When this re-evaluation did come and Nixon's National Security Advisor Henry Kissinger secretly came to Beijing to start the negotiations, Huang Hua was again a member of the Chinese negotiations team. Huang was about to leave for Canada as the Chinese ambassador there. So, to prepare for the coming meetings, he, like Kissinger, also "disappeared" at Mao's request. Thus began the grand about-face in Sino-US relations, altering the world's balance of power. In 1972, Huang Hua, as China's permanent representative at the United Nations, again met regularly with Kissinger on matters not suitable for the semi-official liaison offices to handle through the hush-hush "New York channel". Deng Xiaoping's visit to the US, establishment of diplomatic relations, and discussions and signing of a joint communique on US arms sales to Taiwan were highlights in which Huang Hua had a direct hand. Consequently, the background to the changed relations between the two powers and its significance and international implications are discussed by the author at length.

In the early years of the People's Republic, Huang Hua took part in most of China's major international activities, including the 1953 political negotiations in Panmunjom, Korea, the 1954 Geneva Conference on Indo-China and the 1955 Bandung Afro-Asian Conference. As China established diplomatic relations with the African countries, many of which were just becoming independent, Huang Hua first became China's ambassador to Ghana and then ambassador to the United Arab Republic (present-day Egypt). His memoir recalled the attempted assassination of President Kwami Nkruma, prior to the visit of Premier Zhou Enlai, and later the coup against Nkruma during his visit to China. Also, the Egyptian-Israeli War of 1967. In his recollections, Huang Hua recorded China's stand on these historic events and thus expressed the heart-felt sympathy of the Chinese people for their African brothers.

Guided by Deng Xiaoping, Huang Hua as China's foreign minister oversaw the negotiations and final signing of the Sino-Japanese Treaty of Peace and Friendship. He also made strenuous efforts to improve relations with India and the Soviet Union. The three chapters in the memoir dealing with these events are worthy of special attention, as these are three of China's most important next-door neighbors and how China's relations with them fare makes a difference to peace and prosperity in this part of the world. In the chapter dealing with India, Huang Hua not only recalled the historical ties between the two countries but also Nehru's support for China's resistance war and the contributions of the famous Indian Medical Mission in Yenan. There existed deep sympathy between the Chinese and Indian people, so despite the border dispute, common interests really far surpass differences. This was reaffirmed during Huang Hua's meetings with Indira Gandhi and three other Indian prime ministers as well as with Sonia Gandhi, widow of Rajiv Gandhi and president of the Indian Congress Party. In his official or unofficial capacity, Huang Hua also visited many countries in Europe and Latin America, but they are too numerous to touch upon in this review.

What are the basic principles guiding China's foreign policy? Huang Hua devoted a special section in Chapter 12 to Deng Xiaoping's thinking on this paramount issue. Careful readers will note the descriptions of how Deng, as a strategist and tactician, combined the characteristics of Mao and Zhou and secure many useful pointers to current Chinese foreign policy.

Through reading his memoir, one can see that this senior diplomat paid special attention to making friends and coming to terms with people of different backgrounds and beliefs. His straight-forwardness and warmth of character proved to be a great plus in liaising with diplomats and leaders. Even after his retirement, he strives to keep up with his wide circle of international friends. As Henry Kissinger pointed out, "I came to admire Huang Hua's diplomatic skills, subtlety and tenacity – all these qualities combined with extraordinary human warmth and reliability."

While the memoir deals with serious matters of politics and diplomacy, there are also plenty of tidbits of human interest which strike a chord among its readers. For example, during a march across the mountainous countryside of Shanxi Province, one of the poorest regions of old China, Huang and his wife, He Liliang, came across a village where they met a miner's daughter who had only a pair of knee-length trousers with a piece of goatskin wrapped around her shoulders even though it was severe winter. The couple had not much with them, so they gave her a piece of white cloth which He Liliang happened to have with her. The next morning, when the girl returned to see them, she was all smiles, wearing a white shirt which her sister had spent the night sewing. And in Yenan, just after the Japanese surrender in 1945, the army commanders were flown back to the front in an American transport. When Huang Hua found out at the makeshift airfield that no one on board could speak English and communicate with the pilot, he volunteered to accompany them though there was no extra parachute for him, then a life-risking venture. In Cairo, during the Cultural Revolution, when the rebels at the embassy insisted that Ambassador Huang shout a slogan against Foreign Minister Chen Yi, Huang stubbornly refused to follow suit despite the heavy pressure he encountered then. He told the rebels to their face that Chen Yi was a good comrade! Episodes like these abound in the book.

After his retirement, Huang Hua kept working in many capacities as he had a broad interest. He headed the China Welfare Institute, the child welfare organization founded by Soong Ching Ling, the China Society for People's Friendship Studies, the Great Wall Society and a host of other institutions. In all these capacities, he took the initiative to launch many worthy causes. Even after he had stepped down from all these posts, he maintained his studies, using a computer with an over-sized monitor to keep abreast of the world's development. In Huang Hua's own words, "I still try to stick to my motto, ‘It is never too old to learn.'"

Age advances imperceptibly but inevitably. Yet with age, one gathers experience and, through continuous learning, deepens understanding. Memories enliven and enrich history and provide many useful insights into life. Huang Hua's memoir, based on his over 90 years' experience and understanding of China and the world from the vantage point of a senior statesman, provides plenty of precious insights into both Chinese diplomacy and modern history which cannot be found anywhere else. It is a must-read for all who are interested in China.

(China.org.cn December 5, 2008)