this post was submitted on 11 Oct 2025
52 points (100.0% liked)
askchapo
23172 readers
238 users here now
Ask Hexbear is the place to ask and answer ~~thought-provoking~~ questions.
Rules:
-
Posts must ask a question.
-
If the question asked is serious, answer seriously.
-
Questions where you want to learn more about socialism are allowed, but questions in bad faith are not.
-
Try !feedback@hexbear.net if you're having questions about regarding moderation, site policy, the site itself, development, volunteering or the mod team.
founded 5 years ago
MODERATORS
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
Definitely yes - physical cruelty towards servants, misogyny, Japanese imperialist aggression and the horrors of their colonial oppression of China are the major ones I can think of. The book details his whole life from unfathomable wealth to puppet of the Manchurian regime to re-education under communism and out the other side. It’s fascinating.
I’ve just remembered a third book that was a translation of the autobiography of one of China’s last palace eunuchs, he worked for Puyi. That was a really good read. Sorry I can’t remember the title off the top of my head
With those CWs, mainly about Japanese colonialism, I'm putting it on the backburner. But I'm truly intending to read the book one day.
Would you also say this is a rough journey towards him finally having friends for the first time?
I think it’s definitely redemptive in the sense that he slowly starts to see other humans as people, not subjects. To me the biggest takeaway was that communist re-education, combined with a fair society, is effective: if it can work on him it can work on anyone