In 1957 her sister had a mental breakdown, a victim of the successive purges and psychological pressures which people even in the music schools had to endure.
一九六四年，李天慧從瀋陽音樂學院管弦系畢業，按規定下鄉勞動一年。來到河北鄉下，眼見「解放」十五年後的農村，是一片難以致信的貧窮蒼涼。而共產黨對這些貧困情況，總有一番說辭。再怎麼欠收，都硬說成豐年。