Customer Reviews

Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

5 star:		(173)
4 star:		(41)
3 star:		(9)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This book does something that most people don't get around to doing when they say this or that about China: Provide historical detail. Specifically of interest:

1. The reason that the Kuomintang was not successful in China was constant corruption. Some people have suggested that Chinese people love tyrants (Jasper Becker, "The Chinese") and this is the explanation of why they rejected what would have been a democratic government for an authoritarian government. This is partially true, but the Kuomintang blew any chance that it had at legitimacy with its rampant corruption.

2. That the Communist Party became popular because they promised to not be like the corrupt and crooked Kuomintang. Her father is an example of one of the wide-eyed idealists that really believed in his cause at the beginning and was left a broken man when he saw what actually became of this grand vision. People at Western universities are always attacking the West and praising the Communist ideology/ governent allocation of resources, and they haven't a faintest idea of the actual RESULTS of the intended programs. Nor do they understand the incentive structures that led to those results.

3. Historical accounts of the great famine. I can't believe that this very afternoon, there are still people trying to talk away this historical event in China and say that it was just a statistical illusion. This is the second author that I've read that gives historical accounts of people eating their children.

4. Demonstrating how the cult of Mao was created and maintained, as well as what were his motives in the various campaigns (Cultural Revolution/ The Great Leap Forward) that swept the country during his reign. Another author (Anhua Gao) has also noted that Mao generated a lot of morass in the country because the weaker the country, the easier it was to control. But her detail is not comparable to the author of this book. She showed the self-denunciation meetings and the stages of his campaigns to keep the country divided and fighting against itself. It may be another 200 years before China shakes off the residual results of his rule (such as overpopulation and then the resulting sex imbalance that has come about because of population control), but here in this is an example of WHAT happened, and HOW it happened.

5. Showing the highly ritualized behavior of Chinese people in things such as foot binding, etc. A lot of people may come to China and wonder where people here get their ideas from and why they are prisoner of them. This author demonstrates that it's been that way for a *long* time. And it may never change.

It's hard to recommend this book enough times for someone who wants *actual results* of what happens in the context of a Communist Revolution, as opposed to the vague ramblings of something like the Communist Manifesto or state-sheltered academics in Western universities.

I read this book while living/working in China, in 2001. The headmaster of the school where I was teaching, actually lent me the book. It's banned in China, of course, so I was shocked when I saw it on his shelf. He too was scorned by the Cultural Revolution, and I've often wondered how his story would have read. I found that the Chinese are very tight-lipped about what they truly think on political matters, and the history of China... communism, moreso! This being said, reading a memoir such as this, was very informative. I can't even imagine going through such hardships. It's no wonder the Chinese are very resilient people! To be honest, I can't blame them for keeping their thoughts to themselves, knowing how the history of that country. Powers were constantly shifting, and a few words which were the right thing to say at one time, would have to incriminated then next (after powers shifted once again). The book certainly helped me to understand why China is the way it is today! I had a lot more empathy for the Chinese people as a whole.

I still find myself looking at an elderly Chinese person, and wondering what their life was like when they were younger. Every one of them could write a memoir which would be equally as gripping as this one.

This book is excellent. I loved it, and couldn't put it down. I've lent it out many times, and plan to read it again!

The tapes showed up before I was looking for them and I can't wait to listen to them. Thanks for meeting this need.

I was given Wild Swans to read prior to a summer trip to Beijing. Being a high school student, I was not only daunted by the heft of the book, but by the extensive historical chronology and family tree in the introduction as well. I was also unsure as to whether the story would be a Chinese-generation plot along the lines of Amy Tan or whether it would be more of a strict historical recount of China in the late nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Despite my apprehensions, I decided to go ahead and read it, and I have been thoroughly delighted with the results of my endeavor.
Wild Swans is what I would term a "human-interest history," meaning that the dry historical aspect of the book is tempered by the human emotion surrounding the individual events. Jung Chang uses the female leaders of each generation to provide a thoughtful outlook on the traditions and culture of China. For me, the best way to gain a true feel for the attitudes of a specific time period is to hear a personal account. This is the book's most salient quality. Chang makes the most of the little details that encompass the environment of the characters and uses the thoughts and feelings of her family to convey key concepts pertaining to Chinese morals and behaviors.
The concise language of the book also helps to promote these historical images and gives the book a quick tempo. Each anecdote is told in the same, somewhat removed manner, even Chang's own experiences. While some might find this an impersonal tactic, I felt that it allowed the tragedies of the story to shine by basing them purely on their own facets. Any extraneous writing would have clouded the sheer pain involved in a number of the events, and Chang's distance allows the reader to recreate the scene and absorb the historical depth behind it. Chang's own academic experience provides a particularly striking cultural contrast to typical Western thought processes and teachings.
Of course, there are some minor flaws in the book. Chang tends to gloss over her father's upbringing and adolescence and lingers on her grandmother's trials during her youth and during the Communist takeover, resulting in some unbalanced character depictions. Chang's privileged lifestyle prior to and then under the Communists also provides a lopsided view as to the true reign of Mao and the general state of China during the early Communist years. However, bias is to be expected whenever dealing with a personal account, and these deficiencies become lost in the greater framework of the book.
I have learned more from this book about Chinese history than I could have ever hoped to acquire from a guidebook or textbook. I highly recommend this book to anyone planning to travel to China in the near future or for anyone who is looking for an informative, yet entertaining, story of a family in China over the years.

I've studied the history of China for years and even lived in China for a year. I found this book amazing in many ways. First it is a true story covering three generations - three radically different times in Chinese history. Second it is told with a brutal honesty. Most amazing still is Jung Chang's writing style she has the ability to paint a picture describe a scene and you are there. Her words give you enough detail to be in that place and feel the emotions of the situation. You will not get lost in endless descriptions of the background and the weather as in some historical tales. Nor does she delve into a philosophical debates and explanations of political decision making processes at high government levels. (This would have been very tempting to include). There is a great deal of political information in the book. There are details of the political life of Party Members but throughout the book Jun Chang keeps the details wound tightly around the main characters - her grandmother, her mother, her father and herself. Her honest descriptions of the student led cultural revolution are as heartbreaking as they are terrifying. If you have any interest at all in the history of China or of social behavior you will not be disappointed in this book.

Very good personal story on the Chinese history. It is well written as well, but it is not that deep. For more serious discussions on current China affairs, I recommend this book by a Chinese journalist George Zhibin Gu: China's Global Reach: markets, multinationals, and globalization.

Wild Swans , as the other reviews shows , is a blend of personal , political and memoir .............. Overall the book is well done , especially if the information regarding the social / political enviroment are accurate . Ms. Chang is to be thanked for sharing her personal experiences , and viewpoints , and has given me a subject , China in the 20th Century , to research ............

this is a beautiful book. maybe even my favorite of many classics.

it is the story of three women, strong and united with a determination that will get them through the hardships of China from the early nineteen hundrens to the present. optimism and love for each other and their family, as well as tears and sadness, get them through their lives as well as the tyrannical reign of Mao, a powerful dictator of China.

i am partly struck with wanting to share this book with you, and invite you to read it, (though it is certainly not children's fiction, but mature, adult fact) or to keep it like the treasure it is to me and i'm sure many others. if you do read it, covet it. is a bargain for what you get in return.

(Aug 2003 release) Being interested in Chinese culture for sometime, I finally found a book that has given me something other than state sponsored history facts. I came across this book by accident. I began reading at the bookstore on Saturday evening and wasn't able to put it down until going to work on Monday morning. This book made me laugh, cry and scared the **** out of me in some places. It has definitely given me a wider perspective on the Chinese people and its culture. I'm looking forward to the release of Jung Chang's next book on Mao due out this year.

I picked up this book to keep me company on a long-haul flight to Hong Kong. I soon found myself engrossed in the story. It very effectively describes the recent History of China through the eyes of three generations. As it is told from the viewpoint of the women, it gives a perspective on how major political changes affect the lives of every household and every aspect of day-to-day life. It gave me a much deeper understanding of Chinese culture. It is one thing to know what foot-binding is, quite another to read a description of it by someone who has endured it. This is one of those books that will stay with you forever.