Korean War armistice negotiation (chapter 12) is like this: North Korean negotiator general Nam Il, delivers a statement and then followed by the Chinese general Hsieh, a deputy of Marshall Peng, head of the People's Volunteer Army, supporting Nam's remarks. After that, general Harrison looked at his watch, scanned the faces of his delegation, threw up his hands and walked out.
But from UNC's point of view, one can find contrasting words describe the general tones of the negotiations (See: A Man under Orders: lieutenant General William K. Harrison, Jr.): "One of the common features of Nam Il's speeches was the claim that "all peace-loving peoples of the world recognized who were the aggressor in Korea - the United Nations! On occasion, he or one of his colleagues might become personally abusive towards Admiral Joy or some other UNC delegate". Repetitively you find paragraphs saying that the North Koreans and Chinese's real purpose was to use these meetings to broadcast the Communist slant and propaganda.
In Ji's book he also describes one counter-tactics on Harrison's walkout. "One night, someone suggested that if Harrison does walk out, as soon as he leaves they should all laugh as hard and loud as they can so that staff outside will hear and assume Harrison has said something very stupid and lost face".
Here is how this "incident" unfolded that I find in the same book about Harrison mentioned above:
"The results of that first walkout," notes Harrison, "were so good that I was allowed to recess for a week or more at a time." Negotiations resume on June 11, as scheduled, and Nam Il continued the same old line. So on June 17, Harrison again suspended UNC participation for three days.
"When I stood up to leave that second time," say Harrison, "the entire Communist side of the table reacted at once, as though someone had pushed a button. They all broke out in laughter at us. Obviously, they'd been rehearsing how to counteract our insult.
"But on June 27, Harrison once more walked out until July 1. This time there was no laughter and no attempt by Nam Il to disguise his rage. ... Each time the UNC broke off talks, the burden of coming forward with a new proposal to keep the talks going fell more heavily on the Communists. Yet they stubbornly rejected any program of truly neutral supervision during a cease-fire; they protested any plan to allow prisoners a choice in repatriation. Even when Harrison used an historical precedent-the Soviet Union's insistence, in 1945, that Axis POWs had the right to political asylum - the Communists would not budge, refusing to allow prison camp inspection by a commission of the International Red Cross and refusing to grant the distribution of gifts and comfort packages among prisoners."
Here is another example concerning the India-China boarder conflict: Ji states (p.180) "The letter was sent with the offensive last sentence (added by Mao) and that was the end of the negotiations. India attacked China and we fought a a short border clash". This is simple not true. (see: When India And Communist China Became Enemies | Mao's Cold War | Timeline on YouTube)
The point I want to drive home is that Ji's book is good from an interpreter's point of view but not so much from a diploma's decision-making and inner working of Chinese foreign policy's point of view and also at times very biased narrative of the cold war, particularly related to China.
I don't fault Mr. Ji for what presented to us. I think he is earnest and true to himself in this book. As a side note, I find that Ji's family members are interesting. Ji's elder brother, Chaoding, who completed his college education and earned a PHD in economics both in the US. He was a undercover Communist and served in the Nationalist Guomingtang's cabinet as an prominent economist and later in mainland China under Mao's regime. Himself was a mysterious and fascinating figure in Chinese history. His younger brother, who decided to stay in the US after 1949 when People's Republic of China was established, became a Hollywood actor.
Let me give you an example about what I looked into further and how the history unfolded with different views and perspectives.
A typical scene Ji describes about the Korean War armistice negotiation (chapter 12) is like this: North Korean negotiator general Nam Il, delivers a statement and then followed by the Chinese general Hsieh, a deputy of Marshall Peng, head of the People's Volunteer Army, supporting Nam's remarks. After that, general Harrison looked at his watch, scanned the faces of his delegation, threw up his hands and walked out.
But from UNC's point of view, one can find contrasting words describe the general tones of the negotiations (See: A Man under Orders: lieutenant General William K. Harrison, Jr.): "One of the common features of Nam Il's speeches was the claim that "all peace-loving peoples of the world recognized who were the aggressor in Korea - the United Nations! On occasion, he or one of his colleagues might become personally abusive towards Admiral Joy or some other UNC delegate". Repetitively you find paragraphs saying that the North Koreans and Chinese's real purpose was to use these meetings to broadcast the Communist slant and propaganda.
In Ji's book he also describes one counter-tactics on Harrison's walkout. "One night, someone suggested that if Harrison does walk out, as soon as he leaves they should all laugh as hard and loud as they can so that staff outside will hear and assume Harrison has said something very stupid and lost face".
Here is how this "incident" unfolded that I find in the same book about Harrison mentioned above:
"The results of that first walkout," notes Harrison, "were so good that I was allowed to recess for a week or more at a time." Negotiations resume on June 11, as scheduled, and Nam Il continued the same old line. So on June 17, Harrison again suspended UNC participation for three days.
"When I stood up to leave that second time," say Harrison, "the entire Communist side of the table reacted at once, as though someone had pushed a button. They all broke out in laughter at us. Obviously, they'd been rehearsing how to counteract our insult.
"But on June 27, Harrison once more walked out until July 1. This time there was no laughter and no attempt by Nam Il to disguise his rage. ... Each time the UNC broke off talks, the burden of coming forward with a new proposal to keep the talks going fell more heavily on the Communists. Yet they stubbornly rejected any program of truly neutral supervision during a cease-fire; they protested any plan to allow prisoners a choice in repatriation. Even when Harrison used an historical precedent-the Soviet Union's insistence, in 1945, that Axis POWs had the right to political asylum - the Communists would not budge, refusing to allow prison camp inspection by a commission of the International Red Cross and refusing to grant the distribution of gifts and comfort packages among prisoners."
Here is another example concerning the India-China boarder conflict: Ji states (p.180) "The letter was sent with the offensive last sentence (added by Mao) and that was the end of the negotiations. India attacked China and we fought a a short border clash". This is simple not true. (see: When India And Communist China Became Enemies | Mao's Cold War | Timeline on YouTube)
The point I want to drive home is that Ji's book is good from an interpreter's point of view but not so much from a diploma's decision-making and inner working of Chinese foreign policy's point of view and also at times very biased narrative of the cold war, particularly related to China.
February 3, 2026
Probably one of the very few books I’ve read by a modern Chinese author. It sat on my shelf for over a year but finally gave it a read… should have read it much sooner! Very well written and kept my attention throughout as the book started in the 1930s and ran through the rest of the century as the author described his life working for the Chinese government over that timeframe. What I really enjoyed was learning about his (and the Chinese) perspective on so many world events; that’s what made the book so valuable to me – hearing another point of view that is very different from the western way of thinking. Key excerpts below.
- Truman had already shown his treachery by breaking the promise not to interfere with China's planned invasion of Taiwan by sending the 7th Fleet into the street. Now American forces - fighting in undeclared, United Nations “police action” - drove deep into North Korea, right to the yalu, the border with China. P66. PJK: While Americans see this as defending an ally, the Chinese saw Truman’s move as something else.
- Now headed right, I decided: ”political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” P66. PJK: Trump certainly believes this.
- I explained that I wanted to join the Chinese People's Volunteers, the name given to the soldiers who are getting ready to defend Korea and our border against MacArthur's offensive. To avoid a direct confrontation, troops in regular Chinese uniforms would not cross the Yalu river. P68. Sounds very similar to how the US fought the Spanish American War, and how the “volunteers” were proposed for WWI but were declined as an option.
- …Gore proposed to president Truman that the United States gather up its radioactive waste from processing plutonium and dump it across the Korean Peninsula to create an “atomic death belt” - a Great Wall of wasteland…. P82. PJK: Wow. Never heard of this recommendation previously.
- All around us, Chinese soldiers were removing their People's Liberation Army patches or exchanging their uniforms for the plain yellowish khaki of the volunteers. There were many true volunteers from China in the CPV, but the bulk of the fighting men were either Koreans who had helped us fight the Japanese or regular Chinese People's Liberation Army troops posing as volunteers. In this way China hoped to avoid a direct confrontation with the United States. P94. PJK: Russia’s little green men invasion of the Crimea sounds very similar to this.
- Truce talks have been going on for almost a year by the time we arrived at with the Americans called “the Kansas line” - the undulating, 115 mile long battlefront bisecting the Korean Peninsula from the Yellow Sea on the West to the Sea of Japan on the east. Along that line, the opposing forces faced each other in a grinding stalemate. Neither side could seriously budge the other, and for a while it was almost like the trench warfare of World War One. P100.
- I had learned that when terms and language of international agreements were accepted by both sides after months of negotiation there was an extreme sense of urgency to get them signed - especially where life and property were at stake, the Korean Armistice brought an end to mass deaths. The Geneva accords of 1954 defuse tensions that could have led to more bloodshed. P132. PJK: great insight into treaty negotiations.
- The autumn of 1954 found our foreign ministry humming. Chiang Kai-shek’s ragtag Navy surplus US World War 2 vessels had been intercepting shipping into and out of our ports. P133. PJK: did not know this had occurred.
- “I really prefer to eat exactly what you eat!”... We had steamed cornbread and Pickles. P189. PJK: the author mentions eating pickles a lot, I assume this was due to extreme poverty in China and cucumbers are rather prolific growers and fermentation allows for the food to be stored for a long time.
- Truman had already shown his treachery by breaking the promise not to interfere with China's planned invasion of Taiwan by sending the 7th Fleet into the street. Now American forces - fighting in undeclared, United Nations “police action” - drove deep into North Korea, right to the yalu, the border with China. P66. PJK: While Americans see this as defending an ally, the Chinese saw Truman’s move as something else.
- Now headed right, I decided: ”political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.” P66. PJK: Trump certainly believes this.
- I explained that I wanted to join the Chinese People's Volunteers, the name given to the soldiers who are getting ready to defend Korea and our border against MacArthur's offensive. To avoid a direct confrontation, troops in regular Chinese uniforms would not cross the Yalu river. P68. Sounds very similar to how the US fought the Spanish American War, and how the “volunteers” were proposed for WWI but were declined as an option.
- …Gore proposed to president Truman that the United States gather up its radioactive waste from processing plutonium and dump it across the Korean Peninsula to create an “atomic death belt” - a Great Wall of wasteland…. P82. PJK: Wow. Never heard of this recommendation previously.
- All around us, Chinese soldiers were removing their People's Liberation Army patches or exchanging their uniforms for the plain yellowish khaki of the volunteers. There were many true volunteers from China in the CPV, but the bulk of the fighting men were either Koreans who had helped us fight the Japanese or regular Chinese People's Liberation Army troops posing as volunteers. In this way China hoped to avoid a direct confrontation with the United States. P94. PJK: Russia’s little green men invasion of the Crimea sounds very similar to this.
- Truce talks have been going on for almost a year by the time we arrived at with the Americans called “the Kansas line” - the undulating, 115 mile long battlefront bisecting the Korean Peninsula from the Yellow Sea on the West to the Sea of Japan on the east. Along that line, the opposing forces faced each other in a grinding stalemate. Neither side could seriously budge the other, and for a while it was almost like the trench warfare of World War One. P100.
- I had learned that when terms and language of international agreements were accepted by both sides after months of negotiation there was an extreme sense of urgency to get them signed - especially where life and property were at stake, the Korean Armistice brought an end to mass deaths. The Geneva accords of 1954 defuse tensions that could have led to more bloodshed. P132. PJK: great insight into treaty negotiations.
- The autumn of 1954 found our foreign ministry humming. Chiang Kai-shek’s ragtag Navy surplus US World War 2 vessels had been intercepting shipping into and out of our ports. P133. PJK: did not know this had occurred.
- “I really prefer to eat exactly what you eat!”... We had steamed cornbread and Pickles. P189. PJK: the author mentions eating pickles a lot, I assume this was due to extreme poverty in China and cucumbers are rather prolific growers and fermentation allows for the food to be stored for a long time.
August 15, 2018
This is probably one of the most interesting memoirs I've read. Little Ji, the man on Mao's right in a famous photo at Tiananmen square, grew up in a wealthy and respected family in China. During a dangerous time of the Japanese invasion, little Ji and his family flees to the US where he attends Horace Mann School and later Harvard University as a freshman. Just as China and the US were beginning to forge a friendly relationship and Ji was beginning to see a successful future as a chemist ahead of him, he decides to return to China to fight in the Korean War. (He doesn't end up doing that though.)
Ji's early life, his life in America, and finally his service in the foreign ministry have all been equally interesting. This memoir has given me fresh and important perspective on the history of China from the 1930s to what it is now. The insider information about the more practical Zhou Enlai and his quiet opposition against the visionary Mao while simultaneously putting up a face of loyalty was something I hadn't thought about before. Something I couldn't accept for a long time was the fact that Ji was so loyal to the communist party, that he was actually keen on learning how to be humble and denouncing capitalism, the bourgeois, and individualism. The author does not really talk about Ji's internal struggles with independently judging these ideas which undoubtedly make up the other half of his identity. As a student who has always had an American education while living in China myself, I can't imagine how it feels like to be confronted with such a deeply personal yet deeply political cultural clash yet vow to patriotically take one side. How can he be so confident about the communist party even after the lives that Mao (or his power hungry wife) has destroyed through the failures of the Great Leap Forward and the cultural revolution? How about the horrendous brutal public violence?
Ji's early life, his life in America, and finally his service in the foreign ministry have all been equally interesting. This memoir has given me fresh and important perspective on the history of China from the 1930s to what it is now. The insider information about the more practical Zhou Enlai and his quiet opposition against the visionary Mao while simultaneously putting up a face of loyalty was something I hadn't thought about before. Something I couldn't accept for a long time was the fact that Ji was so loyal to the communist party, that he was actually keen on learning how to be humble and denouncing capitalism, the bourgeois, and individualism. The author does not really talk about Ji's internal struggles with independently judging these ideas which undoubtedly make up the other half of his identity. As a student who has always had an American education while living in China myself, I can't imagine how it feels like to be confronted with such a deeply personal yet deeply political cultural clash yet vow to patriotically take one side. How can he be so confident about the communist party even after the lives that Mao (or his power hungry wife) has destroyed through the failures of the Great Leap Forward and the cultural revolution? How about the horrendous brutal public violence?
February 15, 2025
For anyone with a passing interest in recent Chinese history, this is a great book. "Little Ji" creates a brilliant firsthand account of some of the most impactful moments in modern Chinese history. This starts with the historical context and birth of the People's Republic, the Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution, and continues well beyond. This is someone who went from being a fly on the wall of these diplomatic halls to an indispensable voice and major driver in foreign policy between China and the west.
Ji brings a lot a humorous honesty to the often grueling, surprising, and sometimes downright absurd realities of diplomacy for a growing nation. His anecdotes from these key negotiations and the idiosyncrasies of some of the biggest names in Chinese and global politics are where this book shines. The story follows diplomatic visits to nations all over Asia, Europe, and the United States, through the tumultuous points of the 20th century, sharing the author's personal and firsthand accounts through each, as well as his unique upbringing in Manhattan. These are the gems you only get from a memoir rather than a textbook, but rarely from someone who was this cosmopolitan and well-connected, and even rarer directly.
Despite the title a large part of the book is about Ji's mentor relationship to Zhou Enlai, China's first Premier. Also a key figure, he was the driver of the PRC's debut on the global stage and therefore much of the story of the book. Last year a biography about him, Zhou Enlai: A Life came out that I'm definitely looking forward to after this.
You can definitely feel the hand of the ghostwriter, but it is usually for the better - and he's credited. Overall, the book is great, and has a lot to offer for anyone interested in a personal account of this impactful period. Highly recommended.
Ji brings a lot a humorous honesty to the often grueling, surprising, and sometimes downright absurd realities of diplomacy for a growing nation. His anecdotes from these key negotiations and the idiosyncrasies of some of the biggest names in Chinese and global politics are where this book shines. The story follows diplomatic visits to nations all over Asia, Europe, and the United States, through the tumultuous points of the 20th century, sharing the author's personal and firsthand accounts through each, as well as his unique upbringing in Manhattan. These are the gems you only get from a memoir rather than a textbook, but rarely from someone who was this cosmopolitan and well-connected, and even rarer directly.
Despite the title a large part of the book is about Ji's mentor relationship to Zhou Enlai, China's first Premier. Also a key figure, he was the driver of the PRC's debut on the global stage and therefore much of the story of the book. Last year a biography about him, Zhou Enlai: A Life came out that I'm definitely looking forward to after this.
You can definitely feel the hand of the ghostwriter, but it is usually for the better - and he's credited. Overall, the book is great, and has a lot to offer for anyone interested in a personal account of this impactful period. Highly recommended.
November 4, 2022
When I first moved to Central China to teach at a university, I was specifically told to avoid trouble by avoiding the 3 Ts: Tiananmen, Tibet, and Taiwan. Of course, that meant those were the things I really wanted to learn about-but I also wanted to steer clear of trouble, so I avoided the topic with students.
Thankfully, I found Ji Chaozhu's "The Man on Ma's Right," and it gave me insight into the mindset behind some of the reasoning behind China's movements. Ji has praise and criticism for the various leaders of China as the nation moved through civil unrest into a world power. He writes of his experiences of translating for top leaders when he was considered loyal and then how he hauled manure and did backbreaking work to unlearn his "capitalistic ways" when he was seen as disloyal.
I appreciated how Ji gives the good and bad of his actions, those of China, and those of the United States. The majority of events covered in his memoir happen long before I was born, but they put into motion events that would become part of my childhood and high-school days.
While I still have loads of questions, Ji's book answered quite a few and provided me a new lens to look through when I consider China and the nation's policies. Policies-like the U.S.'s-that seem to be ever-changing depending upon who holds the power.
Thankfully, I found Ji Chaozhu's "The Man on Ma's Right," and it gave me insight into the mindset behind some of the reasoning behind China's movements. Ji has praise and criticism for the various leaders of China as the nation moved through civil unrest into a world power. He writes of his experiences of translating for top leaders when he was considered loyal and then how he hauled manure and did backbreaking work to unlearn his "capitalistic ways" when he was seen as disloyal.
I appreciated how Ji gives the good and bad of his actions, those of China, and those of the United States. The majority of events covered in his memoir happen long before I was born, but they put into motion events that would become part of my childhood and high-school days.
While I still have loads of questions, Ji's book answered quite a few and provided me a new lens to look through when I consider China and the nation's policies. Policies-like the U.S.'s-that seem to be ever-changing depending upon who holds the power.
February 26, 2018
This was a fascinating account of China's history as seen through the eyes of a translator who experienced first-hand the Japanese invasion, Korean War, Great Leap Forward, Cultural Revolution and lived to tell the tale. His family escaped to the States prior to WWII and he left Harvard to join in as his country was rebuilding following the Communist win over the Guomindang. He was able to use his English skills and education to interpret for many Chinese leaders, most notably Zhou Enlai and of course, Chairman Mao. He was the translator when Kissinger first visited China and Nixon's visit the following year, and in later years was 3rd in command at the Chinese Embassy in the US and eventually China's Ambassador in the UK.
The writing is casual and easy to follow. He doesn't get into the details, which sometimes feels like a missed opportunity given the things he experienced. You have to wonder if he was holding back some of his thoughts about what he experienced during the Cultural Revolution, when he was sent out for re-education multiple times, as he had enemies within the Foreign Ministry. He lives in China and is a firm supporter of the Communist government, although he is transparent in his criticisms of Mao and his cultist followers.
The writing is casual and easy to follow. He doesn't get into the details, which sometimes feels like a missed opportunity given the things he experienced. You have to wonder if he was holding back some of his thoughts about what he experienced during the Cultural Revolution, when he was sent out for re-education multiple times, as he had enemies within the Foreign Ministry. He lives in China and is a firm supporter of the Communist government, although he is transparent in his criticisms of Mao and his cultist followers.
June 10, 2019
Ji Chaozhu provides a fascinating perspective on major historical events in China in the 20th century. While telling his own biographical narrative, Ji always provides his perspective on the history as it was playing out in his life. As a translator for negotiators during the Korean War, for China's Foreign Premier and occasionally for Mao, Ji saw firsthand many major events of world history. He is humble in describing his distinguished career. He is both proud of and critical of the Chinese Communist Party and spends considerable time considering the many accomplishments and shortcomings. I listened to the audiobook, and it was a compelling narrative, full of rich history, smart observations, and a great guide to a few decades of Chinese history which are so interesting to study and learn from.
August 24, 2022
Outstanding! A fair and surprisingly candid and honest look at the 20th century history of China and the relationship with the US, told by someone who survived cultural assimilation, famine, near enslavement by the communist systems under Mao, political jealousies and nonsense. Yet never losing a goal-oriented and hopeful perspective on what is possible for both countries. Should be a must read for high school history students.
Scary similarities between the Red Guard and the Cultural Revolution and Jan 6 2020.
Scary similarities between the Red Guard and the Cultural Revolution and Jan 6 2020.
March 23, 2024
Entertaining autobiography of the man who acted as interpreter of Zhou Enlai and Mao Zedong and then went on to have a distinguished diplomatic career (e.g. Chinese ambassador in the UK and under secretary-general of the UN). I do not always agree with his political views, but his analysis of Mao and in particular the Great Leap Forward and the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution is insightful and interesting. And he also gives a good insight into Zhou Enlai, a man he worked closely with and revered.
May 15, 2020
Ji Chaozhu, who died only weeks ago as I write this review, led a fascinating life which spanned major changes in China, telling his story beginning from just before the Japanese invasion of China in the thirties. We hear a great deal about China from a Western perspective these days, so it's a useful balancing-out to know how certain controversial events have looked from the perspective of a self-described Chinese patriot who also had a clear understanding of the 'western' way of thinking.
December 13, 2022
Really cool autobiography. I didn’t have high expectations because I usually find biographies of major figures more exciting. But this one was very good because the author experienced so many major events as a person in the room where it happened. Also it is much more lively and personally connecting than some of the other drier histories on political happenings.
December 29, 2025
Ji’s autobiography offers a unique perspective on China’s post-liberation day politics, both as a party member and foreign ministry worker. Also giga cool is the human experiences and stories around Beijing’s most important diplomatic events - from Pyongyang to Nixon’s visit to Tatcher. All told by a man who was in the room, first as a translator and later as China’s ambassador to the UK.
December 11, 2019
A fascinating and enjoyable memoir covering a fair amount of 20th century Chinese history, including U.S.-China relations, by an engaging eyewitness/participant.
June 21, 2020
Such an interesting perspective on China, reallg opened my mind
February 13, 2021
Some propaganda and rhetorical recitation notwithstanding, this is a humorous and brilliant account of life under Mao.
December 14, 2021
Ji has an interesting story, and this is a well-written book.
November 22, 2024
my fav kind of book. a personal story with historical context
August 11, 2022
well written but just didn’t fully jive with his personality/life values so it got very tiresome to read near the end. (a lot of discussion about career politicking that i didn’t love.) otherwise, an interesting, personal account of china under the mao regime.
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October 3, 2019A tribute to Zhou
Honest recollection of his years in the US. Though racial tension / discrimination that he was personally embroiled in during that time was mentioned with a light hearted self-mockery, it was bitterness nonetheless. Coming from an official that worked in the inner circle of the communist party, it was commendable. ( very few high ranking officials were open to the public about their personal perspectives and experiences) I do wonder, though, how much of his decision to return to China during those tumultuous years was due to his discomfort and racial discrimination that he experienced living in the US? The sense of not belonging to the US was much credited to the prescribed patriotism but also can not leave out the fact that racially marginalized groups even in today’s America often feel the sense of rejection by society.
Also, the degree and rate of those crazy years ( The Great Leap Forward; the cultural revolution) either because of the writer’s mechanic illustration or political meticulousness, got tempered down to an impalpable placidness.
Honest recollection of his years in the US. Though racial tension / discrimination that he was personally embroiled in during that time was mentioned with a light hearted self-mockery, it was bitterness nonetheless. Coming from an official that worked in the inner circle of the communist party, it was commendable. ( very few high ranking officials were open to the public about their personal perspectives and experiences) I do wonder, though, how much of his decision to return to China during those tumultuous years was due to his discomfort and racial discrimination that he experienced living in the US? The sense of not belonging to the US was much credited to the prescribed patriotism but also can not leave out the fact that racially marginalized groups even in today’s America often feel the sense of rejection by society.
Also, the degree and rate of those crazy years ( The Great Leap Forward; the cultural revolution) either because of the writer’s mechanic illustration or political meticulousness, got tempered down to an impalpable placidness.
February 18, 2009
I think this book deserves 4.5 stars. Most books I've read about China are about ordinary, educated people rather than top leaders. This book was different, in that Ji Chaozhu was an interpreter for the top leaders in China. You can feel from reading this just how easy many of the masses (including Ji) were duped by Mao and communism -- many were true patriots who thought their country would become the greatest through class struggle and Mao's policies. While not sugar-coating the effects of those disastrous policies, Ji does seem to choose his words carefully (me thinks every word is read by his still-somewhat-totalitarian governenment). He is especially vague on the Tiananmen Square Massacre, condemning the students and explaining his goverment's side without quite drawing the line between right and wrong.
I really enjoyed reading this and grew a lot from understanding more of Chinese culture, especially how saving face is involved in diplomacy. I was very interested in the history of Nixon's visit to China and in the still-unresolved Taiwan issue.
I really enjoyed reading this and grew a lot from understanding more of Chinese culture, especially how saving face is involved in diplomacy. I was very interested in the history of Nixon's visit to China and in the still-unresolved Taiwan issue.
October 5, 2015
Ji Chaozhu is a man uniquely positioned in history to write his observations about life in China during the tumultuous decades of the 50s to the 70s, and observing the characters of his bosses, Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai. His life story is interesting enough, having been born in China but educated in the United States before returning and serving in the Foreign Ministry, most notably as English interpreter for the above mentioned leaders. If you like autobiographies and want an idea of what China was like through the eyes of someone working in the corridors of power during that period of chaos, this is one book you must read.
February 21, 2010
A truthful and moving account from the windy mountaintops inside the CPC. Written by the objective perspective, and not trying to be specific source for China's state in the 1950's - 1980's i really liked this. There are better books for that. But generally, what i benefitted most from this read was, that being official in the Foreign Ministry in Mao's era, was really a tough job to handle!
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