Shanguan Lu was born along with the 20th century. Before her eyes, the last Chinese dynasty fell and the communist regime blossomed. Married at the age of 17, she became the mother of nine children. The Japanese invasion and civil war left her no chance for everyday happiness with her family. To feed her daughters and her only, and therefore spoiled, son, she worked without sparing herself. Life was so cruel to Mother that death ceased to have any meaning for her. But there was one lesson her children learned for sure: their Mother never gave up. Her fortitude and perseverance inspired her son, who was never able to adopt the habit of survival from his family, to talk about their life drama without embellishment and lies.