<DIV><DIV>Aiping Mu was born to parents prominent in the Communist hierarchy?her father was Political Commissar for the Beijing region and her mother ran one of the city's universities?and in her early years lived the pampered life of the Party elite. Both parents were considered intellectuals, and thus the Cultural Revolution resulted in the break-up of the family. While following one family's rising and falling fortunes, this biography tells the story of modern China itself, written from the perspective of one who grew up close to the seat of power in history.</DIV></DIV>