larly harsh treatment among Western commenta-
tors for her sympathetic renderings of the rule of
Chairman Mao. In the face of such criticism, how-
ever, Han Suyin has steadfastly maintained her al-
legiance and commitment to the Chinese people.
Throughout her works this overriding concern
with their well-being and social improvement has
shone through consistently.
In My House Has Two Doors Han Suyin asserts
that her priorities as a writer have never rested with
ideologies or political systems regardless of how
exultant they might be. Rather than being com-
mitted to any ideology, Han Suyin views ideologies
and systems as things to shoulder and make do
with. The motivating concern of her various works
has been the question of whether or not specific
systems or versions of systems might contribute to
a step forward for the Chinese people.
Bibliography
Buss, Helen. “The Autobiographies of Han Suyin: A
Female Postcolonial Subjectivity,” Canadian Re-
view of American Studies 23, no. 1 (1992): 107–
126.
Ling, Amy. “Writers with a Cause: Sui Sin Far and
Han Suyin.” Women’s Studies International Forum
9 (1986): 411–419.
Lyon, Esme. “The Writing of Han Suyin: A Survey.”
World Literature Written in English 17 (1978):
208–217.
Jeff Shantz
Hayslip, Phung Thi Le Ly (1949– )
Born in Ky La (now Xa Hoa Qui) near Danang
in Vietnam, Hayslip was the seventh child of rice
farmers. The Vietnam War fractured her family
and village as her brothers fought on both sides;
moreover, the Viet Cong, South Vietnam, and
Americans alternately took and lost control of
her hometown of Ky La. Hayslip’s first encounter
with the Viet Cong was the public execution of
her teacher, Manh. After his death, Hayslip began
helping the Viet Cong. Because of her Viet Cong
activities, Hayslip was imprisoned and tortured by
the South Vietnamese government. Her release was
rumored to be attributable to her South Vietnam-
ese allies, and the Viet Cong accused her of being
a traitor. She was sentenced to death by the Viet
Cong, but instead of killing her, her two execution-
ers raped her, which shamed her and made her
unmarriageble according to Vietnamese culture.
Hayslip fled to Danang, then to Saigon, where she
worked as a maid, black market vendor, waitress,
and hospital worker.
Soon after her first son, James, was born in
Vietnam, she met Ed Munro, an American GI. By
the age of 20, Hayslip had two sons and had mar-
ried Ed and moved to America. However, her hus-
band became depressed and died a few years after
their move to the United States. She later remar-
ried, but her second husband, who was physically
abusive, also died, leaving Hayslip to care for her
three sons.
Hayslip eventually returned to Vietnam in
1986 to visit her family. Her trip inspired her to
create the East Meets West Foundation in 1988, a
humanitarian relief organization that focused on
providing relief to Vietnam and offering comfort
to American veterans. Her work inspired film-
maker Oliver Stone, Senator John Kerry, and many
others, who have donated money to build a clinic
for homeless children and Peace Village, a medical
center for children.
Hayslip is the author of two books, When
Heaven and Earth Changed Places (1989) and Child
of War, Woman of Peace (1993). When Heaven and
Earth Changed Places narrates her experiences
during the war and her return in 1986 to Vietnam,
and is by far the more critically acclaimed and
commercially successful of the two. Its primary
purpose is aimed at reconciliation, for both the
Vietnamese and the Americans. It is dedicated to
those who suffered, and Hayslip hopes that “anger
can teach forgiveness, hate can teach us love, and
war can teach us peace” (xv). The book describes
the “private side” of the war and the sacrifices one
must make to survive, with an emphasis on for-
giveness and hope.
Praised for its blend of Western and Eastern
values, Child of War, Woman of Peace, written with102 Hayslip, Phung Thi Le Ly