Product Description

A new edition of one of the bestselling and best-loved books of recent years, with a new introduction by the author. The publication of 'Wild Swans' in 1991 was a worldwide phenomenon. Not only did it become the bestselling non-fiction book in British publishing history, with sales of well over two million, it was received with unanimous critical acclaim, and was named the winner of the 1992 NCR Book Award and the 1993 British Book of the Year Award. Few books have ever had such an impact on their readers. Through the story of three generations of women -- grandmother, mother and daughter -- 'Wild Swans' tells nothing less than the whole tumultuous history of China's tragic 20th-century, from sword-bearing warlords to Chairman Mao, from the Manchu Empire to the Cultural Revolution. At times terrifying, at times astonishing, always deeply moving, 'Wild Swans' is a book in a million, a true story with all the passion and grandeur of a great novel. For this new edition, Jung Chang has written a new introduction, bringing her own story up to date, and describing the effect the success of 'Wild Swans' has had on her life.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4203 in Books
• Published on: 2004-04-05
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 720 pages

Review
'It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this book.' Mary Wesley 'Everything about "Wild Swans" is extraordinary. It arouses all the emotions, such as pity and terror, that great tragedy is supposed to evoke, and also a complex mixture of admiration, despair and delight at seeing a luminous intelligence directed at the heart of darkness.' Minette Marrin, Sunday Telegraph 'Immensely moving and unsettling; an unforgettable portrait of the brain-death of a nation.' J.G. Ballard, Sunday Times '"Wild Swans" made me feel like a five-year-old. This is a family memoir that has the breadth of the most enduring social history.' Martin Amis, Independent on Sunday 'There has never been a book like this.' Edward Behr, Los Angeles Times

From the Publisher
The publication of Wild Swans in 1991 was a worldwide phenomenon. Not only did it become the best-selling non-fiction book in British publishing history, with sales of well over two million, it was received with unanimous critical acclaim, and was named the winner of the 1992 NCR Book Award and the 1993 British Book of the Year Award.

About the Author
Jung Chang was born in Yibin, Sichuan Province, China, in 1952. She was briefly a Red Guard at the age of fourteen, and then a peasant, a 'barefoot doctor', a steelworker and an electrician. She came to Britain in 1978, and in 1982 became the first person from the People's Republic of China to receive a doctorate from a British university. She lives in London.

Customer Reviews

Gripping, terrible, beautiful story
I've been glued to this book for the past fortnight - it is so vivid that it feels like you're actually there, in China. Calm gardens, with streams, peach blossoms and flowers form the back drop to many of the scenes, and this beautiful natural landscape contrasts with the mindless violence and disorder of the human world.

Jung Chang's writing is deceptively simple and you truly relate and identify both with the narrator and her family. This means that it's like a gripping novel, as well as biography.

Plus, this book gives you an insider view of the irrationality of Chinese Communism and shows George Orwell's nightmare vision of '1984' to be more accurate than ever. Yet, the book never lapses into tedious explanations or arguments, teaching us history without any effort.

Power is an end, not a means
Jung Chang's unforgettable masterpiece says more about modern China than all ideological or political disputations together. It is history with a moving human touch, a gripping physical tale.
As an example, her analysis of the Cultural Revolution is outstanding: A bunch of arrogant children of high CP officials creates a pro-Mao movement. The master manipulator Mao uses them for the creation of a youth army and for the smashing of his political opponents. Millions of innocent Chinese are slaughtered, crippled or humiliated in an eight year wave of senseless (not for Mao) turmoil and social upheaval ( no doctors, no teachers, no scientists, no musicians...).
The CR shows that for Mao individual lives (except his own) were totally unimportant. Paramount was that he retained his power.

Jung Chang's book is a history of old and new feudalism. In the old one, there were warlords (and before, an emperor), in the new one, a party leader.
In both feudalisms, power was a synonym for survival in the struggle for life. It meant food, shelter, women, an army, loyal followers, perfect bureaucrats. The most 'cunning' survived in the brutal power struggles.
The author's portrait of Mao's character is profoundly characteristic: 'He was a restless fight promoter. He understood ugly human instincts such as envy and resentment and knew how to mobilize them for his ends. He ruled by getting people to hate each other. Mao had managed to turn people into the ultimate weapon of dictatorship.'

The missionaries of the communist gospel, like her father, a loyal and honest party bureaucrat, were killed (literally or psychologically) by the opportunists, careerists and cynics, who instinctively understood that power is an end, not a means, for instance, to better the living standard of the population.

During Mao's reign the overall atmosphere in China was FEAR ('people did not dare even to think'). In Mao'a paradise (not that of his subjects) disinformation and total censorship were the law in order to keep the Chinese population under his yoke.

The similarities with Stalin's Soviet Union are all too evident.

Jung Chang's mighty portrait of three generations of female victims of dictatorship (today still the most common form of government in the world) is an indirect cry for democracy.

This book is a must read.

This has to be read to be believed
Wild Swans is a magnificent book, telling the story of a family over three generations from the Boxer Rebellion, to the Peoples Revolution and the Cultural Revolutions. It can be said that China has a most colourful history, but this story is very very black in parts. Wild Swans will bring you on a journey of love and hope, and it will also throw you into a pit of dispare. Jung Changs experiences through her own eyes and that of her family are brought to life in this book. The imagery is vivid and the emmotions will grab you and tie you down. Whilst reading Wild Swans I felt anger and hatred at Mao and his minions.I found the events of the cultural revolution insane, Why? I must have asked this a hundred times. Yet Changs explains Mao's magnetism, his ability to manipulate the masses, and the fear he drove deep into the peoples hearts. With one hand he would offer hope and with the other he would bring suffering. Wild Swans is a prime example of the fight of the human spirit. It is within us all and Changs has brought her familys spirit to life in this book. If you are considering going to China read this book. It gives a great insight into the minds of the Chinese people. All though times have changed, they are still a tough, hardworker and honest people who simply hope for a good life.