The Doctor Who Was Followed by Ghosts: The Family Saga of a Chinese Woman Doctor

By Li Qunying and Louis Han

According to Chinese folklore, when his favourite daughter falls ill, Yanwang, the ruler of the underworld, sends his servants to look for a doctor who has as few ghosts as possible following him. This means that he is a better doctor than others, because when a patient dies, the ghost follows and haunts the doctor.

Li Qunying, a Communist doctor of great dedication, undoubtedly had fewer ghosts behind her. Yet her life was in many ways ill fated, as she struggled through the Anti-Japanese War, the Civil War, the Korean War, the great famine of the early '60s and numerous political movements, including the notorious Cultural Revolution. The Great Leap Forward Movement tragically took away her son Bingbing's life, and the persecution of her husband during the Cultural Revolution took a serious toll on his health, and consequently led to his early death. Besides enduring personal misfortune, she also witnessed the suffering of the peasants, who were the majority of the population at the grass-roots level and whose sorrowful stories have rarely been told.

This haunting memoir traces all of the major events of brutal twentieth-century China, interweaving eyewitness history, folklore, superstition, and Dr. Li's own first-hand accounts.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1550227815
• ISBN13: 9781550227819
• Release Date: October 2007
• Publisher: ECW Press
• Length: 296 Pages
• Weight: 1.30 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 6.3" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Enjoyable travel through 20th century Chinese history

This book stands far beyond many other books I have read when it comes to the understanding of Chinese history in the 20th century and what led up to the Cultural Revolution. It gives the reader insight as to why the Communist revolution took place, how the Chinese were involved in the Korean War, what the experience of the Cultural Revolution was like, and how modern China is coping with capitalism. It is amazing that one individual could have been a part of all those experiences. What I learned most from the book, is that the core unit of Chinese society, the family, was never broken even during these challenging times. As a non Asian, I have learned how strong family bonds are in Chinese families; something that is absent in many American homes today. This book should be considered for complimentary reading of any modern Chinese history class. It provides "a face" to a subject that is often difficult for foreigners to understand.

Hard to Put Down

Having just returned from China I found this book very interesting. I find it hard to believe that China has made so many advances in such a short time.