When Alfonso "Fonso" Gravenese, AKA The Salad Oil King, was a 9-year old kid, his father asked him to help sell fresh fish from his ice-filled cart after school to their neighbors on Spring Street in Little Italy. "Fonso" quickly learned if he stuffed ice into the fish's mouth with some of the... Learn More

I died more than 30 years ago at the age of 75 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Since then, much has been written about me, my work, family, and circumstances. Some have been accurate, much not. That is why I decided to write a candid book about what happened. Once Mao was gone,... Learn More

With the government out of control and people being murdered and imprisoned at will, my homeland was no longer the society for which my father fought and died. We decided to take advantage of the few friends I knew I could trust to find a way to escape to Hong Kong, where we... Learn More

My older brother Siwu was a kind, gentle, intelligent man who loved life. As the Cultural Revolution stormed the country, he and his French-born wife, Zhuge, decided to move to Shanghai's relative calm and teach French and English at the foreign language college. They quickly learned to be careful with whom... Learn More

My loss of favor in government circles was quick and sudden. I had survived as President of the Music Academy during some of Chairman Mao’s past, short-lived “thought-reform” campaigns. But this time was different. I was being attacked personally as a supporter of Western ideas in my music. I tried to avoid... Learn More

I was asked many times by government officials to join the Chinese Communist Party; but politely declined, explaining I was a musician, not a politician. The fifties were a creatively productive period for me, so I was left to do my thing. I composed numerous symphonies, ballets, and operas, which placed me... Learn More

I was excited to see my father at the family reunion, even though I rarely heard from him, but I knew from my mother’s letters, he was proud of my accomplishments. Since I remained outside of politics, all I knew about my father’s activities was that he sided with Chiang Kai-shek... Learn More

While my father and my older brothers were involved in the day's complicated politics, I was consumed with my passion for the violin. While studying with the finest musical professors at the world-famous Conservatory of Music in Paris, I wrote my first symphony at the age of 13 and was labeled... Learn More

I was 11 years old the first time I even heard mention of a violin, My older brother Siqui wrote home that he had decided to play the violin as a hobby while studying at the university in Paris. (My father was a scholar and believed the French schools were far superior... Learn More

Under arrest and incarcerated in a cell is terrifying and undignified. It was THE worst night of my life. I’d always been a good girl, but I’d well and truly messed up, again. Life had declined, and my ex-husband and ex-friends continued to rub my nose in matters. Enter an unfortunate decision... Learn More