Liang Heng
He is the main protagonist of the story and details his life in communist China under rule of Mao Zedong. Considered the son of an intellectual, he and his family were cast out from their prominent position in Mao’s campaign to live a life of poverty.
Judith Shapiro
She is and the wife and is American teacher that he meets at the Hunan Teachers' College in Changsha. The two emigrate to the US to start a new life.
Mao Zedong
He is a Chinese communist revolutionary and lead the People's Republic of China (PRC) from 1949 till his death in 1976. He led a totalitarian regime and tried to weed out dissenters by using propaganda.
