Nien Cheng would patiently answer their questions and show them her scars, but she also felt that these young Westerners who had grown up in a just, rational, and well-to-do society could not fully comprehend that it was not just a question of physical suffering. "Rather than brave, it would be better to say I was angry."
不只是肉體受苦的問題「上海生與死」在紐約時報全美暢銷書排行榜的名次節節上升，無疑說明瞭它打動西方人的程度；而由西方記者對受刑過程的明顯好奇看來，似乎又與中國讀者的感受未盡相同。