Xuanzang should be known as one of the world's great heroes. His travels are legendary. He brought true Buddhism to China. His own book provides a unique record of the history and culture of his time. Yet he is unknown to most of us and even to most Chinese. Sun Shuyun, herself brought up in China, was determined to follow in his footsteps, discover more about Xuanzang and restore his fame. So she retraced his journey from China to India and back. In the 8th century, crossing 110 kingdoms, he took 18 years. He opened up the east and west of Asia to each other - and to us. A man of great faith and determination, Xuanzang won the hearts of kings and robbers with his teaching, his charm and his indomitable will. Against all odds he persuaded the Confucian emperors to allow Buddhism to flourish in China. At the heart of this book lies Sun Shuyun's own personal journey towards understanding the Buddhist faith of her grandmother, recognizing also the passionate idealism of the communist beliefs of her own family and discovering her own beliefs.

Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud

Shuyun, Sun

HARPER/COLLINS

The Long March

History

Asia

HarperPress

'A Year in Tibet' follows the author as she lives for eighteen months in a remote village in Tibet.
Sun Shuyun, a Chinese writer and historian, takes the reader to a tiny and isolated village in Tibet, known for its anti-Chinese stance. She and a team who were half Chinese and half Tibetan, lived and worked there for eighteen months, filming and recording daily life. 'A Year in Tibet' is an insight into the relationship between the Chinese and Tibetans, the history behind it, and the way the two interact in the 21st century. Written with Sun Shuyun's characteristic insight into relationships, this is social and political history with an emphasis on humanity.

A Year in Tibet

Harper-perennial

In The Long March, Sun Shuyun uncovers the true story behind the mythic march of Mao's soldiers across China, exposing the famine, disease, and desertion behind the legend.In 1934, in the midst of civil war, the Communist party and its 200,000 soldiers were forced from their bases by Chiang Kai-shek and his Nationalist troops. Led by Mao Tse Tung, they set off on a strategic retreat to the barren north of China, thousands of miles away. As Sun Shuyun travels along the march route, her interviews with survivors and villagers show that the forces at work during the days of the revolution – poverty, sickness, and Mao's use of terror, propaganda, and ruthless purges – have shaped modern China irrevocably. Uncovering the forced recruitment, political infighting, and futile deaths behind the myth, Shuyun creates a compelling narrative of a turning point in modern Chinese history, and a fascinating journey that spans China, old and new.

The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth

Anchor

The Long March is Communist China’s founding myth, the heroic tale that every Chinese child learns in school. Seventy years after the historical march took place, Sun Shuyun set out to retrace the Marchers’ steps and unexpectedly discovered the true history behind the legend. The Long March is the stunning narrative of her extraordinary expedition. The facts are these: in 1934, in the midst of a brutal civil war, the Communist party and its 200,000 soldiers were forced from their bases by Chiang Kaishek and his Nationalist troops. After that, truth and legend begin to blur: led by Mao Zedong, the Communists set off on a strategic retreat to the distant barren north of China, thousands of miles away. Only one in five Marchers reached their destination, where, the legend goes, they gathered strength and returned to launch the new China in the heat of revolution. As Sun Shuyun journeys to remote villages along the Marchers’ route, she interviews the aged survivors and visits little-known local archives. She uncovers shocking stories of starvation, disease, and desertion, of ruthless purges ordered by party leaders, of the mistreatment of women, and of thousands of futile deaths. Many who survived the March report that their suffering continued long after the “triumph” of the revolution, recounting tales of persecution and ostracism that culminated in the horrific years of the Cultural Revolution. What emerges from Sun’s research, her interviews, and her own memories of growing up in China is a moving portrait of China past and present. Sun finds that the forces at work during the days of the revolution—the barren, unforgiving landscape; the unifying power of outside threats from foreign countries; Mao’s brilliant political instincts and his use of terror, propaganda, and ruthless purges to consolidate power and control the population—are the very forces that made China what it is today. The Long March is a gripping retelling of an amazing historical adventure, an eye-opening account of how Mao manipulated the event for his own purposes, and a beautiful document of a country balanced between legend and the truth.

DOUBLEDAY

In 1934, the fledgling Chinese Communist Party and its 200,000 soldiers were forced off their bases by Chiang Kai-Shek and his Nationalist troops.They walked more than 8,000 miles over mountains, grasslands, and swamps, ending up in the remote, barren north of China. Only one-fifth survived. They went on to launch the revolution that transformed China, and the Long March was forever enshrined as the defining moment of modern Chinese history. It also served as potent propaganda for Mao and for the Communist revolution. Seventy years later, Sun Shuyun set out to retrace the marchers' steps and to seek out and interview the aged survivors. The Long March is the stunning narrative of her extraordinary expedition. The rugged landscape had changed little. Shuyun's greatest difficulty was wrestling with the heroic images of the march she, and every Chinese citizen, had learned as a child. On each step of the journey, she uncovered shocking stories of starvation, disease, and desertion, of ruthless purges ordered by party leaders, of the mistreatment of women, and of thousands of futile deaths. Many who survived the march reported that their suffering continued long after the "triumph" of the revolution, recounting tales of persecution and ostracism that culminated in the horrific years of the Cultural Revolution. The Long March is at once a gripping retelling of an amazing historical adventure, an eye-opening account of how Mao manipulated it for his own purposes, and a moving portrait of China past and present.

Americas

Tantor Audio

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Books by Shuyun, Sun

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Shuyun, Sun. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Ten Thousand Miles Without a Cloud

The Long March

A Year in Tibet

The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth

The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth

The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth

The Long March: The True History of Communist China's Founding Myth