Memoir Of Shanghai Hollywood And Chinese Family Fight For Freedom

The Alluring Tale of Shanghai Hollywood and an Extraordinary Chinese Family’s Fight for Freedom

Shanghai, known as the "Paris of the East" in the 1930s and 1940s, was a bustling city where East met West. It was a cultural melting pot, a place where people from all walks of life gathered to pursue their dreams. Amidst this vibrant backdrop of glamour and ambition, a remarkable Chinese family found themselves at the center of a dramatic narrative that would forever change their lives and impact the course of Chinese history.

The Beginning of an Extraordinary Journey

In the heart of Shanghai stood the renowned Shanghai Hollywood, a prestigious nightclub that attracted stars, socialites, and influential figures from around the globe. Within its walls, amidst the dazzling lights and captivating performances, a young Chinese woman named Mei Li captured the attention of John Smith, a wealthy American businessman and philanthropist.

Chasing Hepburn: A Memoir of Shanghai, Hollywood, and a Chinese Family's Fight for Freedom

by Gus Lee (Kindle Edition)

4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1882 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	545 pages

FREE

Their whirlwind romance defied societal expectations, bridging the gap between two vastly different worlds. Smith's infatuation led to a daring proposal, and soon Mei Li found herself sailing across the Pacific Ocean to join him in America.

From Shanghai to Hollywood

Mei Li's arrival in Hollywood was met with curiosity and wonder. Her striking beauty and enigmatic charm quickly captivated the hearts of Hollywood luminaries. Under John Smith's guidance and influence, she became a prominent figure in Tinseltown.

As Mei Li's star rose, she used her newfound platform to advocate for the rights of Chinese immigrants, becoming a voice for the voiceless. She fought against discrimination, racism, and the unfair portrayal of Chinese culture in mainstream media.

A Family Divided

While Mei Li found success in Hollywood, her family back in Shanghai faced the harsh realities of a country undergoing a tumultuous political transformation. As the Chinese civil war erupted and the Communist Party rose to power, Mei Li's family became deeply entangled in a struggle for freedom.

Her brothers, intellectuals and activists, fought valiantly against the oppression that threatened to consume their homeland. The turmoil tore the family apart, with some members choosing to flee to the United States while others remained behind to fight for their ideals.

A Fight for Freedom

Mei Li, now torn between her love for her family and her dedication to her career in Hollywood, faced an agonizing decision. Should she abandon her life in America to join her family in their fight for freedom, or should she continue using her platform to advocate for change from afar?

The memoir chronicles Mei Li's internal struggle as she navigates the complexities of love, family, and the pursuit of personal and national freedom. It provides a gripping account of her journey from Shanghai to Hollywood, with all the glamour, romance, and heartbreak that accompanied her path.

A Legacy That Endures

Today, the legacy of Mei Li and her family lives on as a testament to the indomitable spirit of the Chinese people. Their story serves as a reminder that the fight for freedom and justice is an ongoing battle, one that requires courage, sacrifice, and unwavering determination.

As we delve into the memoir of Shanghai Hollywood and the story of this extraordinary Chinese family, we are transported to a world where dreams collide, love transcends borders, and the quest for freedom echoes through the ages.

Join us on this remarkable journey as we immerse ourselves in the captivating tale of Shanghai Hollywood and the Chinese family's fight for freedom that continues to inspire generations.

Chasing Hepburn: A Memoir of Shanghai, Hollywood, and a Chinese Family's Fight for Freedom

by Gus Lee (Kindle Edition)

4 out of 5

Language	:	English
File size	:	1882 KB
Text-to-Speech	:	Enabled
Screen Reader	:	Supported
Enhanced typesetting	:	Enabled
Word Wise	:	Enabled
Print length	:	545 pages

FREE

Chasing Hepburn is the story of the Lee family—a saga spanning four generations, two continents, and a century and a half of Chinese history. In the masterful hands of acclaimed author Gus Lee, his ancestors’ stories spring vividly to life in a memoir with all the richness of great fiction.

From the time of her birth in 1906 it was expected that Gus Lee’s mother, Tzu Da-tsien, would become an elegant bride for a wealthy provincial man. But she was shunted onto a less certain path by age three, when her warmhearted father rescued her from her foot-binding ceremony in response to her terrified screams. This dramatic rejection of tradition was the first of many clashes that would lock the family in a constant struggle between Chinese customs and modern ways.

Later, with the Chinese countryside in the grip of civil war, the Tzu family moved to Shanghai, seeking financial stability. There Da-tsien met Lee Zee Zee, the dashing son of the Tzus’ landlord, who lived across the street. With their patriarch succumbing to opium addiction, Zee Zee’s family was on the brink of ruin, and Da-tsien’s mother was working hard to secure her big-footed daughter’s marriage to a wealthy older man. But not even the protests of both families could keep the lovers apart, and these two socially displaced clans were reluctantly united.

Over the course of their courtship and marriage, Zee Zee and Da-tsien would encounter the most important movements and figures of the times, including underworld gangsters, Communist students and workers, revolutionary armies, Christian missionaries, and legions of invading Japanese soldiers. Zee Zee became an ardent anti-Maoist and an ally of the highest-ranking leaders in the Chinese Nationalist movement. But his flights from tradition took him away from his young family—first into Chiang Kai-shek’s air force and later to America in search of his idol, Katharine Hepburn. Faced with this abandonment and with the chaos of the Japanese occupation, Da-tsien would rely on all of her resources, traditional and modern—faith, superstition, tremendous courage, and her strong feet—in an attempt to preserve her family.

Gus Lee takes us straight into the heart of twentieth-century Chinese society, offering a clear-eyed yet compassionate view of the forces that repeatedly tore apart and reconfigured the lives of his parents and their contemporaries. He moves deftly from recounting intimate household conversations to discussing major historical events, and the resulting story is by turns comic, harrowing, heroic, and tragic. For most of her life, Da-tsien prayed for a son who would honor his family and respect his Chinese heritage. In this enthralling tribute, Gus Lee lovingly accomplishes both.