Juliana Young Koo, a brilliant and legendary woman representing overseas Chinese everywhere, published her autobiography Sunday in Beijing at the age of 109.

Koo's first autobiography published within China, 109 Springtimes: My Story was dictated by the author and compiled by her oldest daughter Genevieve Young. In the book, Koo recounts her memories and experiences from over the past century giving readers a window into China's turbulent history.

Born to a wealthy family with business and government ties, Koo was one of the first women to graduate from Fudan University.

Koo showed her courage and wisdom particularly after her first husband Yang Guangsheng (a consul general stationed in Manila, Philippines, from 1938 to 1942) was killed by the Japanese army. She took care of dozens of widows and children of the consulate staff, fighting against the Japanese army in her own way. After the war, she took three daughters to the US on her own and became the first head of the UN Protocol Department.

The book describes a woman who witnessed the changes of time, the horrors of war and also the founding and development of the UN.