"Shanghai Bride is gripping. Christina Ching Tsao's life was full of sadness, but she had a good time living it, too. What happened could have taken place only in Shanghai, where traditional Chinese values were of little consequence. I could not put it do

Christina Ching Tsao was born in Shanghai in 1915 to a prominent scholar-official family that traces its descent back to a Song dynasty poet. At 16 she was married to a brilliant lawyer more than twice her age. For over ten years, Christina Ching Tsao was a refugee, first because of the Japanese invasion and later as a result of the communist victory in China's civil war. In postwar Hong Kong, she single-handedly brought up her four children. While in Borneo, she obtained a master's degree in business administration. Christina Ching Tsao immigrated to the United States in 1965, where she became a successful businesswoman.