Wild Swans – Jung Chang
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China tells the story of three generations of women in one family, and through their lives, the turbulent history of China in the twentieth century. Written by Jung Chang, who grew up in China and later moved to Britain, the book became an international bestseller and one of the most widely read accounts of modern Chinese history.
The story begins with Chang’s grandmother, who was born in 1909 and whose feet were bound as a child. At fifteen, she became the concubine of a powerful warlord general, living in a world of tradition and constraint. Chang’s mother grew up during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and the civil war, and as a young woman joined the Communist Party, believing passionately in its promise of a better society. She married a dedicated Communist official, and both rose within the party.
Chang herself was born in 1952 and grew up during the rule of Mao Zedong. She describes the Great Leap Forward and the famine that followed, and the chaos of the Cultural Revolution, when she briefly became a Red Guard before witnessing the persecution of her own parents, who were denounced, imprisoned and tortured. She also recounts her own experiences being sent to the countryside to work as a peasant, a barefoot doctor and a steelworker, before eventually studying English and leaving for Britain.
Powerful and deeply personal, the book offers an unforgettable portrait of resilience in the face of political upheaval. It was banned in mainland China.
Wild Swans is an essential read for anyone interested in China, history and family memoirs. It contains descriptions of violence and persecution.
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