In Return To the Middle Kingdom, author, Yuan-tsung Chen has meticulously chronicled the true life adventure of her ancestors’ struggle to bring about change in the terror-filled reigns of China’s rulers. Chen and her husband, Jack, risked imprisonment or possible death to journal the efforts of three generations of revolutionaries in their families.

China’s history was being blotted from existence by the callous ruler, Chairman Mao Zedong while the Chens hid under the covers at night, using a torch light to illuminate the historical details they had relentlessly gathered from partially-burned magazines and books. The Chens’ heritage is a valuable acknowledgment of China’s past and they were determined to bring them to light. Return To the Middle Kingdom is the result of that determination and the true grit of three generations of revolutionaries.

Ah Chen was born 180 years ago and lived his life as a poor peasant until he fought in the Taiping Rebellion against Manchu’s brutal court that reigned from 1850 to 1864. When the Rebellion was crushed, Ah Chen fled to Trinidad in the Caribbean. There he stayed and fathered his son, Eugene. Smart and ambitious, Eugene decided to go to London for his education and later returned to Trinidad to become its first Chinese attorney.

Through Eugene’s friendship with the founding father of the Chinese Republic, Sun Yat-sen, the two men joined a powerful faction to help bring about modern China. Eugene later returned to his father, Ah Chen’s, home and led the revolution in 1911 that finally put an end to China’s rule by dynasties.

Eugene later fathered a son, Jack, who became the author’s husband and together they joined the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976. Through numerous trials and tribulations the Chens persevered and decided to write about their experiences and their ancestors’ struggles. Return To the Middle Kingdom is the well-written result of the Chens’ determination.

Besides being an extraordinary documentation of a tumultuous part of China’s nearly-lost history, Return To the Middle Kingdom is also the story of how three revolutionaries from one family helped bring about the modern China of today. This true adventure reads like a page-turning novel and reflects the details that author, Yuan-tsung Chen, brings to her historical writing.

Yuan-tsung Chen has proved herself to be an authority in Chinese history, culture and politics. She’s also written an autobiographical novel about land reform in China titled, The Dragon’s Village, and enjoys telling her personal stories to interested groups. Chen understands her country’s past and cuts through the propaganda to tell the truth about China’s past and the hope that lies in its future.