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    Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
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    Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
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    Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China
    Ebook863 pages13 hours

    Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

    By Jung Chang

    4/5

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    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherHarperCollins
    Release dateOct 27, 2011
    ISBN9780007379873
    Author

    Jung Chang

    Jung Chang was born in Yibin, Sichuan Province, China, in 1952. She was briefly a Red Guard, and then a peasant, a ‘barefoot doctor’, a steelworker and an electrician. She came to Britain in 1978, and became the first person from the People’s Republic of China to receive a doctorate from a British university. Her books include ‘Wild Swans’, which won the 1992 NCR Book Award and the 1993 British Book of the Year, and sold over 10 million copies. She lives in London.

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    Reviews for Wild Swans

    4/5

    1,791 ratings75 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is an epic personal story of life in China over much of the 20th century, told through the stories of three generations of women in one family. The author has lived in Britain since becoming one of the first Chinese students to get a doctorate at a British university since before the communist takeover in 1949. Her grandmother's family came from Manchuria in the extreme north of China, and at the age of 15 in 1924 she was given away as a concubine to one of the warlords vying for control in this part of China in the vacuum created by the overthrow of the last Chinese emperor in 1912. Her mother, the daughter of this union, was one of the early idealistic communists in the years leading up to the 1949 revolution and for the first few heady years of the new regime when there seemed to be a genuine attempt to create a better society and reduce the oppressive and miserable life of the majority of the population, especially in rural areas. The book covers in depth the dramatic and horrific events that followed: the initially promising but quickly aborted attempt at liberalisation that was the Hundred Flowers campaign; the "Great Leap Forward", where much of the country was forced to produce steel to boost industry, to such an extent that agriculture collapsed and famine ensued, in which some 30 million people died, including the author's uncle and great-aunt; then, after a brief period of reform, the appalling "Cultural Revolution", Mao's attempt to create a personal rule, overthrowing much of his own communist apparatus, which dislocated society and economy, destroying much of the country's cultural and historical infrastructure, effectively abolishing education, burning nearly all books, banning films, theatre and sport, seriously blighting the author's teenage years and adult adulthood; and which, despite some relaxation after 1972, didn't fully end until after Mao's death and the overthrow of the Gang of Four, led by his wife, in autumn 1976.Despite this litany of catastrophe, there is hope in the love and closeness of the family, centred here around the three eponymous amazing and strong-minded women. After the death of her warlord "husband", who treated her fairly decently by the standards of the time, the grandmother found happiness married to a much older man; the mother found love with a fellow communist and, despite strains caused by her husband's principled but rigid puritanism, their marriage survived their vicious denunciations by Red Guards and others at the appalling mass meetings, and their imprisonment in labour camps until the early 1970s. The physical and mental strains of years of humiliation and subjection to forced labour and psychological pressures, killed the author's father at the age of only 54 in 1975. In the relatively more relaxed atmosphere of the later 1970s, especially after the restoration to power of Deng Xiaoping, the future paramount leader in the 80s and 90s, the author was able to study abroad and the lives of her mother and other family members, as well as that of hundreds of millions of other Chinese, improved dramatically, albeit within the framework of what remains of course a one party communist state. The afterword recounts in brief the author's life in Britain and the original publication of this book in 1991 (what I have read is the 25th anniversary edition). One thing I would like to have heard a bit more about, though, was how she was able to defect to Britain after gaining her doctorate in 1982. This is a magnificent and absorbing book, with much to say about human nature at its best and worse, and the horrors that blind adherence to an ideology can bring about. 5/5
    • 5/5
      This memoir recounts the story of three generations of Chinese women, the author, her mother, and her grandmother. Their lives cover a very turbulent time period in China's history and it's fascinating to see the difference in choices and the huge changes going on in China. The book starts with Jung Chang's grandmother, who hyad her feet bound and as a beautiful young woman, made a very fortunate match as the concubine yof a general. The story then follows her mother who grows up during the Japanese occupation of Manchuria and becomes a very powerful member of the Communist Party. But their lives are filled with turmoil as the country goes through the Great Leap Forward and the devastating Cultural Revolution. We see the transformation of the country and the drastic change to the lives of Chinese people at all levels. What I thought was especially fascinating was to see how the author changes from idealistic Communist filled with pride and love for Chairman Mao to disillusionment as she discovers the political corruption of the party, resulting in the deaths and destruction of millions of Chinese.Excellent writing and excellent story.
    • 5/5
      I have had this book on my TBR pile for quite awhile. I've always wanted to learn more about China and this was an amazing read about China from the 1920's to the early 1980's. It's written in a way that is easy to engage in and deftly wraps history and the engrossing story of three women together. This is a memoir so it is non-fiction.I listened to this on audiobook and the audiobook was very well done. I would recommend if you love audiobooks, the narrator did a great job.This book explains a lot about China and why it is the way it is today. To say that China has had a tumultuous history would be an understatement. This is a great book that I really think everyone should read. I would recommend for older YA and older readers only; although this is non-fiction, a lot of the torture described gets very graphic (although it's not overly embellished or gratuitous). This was a very eye-opening read for me and I found it incredibly intriguing and disturbing.Overall this was a fantastic read that I could spend a lot of time talking about. The writing style is a bit rough around the edges at times. However, the fascinating topic and the engaging way it was presented made up for that. I learned a ton and really enjoyed the book a lot. I don’t read a ton of history but this book presents history in a very story-like fashion that is easy to engage with and stay engrossed in.
    • 3/5
      This is Chang's memoir/biography of her life and those of her mother and grandmother. Her grandmother had been a Manchurian concubine (and had bound feet) before the Kuomintang came to power. She then lived to see the Communists and Mao take over. Her mother, daughter of a warlord and accepted daughter of a doctor, lived most of her adult life under Mao, and was moved to Chengdu. Originally a minor official married to another minor official, they were then declared "capitalist roaders" and dealt with denunciations, beatings, etc, as part of Mao's constant upheavals to keep the populace infighting for power and food.This book is quite terrifying and very frustrating and infuriating. What kind of leader starves his own populace in the name of building up industry? Or who deems education a bourgeois desire, wanting their populace to be illiterate and uneducated (yet expects to grow their industrial output?). Some of the language, though, is very MAGA-ish. Frightening.
    • 4/5
      Very (too ?) descriptive in the first chapters, too much not necessary background is provided to the reader, which can feel overwhelmed by the my mother's mother's something. After a good third of the book, the story become really interesting and depicts the author early life and events pre/post birth which will influence her.I would not mind being advised for another reading of the same period but from someone with a much more standard and modest background (vs. politically engaged and important parents background).
    • 5/5
      A great story of three women amid the backdrop of 20th century China.
    • 5/5
      Astonishingly moving account of the momentous events that have enveloped China and its people in the Twentieth Century. A book vast in its scope - the unending rise and fall of despotism, hierarchies, hopes and fears through decades of upheaval, slaughter and visionary aspiration - and yet focussed on the individual experiences, suffering, horrors and wonders of a nation constantly at war within itself and with the world at large. A breath-taking masterpiece.
    • 5/5
      In my mid-20s I read this book along with Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee and War & Peace. Three generational histories set on different continents in my grandparents time. I was working at an international airport at the time, and it changed the way I understood all of the thousands of people who arrived and departed every day. When I looked at their ages and nationalities, I started to wonder "what have you lived through? which oppression did you survive? will your children have a better life than you have?"20 years later, they are questions I still ask.
    • 5/5
      Highly recommended.
    • 4/5
      Relaas van drie generaties van vrouwen (grootmoeder, moeder en auteur) in het China van de 20ste eeuw. De titel Wilde Zwanen verwijst naar de bijnaam (Chang) die aan de moeder werd gegeven en die overging op haar dochters.Ronduit indrukwekkend als document, vooral als illustratie van de schokkende veranderingen van China in de 20ste eeuw. Hallucinant en onterend vooral in verband met de Culturele Revolutie. Vlot geschreven en grote vaart, tot de laatste 50 blz, dan eerder epiloogvorm, omdat het dramatisch gehalte dan wegge?bd is. Toch niet altijd consistent als historische bron: verschillende figuren worden te zwart-wit voorgesteld (de duivelse Tings, Zhou Enlai als goede die meewerkt aan het kwade, de goede Deng Xiao Ping); in dit verband is vooral haar analyse van Mao's directe rol problematisch. Hier en daar ook apologetische inslag, vooral mbt tot haar ouders.
    • 5/5
      I read this a long time ago, I cannot write a fair review. This is the story of three generations of women in China and presents the history of China through their lives. What I remembered most is that the Chinese people feared to think because they might say something out loud that would be heard. This was a crazy world they lived in. I recommend this book every chance I get.
    • 3/5
      A fascinating story that taught me much about China. But the book could use some editing. When a second book club chose to read it a couple of years later, I opted NOT to re-read it.
    • 4/5
      This contains spoilers. Wild Swans is the memior of Jung Chang's childhood in China during the Cultural Revolution, but it's not only about her. She begins with the story of her grandmother. Jung Chang's grandmother was a concubine to a warlord. She had to use charm and wit to keep herself safe from being held prisoner by the warlord's family - as she was considered the property of the warlord and of his legitimate wives. Upon her warlord's death, she made the very difficult decision to marry, which caused many problems for her, her new husband, and potentially her afterlife (in which her husband and warlord would cut her in half to share her). This story delves into great detail about the strife that Jung Chang's grandmother had to overcome. Now that I'm familiar with how foot binding works I will shudder every time I hear mention of it. I never realized....The next section of the book is about Jung Chang's mother, who grew up mainly during the strife between her mother and her stepfather's family. WWII was also raging, which meant occupation and brutalization by the Japanese. (This was the most difficult section for me to read.) Once the Japanese occupation ended, their country was ruled by tyranny, thus bringing on the communist uprising. Jung Chang's mother became deeply involved in the Communist Party while very young, but felt betrayed by The Party by the time she was pregnant with her first child. The final section talks about Jung Chang's childhood, watching the Communist Party emotionally and physically torture those around her, including her parents. She vividly portrays the original innocence that she had - believing in the communist party and Mao's propaganda. Slowly, gently, she began to emerge from this innocence. More gracefully than would be expected, given what was going on around her. That speaks to the power of Mao's campaign. This was a fascinating and beautifully written book. It's written lovingly, yet it's brutally honest. The research is so amazing that every once in a while I wondered "how does she know that?" Her years' worth of research definitely paid off. This book deserves the fantastic worldwide sales that it has received. I am tempted to read Jung Chang's biography of Mao pretty soon.
    • 4/5
      Contributes to our understanding of Chinese culture. The family is the story.
    • 5/5
      Loved this book, a real eye-opener to life in China at this time. These women struggled but stayed determined until the end
    • 3/5
      This is a family story, telling the lives of 3 generations of a Chinese family. They are very different lives set, almost, in very different times. Grandmother was a concubine to a Warlord, mother was a Communist at the start of Communism in China and the daughter (the author of this book) is disillusioned with Mao and the cultural revolution and leaves to live in the West. They are very different lives and the hardship imposed on them is, at times, awfully hard to read. As a family histoty, it works well. Where I feel it doesn;t work as well are that the author allows her views to colour the lives of the previous generations, from early on the "Mao bad" influence is quite clearly seen, even if, at the time, that was probably not the prevailing view of the population or of the people who's lives she is recounting. I also found the statements about the mood and thoughts of the senior leaders to be disconcerting as there is no footnote or evidence presented that the statement is believed to be correct. But those are minor quibbles about tone, I cannot disagree that the content is remarkable and deserves to be widely read.
    • 4/5
      Despite the immense praise it received, this didn't strike a chord with me the way most personal stories about Chinese hardships have done.
    • 4/5
      Wow! You can read all the history of modern China from the history books and never come to realize what it meant for the people who lived through it. Chang takes you on the daily path of people who were so affected by the very policies that they carried out. Chang's family was privileged but privilege didn't bring comfort. This is a story of China from the last days of foot binding and concubines through the Communist takeover, through the absurd days of Mao and the Gang of Four, and finally to the late 1970's and the beginnings of a more open China. At the same time this is a story of a family. Add to the normal flow of love and conflict that make any family the policies of a government that attempted to totally control every aspect of everyday life. The strength for this family to endure is nothing short of a miracle.The story of the Wild Swans deserves a ten star; I gave four because there are times that the writing does almost become too complicated and detailed especially since the Chinese names are difficult for me to remember. And at times, words just seems very awkward (perhaps this is due to English being a second language for the author). I did appreciate the map, the time line, and the chapter titles along with the dates. In short, this book is a fascinating read of a place that few of us can imagine. Along with other books, I read this as a preparation for a trip to China; I know that this one has definitely made an impression and will provide a different perspective than I would have had. Highly recommended.
    • 5/5
      A truly moving and stunning biographical work, Chang tells the three interconnected stories of her grandmother, mother and herself, together all of whom experienced the most tumultuous century in Chinese history. Her gift of writing not only brings the shocking events to life, but the reader feels for each character and is moved by their stories and hardships. This book is obviously deeply personal to Chang, and it reads so: like reading a collection of diaries. An important book to read to understand the personal impacts the last century has had on the Chinese.
    • 3/5
      Summary: Three generations of Chinese women are portrayed in this true story. How grateful I am for the freedoms I enjoy as a woman living in America, what tragedy and oppression the women of China have experienced for such a long time.
    • 5/5
      The hardships of three generations of women in China in the 20th century. Details abuse of power.
    • 3/5
      In this 1991 book, the author, who was born in1952 in Yibin, China, of her grandmother, her mother, and her own life in China. She relates the bizarre events that Mao put China through, and tells how brain-washed she and millions of Chinese were. I found the stuff which Mao forced the Chinese people to do mind-bobbling. One is amazed that a people could be so bamboozled so long. Not till shortly before Mao died in 1976 did the author come to see that he was a thoroughly evil person.. I found the major part of the book not good reading, since there is so much detail of things hard to believe. Not till the author comes to relate how she finally became enlightened did I start to enjoy the reading--and that was near the end of the book..
    • 4/5
      Relaas van drie generaties van vrouwen (grootmoeder, moeder en auteur) in het China van de 20ste eeuw. De titel Wilde Zwanen verwijst naar de bijnaam (Chang) die aan de moeder werd gegeven en die overging op haar dochters.Ronduit indrukwekkend als document, vooral als illustratie van de schokkende veranderingen van China in de 20ste eeuw. Hallucinant en onterend vooral in verband met de Culturele Revolutie. Vlot geschreven en grote vaart, tot de laatste 50 blz, dan eerder epiloogvorm, omdat het dramatisch gehalte dan weggeëbd is. Toch niet altijd consistent als historische bron: verschillende figuren worden te zwart-wit voorgesteld (de duivelse Tings, Zhou Enlai als goede die meewerkt aan het kwade, de goede Deng Xiao Ping); in dit verband is vooral haar analyse van Mao's directe rol problematisch. Hier en daar ook apologetische inslag, vooral mbt tot haar ouders.
    • 5/5
      Before beginning this book I didn’t know very much at all about Chairman Mao, but I’m obviously not alone in that. As Jung Chang says in her introduction to the 2003 edition, ‘the world knows astonishingly little about him’. This book helped me understand why the Chinese people initally welcomed communism and how millions of children grew up viewing Mao as their hero and never dreaming of questioning his regime. It also explained why many people eventually became disillusioned and why the system started to break down.One of the most horrible things in the book occurs within the first chapter when Chang describes her grandmother’s footbinding. It’s so awful to think of a little girl being forced to undergo this torture just because tiny feet (or ‘three-inch golden lilies’) were thought to be the ideal. Soon after her grandmother’s feet were bound the tradition began to disappear. However, this is just one small part of the book and the first in a long series of shocking episodes the author relates to us.Some parts of the book made me feel so angry and frustrated, such as reading about the senseless waste of food when peasants were taken away from the fields to work on increasing steel output instead, as part of Mao’s ‘Great Leap Forward’. The descriptions of the Cultural Revolution are also horrific; it went on for years and resulted in countless deaths. One of the most frightening things about this period was that nobody was safe – people who had been high-ranking Communist officials before the revolution suddenly found themselves branded ‘capitalist-roaders’ or ‘counter-revolutionaries’ (sometimes by their own children) and some of them were driven to suicide.The book is complete with a family tree, chronology, photographs and map of China – all of which were very useful as I found myself constantly referring to them and without them I would have had a lot more difficulty keeping track of what was going on.As you can probably imagine, it was a very depressing book, as Jung and her family experienced very few moments of true happiness. She only really sounds enthusiastic when she’s describing the natural beauty of some of the places she visited – and the pleasure she got from reading books and composing poetry, both of which were condemned during the Cultural Revolution. However, it was also the most riveting non-fiction book I’ve ever read – I kept thinking "I’ll just read a few more pages" then an hour later I was still sitting there unable to put the book down.All three of the women featured in Wild Swans – Jung Chang herself, her mother and her grandmother – were forced to endure hardships and ordeals that are unimaginable to most of us, but remained strong and courageous throughout it all. However, Wild Swans is not just the story of three women – it’s much broader in scope than that and is the story of an entire nation. So much is packed into the 650 pages of this book that I’ve barely scratched the surface in this review and if you haven’t yet read the book I hope you’ll read it for yourself – no review can really do it justice.
    • 4/5
      Sehr empfehlenswertes Buch für jeden der Interesse an Chinas Geschichte hat. Trotz des großen informativen Gehalts verliert die Erzählung nicht an Spannung und auch die Charaktere sind gut und zum Teil detailliert gezeichnet.
    • 4/5
      The amount of time it took me to read this probably doesn't reflect how interesting I found it: it's a fascinating on-the-ground account of China between the start of the 20th century and the reforms that followed the death of Mao. It begins with a woman being offered up to a warlord and ends with another going to see a West End show – if nothing else it's a wonderful demonstration of how far life can take you.With China now playing a greater and greater role in all of our lives, it's also a reminder of how, not so very long ago, the country was all but cut off from the rest of the world. Most of the major events you'd expect to crop up in a Western or even Russian memoir covering this period (the First World War, the Third Reich, the Cuban Missile Crisis) aren't even mentioned. Instead we're made very aware of how brutal, arbitrary and even absurd life was for many Chinese during the 20th century, and particularly during the Cultural Revolution. "The more books you read, the stupider you become," Mao proclaimed: so the author began work as a doctor without any training at all. Actions as innocuous as stamp collecting, looking in a mirror, and embracing under a lamppost were deemed bourgeois, either at the direction of the chairman or of some follower enthusiastically trying to interpret order in his worldview. The only thing I can think it is comparable to is Cambodia under Pol Pot (though it's also a reminder that denouncing 'experts' never ends well – *names*), and it's in stark contrast to Nazi Germany or Soviet Russia – two totalitarian regimes probably more familiar to a Western reader – which are often characterised as a brutal imposition of 'order'. I guess that also demonstrates how Western-centric our view of history is – and what matters to China is only going to get more important in this 21st century.
    • 3/5
      If anyone is interested in the political climate of China in the 1950's, 1960's and 1970's mostly during Mao's rule, this book is for you. Makes you realize the freedoms we have and how you do not want to be a communist.
    • 4/5
      A multi-generational memoir from China. This saga reads like fiction. Across three generations of women and multiple regime changes, the author paints a sweeping picture of the challenges of living under Communist leadership. The absurdities, the tortures, and the fears abound. Frankly, throughout the reading of this book I repeatedly asked myself if I would have survived. I am not certain I would have. If you only want to read about China once, this would be a good pick.
    • 4/5
      Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang is the story of three generations of women and covers most of the 20th Century with all of China’s upheavals and political unrest as it affected one family. These three women include the author herself, who now lives in the United Kingdom., her mother who was a Communist and tried very hard to live her life according to the party line, and her grandmother who, at a young age, was given away as a concubine to a warlord and suffered the shame of this for the rest of her life. Focusing on these women’s lives, Wild Swans - Three Daughters of China, tells a unique and harrowing story. Although I had a basic knowledge of many of these events, it was the small, personal things that I found most riveting. This book is densely packed with events, information, names and places. I found both the family tree and the map of China at the back of the book very helpful.Although I thought this was a very well done book, I can’t help but wonder how biased and/or slanted the stories are. These are one author’s views, but they certainly help pull open the curtain and shed light on this mysterious country.
    • 4/5
      This biography of three generations of women in Jung Chang's family is also a history of China and its politics from the early 20th century through the end of the Cultural Revolution and Mao's death in 1976. Chang's grandmother was the concubine of a warlord and was among the last generation of women to have bound feet. Chang's mother joined the underground Communist movement in her teens. She married a fellow communist who became one of the top Party officials in the province of Sichuan. Chang's mother also held a leadership position until the Cultural Revolution changed everything. Both of Chang's parents were denounced, lost their positions, and underwent years of physical and mental persecution. Despite the separation of the family – Chang's parents were sent to separate work camps and she and her siblings were required to live at their schools with their classmates – the family maintained strong emotional ties.Chang's father deeply believed in the principles of Communism, and he lived as he believed. Social privileges were determined by a person's rank in the Party, and Chang's father would not allow his wife (who had a lower Party rank) or his children to benefit from the privileges that went with his status. Unfortunately, when he was denounced as a “capitalist-roader”, his status attached to his family and limited their future prospects.It was too dangerous for Chang's parents to teach their children anything contradictory to the Party line (even though the Party line constantly changed and often contradicted itself). Any doubts they had about Mao's leadership were not communicated to their children. As a child, Chang unquestioningly accepted Mao's teachings, and when her experiences and observations contradicted what she had been taught, she questioned her experience rather than the doctrine. Her disillusionment with Mao's Cultural Revolution was gradual but irrevocable. In the words of one chapter heading, Chang finally realized that “if this is Paradise, what then is Hell?” In the course of the Cultural Revolution, Chang witnessed the destruction of thousands of years of China's cultural heritage – its landscape ravaged, its architecture and monuments destroyed, and its books burned.I wasn't as engaged with the first part of the book that describes the life and experiences of Chang's mother and grandmother before Chang's birth. I kept wondering how Chang could possibly know so many details about things that happened before she was born. I spent a lot of time with my parents and grandparents and heard many stories about their early lives, but I doubt that I could write their biographies in such detail. There's a qualitative difference in the writing once Chang begins describing her personal experiences, and the book became a page-turner for me at that point. In the afterword, Chang mentions that her mother spent several months with her in England ten years after Chang had left China, and her mother spent most of that time talking to Chang about her life and Chang's grandmother's life. She left Chang about sixty hours of recordings. I wish that had been communicated in an introduction rather than an afterword. I would have appreciated that part of the book more if I hadn't been questioning Chang's source of information.