Wild Swans: A Memoir of Three Daughters Growing Up in China

Lynnae P: This is a great saga story if three generations of women and their struggles to survive and navigate communist and pre-communist China. A fascinating tale of life during the ever shifting sands of Mao’s rule, going from favor to national enemy and back, and the havoc this life created in the families.

United States on Sep 30, 2023

Magber: Bel libro che ti porta in viaggio nella storia della Cina, dalla fine del 19esimo secolo, insegnando tradizioni e culture di varie regioni della nazione enorme, ma più che altro illustrando il ruolo della donna nella storia.

Italy on Sep 05, 2023

barbyt: This is one of the best books I have ever read couldn't put it down

United Kingdom on Sep 02, 2023

Emma: This book is so well written. Not sure how anyone survives in China. So many wars; so many ruthless leaders. The crime and brutality is unreal. Crazy propaganda; lack of freedom. Reading this book is a little scary because it reminds me of what’s currently going on in the United States and where we are heading

United States on Aug 27, 2023

Sue E.: A book that deserves to be read, it shows how much China suffered under Mao and the courage of they Chinese people..

United Kingdom on Aug 14, 2023

Alyssia Cooke: This certainly can't be classed as a light read by any stretch of the imagination and yet it is both hugely interesting and incredibly educational. China is a culture that I have little knowledge of the history and this book is written in such a way to both educate and draw you into the times and cultures depicted. It's a startlingly dark and depressing read at times and yet the writing style never allows you to become bogged down in the undeniably horrific events that have happened to Jung Chang's family - and so many others in China - over the years. Parts of the book almost left me gasping at the sheer inhumanity of humanity and the ways in which neighbour can be set against neighbour and a culture of fear and paranoia permeate every aspect of life.

This book depicts a journey in several different ways ; a journey through the generations of three women in China and how the political atmosphere of each period influenced the lives they lived and the journeys they took. It's a journey through the political landscape of China across through a tumultuous period of history and it's an individuals journey of being born into a world where Mao is revered as a God and any...

United Kingdom on Mar 09, 2020

John Hopper: 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...

United Kingdom on Jun 15, 2019

Baseball Fan: "Wild Swans", by Jung Chang, is a sophisticated and substantive biographical-historical novel about life and events in China during 1909-1978. The story centers on Chang's parents' lives, her own life, and those of her siblings; and it is told against the backdrop of significant historical events: the Sino-Japanese war, the Russian occupation of China, Koumintang rule (under Chiang Kai-shek), the civil war between the Koumintang and the Communists, The Long March, and Communist rule (under Mao Tse-tung). Chang indicates that the names of the public figures as well as the members of her family are real; but the names of other figures have been changed. [Note: Speaking of names, Chang's older sister's name is Xiao-hong---`hong' means `Wild Swan'. Also, Chang's birth name is Er-hong which means `2nd Wild Swan'. They also have three younger brothers named, Jin-ming, Xiao-hei, and Xiao-fang].

According the Chang, during each of aforementioned periods the `rulers' committed numerous atrocities against the Chinese people. The Japanese were extremely cruel, particularly, to the Manchurians, relegated them to second class status, and committed numerous acts of torture. When the...

United States on Jan 11, 2011

Litr8r: Irony, hypocrisy, suffering, famine, a multitude of tragedy, and a touch of insanity. No, it's not Desperate Housewives re-runs--it's Jung Chang's Wild Swans. The only thing missing is sex, and the reason why is of course a story in itself. If you're looking to kick-off your China reading experience with an essential novel, Wild Swans is for you. First published in Britain in 1991, the novel provides an eye-opening look at China's cultural history between 1900 and 1990 so truthful and thorough that censors have not yet approved it for publication in its original form in mainland China. That alone should make you want to pick up a copy.

In seeking to ameliorate the past and to make sense of her life, Chang delves into her family history, providing a brutally honest portrait of three generations of women. What is truly amazing about Chang's family chronicles are the wealth of hardships Chinese women have had to endure.

The book begins in the early 1900s, with her grandmother's (Yu Fang's) marriage at age 15 to a warlord general. She battled bound feet, loneliness, and the challenges of managing her reputation against conniving servants while isolated in a gilded prison...

United States on Feb 29, 2008