World-famous bamboo flutist Guo Yue was born in China in 1958. He loves music as much as he loves food and a large part of his memoirs is dedicated to the food that he knew as a nipper and continues to love. Guo Yue was brought up in a musicians' courtyard in Beijing. The first half of his memoirs recounts his early years and describes his family, their attitudes, the hardships they had to endure and other experiences during the years of the Cultural Revolution. Guo Yue has spent time doing labour in the countryside, acting in the People's Theatre, performing in the Army's Singing and Dancing Ensemble and as a chorus instructor. In 1982 he left Beijing to study music in London. The second half of his memoirs is dedicated to the recipes for the economical home-cooked dishes that sustained and delighted the family through the long years of hardship.