The Diary of Ma Sicong (1966) – My Older Brother’s Death Officially Declared A Suicide.

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 they talked and never engaged in political discussions. Siwu figured if he remained controversy-free and flowed all the authority rules, they would be lost in the leaderless wave of social hysteria.

Unfortunately, two events made that impossible. The Central Government launched the Clean Class Troops Movement, which identified “misguided teachers” and sent to hard labor camps. Secondly, the Red Guards discovered Siwu was the brother of an acknowledged traitor—me.

One morning he went to school as usual but was intercepted by the Guards. As the story goes, a struggle ensued between Siwu and the Red Guards taunting him near a 14th-floor classroom window. Moments later, his body sailed out the window to his death. The official records called it a suicide, which was not true. Once again, my country avoided the truth to save face. I vowed never to return!

Read The King of Violins: The Extraordinary Life of Ma Sciong, China’s Greatest Violin Virtuoso by M.G. Crisci and Cheng Ken Chi, Ph.D., the heartbreaking story of China’s most celebrated violin prodigy, Ma Sicong, who composes his first concerto at the age of 12, becomes China’s most celebrated violin prodigy, and ultimately an enemy of the state.

“A perfectly balanced symphony that honors truth and dignity. You’ll feel as though you are sitting on Ma’s shoulder as his complicated life unfolds.”
– US Review of Books

“Remarkable. The bittersweet story of Ma Sicong’s dignified, often tumultuous life, and the way it was told, left me feeling I had met Ma–and was better because of it.”
– Independent Book Review

“The King of Violins is a must-read that will stay with you. It’s filled with so many involving themes and surprising twists that you’ll become engrossed trying to figure out what might be coming next.”
– International Review of Books