At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China by Edward Wong. Penguin Random House, 2024. 464 pages. ISBN-10: 1984877402; ISBN-13: 978-1984877406. Available from Press and Amazon.
Recently, I found myself following in my late mother’s footsteps—retracing pieces of her life to better understand the hardships she carried and the resilience that shaped her. That personal journey gave me a deeper lens for reading Edward Wong’s At the Edge of Empire. His memoir, centered on the life of his father, is a harrowing yet profoundly moving account of survival through war, poverty, political upheaval, and relentless hardship. It is also a window into the remarkable endurance of the Chinese people.
Wong’s father’s life unfolded against the backdrop of some of the darkest chapters of modern Chinese history. He grew up during the brutal Japanese occupation, where violence, hunger, and fear were constants. Families like his were uprooted and forced into menial survival strategies. His early years were marked by deprivation—hunger was constant, housing was meager, and resources scarce. Under Mao’s campaigns, he was compelled to move, serve the state, or endure political upheaval, often with little choice. Even later in life, he faced cramped housing, inadequate medical care, and the physical toll of relentless labor.
Reading these chapters, I often paused—not only to absorb the suffering but also to notice the strength that carried him through. His story reminded me of my mother’s perseverance through her own trials—a resilience that rarely announced itself but became a legacy to the next generation.
During our ERRCHINA/CAC Book Club discussion, two reflections helped me see Wong’s narrative with fresh eyes. Co-host Joann Pittman offered the concept of Bamboo Culture: bamboo can bend far without breaking, and when needed, straighten or bend in another direction. This image captures the resilience and adaptability of the Chinese people, who have endured upheaval after upheaval without losing their core strength.
Co-host Martha Chan added the concept of Chi Ku (吃苦, “eating bitterness”)—the idea that one can bear suffering and endure hardship with patience and dignity. This ethic helps explain how generations survived war, famine, and political campaigns.
Together, these two cultural touchstones—Bamboo Culture and Chi Ku—illuminated the story of Wong’s father and resonated deeply with me. They spoke not only to the endurance of the Chinese people but also to the struggles facing families everywhere, including my own.
For me, reading At the Edge of Empire was not only about history but also about asking personal questions: How is resilience carried in families? How does hardship shape identity? What do we inherit from those who came before us?
Just as I sought to walk in my mother’s footsteps, Wong walked in his father’s. Both of us discovered how hardship was endured quietly, even invisibly, and yet transformed into strength. His father’s perseverance—whether in silence, sacrifice, or survival—echoed my mother’s ability to keep moving forward despite trials.
The book helped me see resilience as more than an individual trait. It is something woven into family identity, passed down through hidden acts of endurance. Even stories heavy with suffering shape how we carry ourselves and how we honor those who went before us.
At the Edge of Empire is both personal and universal. It is at once a tribute to a father and a testament to a nation that has known immense suffering. For me, it offered not only a window into the endurance of the Chinese people but also a mirror reflecting my own family story—reminding me that walking in my mother’s footsteps is a way of carrying her quiet strength forward into my own life.
