The Memoirs of Li Zongren (Volume 1 and 2)

Author: Li Zongren (dictated) / Tang Degang (written)
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-12-01
Features: This book is a complete record of the extraordinary career of Mr. Li Zongren, as well as a faithful portrayal of his life's journey through different stages. It is also one of the most original historical works I have published, requiring great effort, extensive dedication, and numerous challenges. Mr. Li Zongren spent over seventy years crafting many of the astonishing stories in this book. I, on the other hand, devoted nearly six years—my most productive six years of life—to recording it in both Chinese and English. Originally, this book was merely a Chinese draft used for translation purposes. According to the contract and writing plan between Mr. Li and the original funding institution, the Columbia University East Asian Institute's Oral History Department, it was only after the English edition was published that the book was polished and then released as a Chinese version. In short, over the more than two decades from the initial negotiations to the final publication, the traces embedded in the author's personal life story—whether bitter or sweet—are immortal. The fact that the book is now published in its current form can also be considered a work born of determination by the "writer."