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Summary: Abolute power corrupts absolutely
Review: This book shocked me. I had no idea of the brutality of the Chinese twentieth century, and Jung Chang's lucid reportage delivers the message with greater impact than dramatised events would. I can still feel the unavenged injustice reaching out to me through the years as the victims of the Demon Mao and his acolytes begin to find voice throigh this gripping book. I eagerly await Jung Chang's Mao biography. Westerners, read this and NEVER take your freedoms for granted again.
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Summary: Good book even for Chinese!
Review: Jung Chang's book has given everyone even a Chinese an opportunity to understand China's recent history throughly. Contrary to my imagination, without any bias, this book fairly trace the life of three generations in China. Moreover, Jung Chang disclose the conflict in thoughts between human's nature instinct and communist's policies.
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Summary: Wild Swans: A Concise Autobiography of China,
Review: This should be required reading in all American High Schools and colleges. Through the eyes and experiences of this great story teller, Jung Chang tells the truth in candid, graphic detail, of the struggles China has faced for centuries, most intimately in the account of her own family's experience. No book that I've read to date can even come close to measuring up to Jung's accounts of the political debauchery of Chairman Mao's Communist Party; the deceipt, the disregard for basic human rights and freedoms, will shatter every freedom loving individual from America throughout the free nations of the world. Time and time again, the family was sacrificed for the 'good of the Party', and time and time again, so-called 'People's Government' overruled the common sense and know-how of the average Chinese citizen. If you love freedom and value democracy, and wish to make a difference in the free world, " Wild Swans" is the 'handbook' to follow, as it tells the truth, vividly, and stirs those who love freedom to desires of maintaining the freedoms we now enjoy and want to pass on to the generations to come. ' Wild Swans' MUST BE READ in order to be believed!
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Summary: A challenging book, but well worth it.
Review: In her book Wild Swans, Jung Chang chronicles the experiences of three generations of women in twentieth-century China - her grandmother's life as a concubine to a warlord general, her mother's role in the Communist Party and the persecution that her parents endured afterwards, and her own gradual disillusionment with Communism and the system. While the author focuses mainly on her own family, their experiences are directly related to what is going on in the country at the time, and Chang often makes that connection by including detailed historical narratives within the plot. The book covers a long span of events from the Manchu dynasty to the present day, but the accounts of the three women have many similarities and fit into the overall theme of oppression and suffering in China.I found Wild Swans so interesting that I read it for eleven consecutive hours. Jung Chang draws the reader into the story with vivid, detailed description, but at the same time, something important is always happening, so it is never boring or drawn-out. There are descriptions of not only the main characters, but also the people that they meet and interact with, and each part of the story flows smoothly into the next. Chang recounts her family's struggles and hardships with heartfelt emotion as well as intelligent and insightful remarks and observations. This allows the reader to use the author's hindsight, while at the same time experiencing what the characters are feeling as the story progresses. Reading the book made me feel sad for the oppressed people, and angry towards the injustices of society, but the family's perseverance and determination to survive was inspiring and uplifting. Wild Swans is just as much about human emotions and interaction as it is about Chinese history, and it is a great book in both aspects.
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Summary: Review: WIld Swans
Review: Wild Swans is the story of the author, Jung Chang, her mother, and her grandmother. It gives a first hand account of the rise of Communism, the Great Leap Forward, and the Cultural Revolution. As well being a detailed historical account, it explores the changing role of women in Chinese society and reveals the ruinous effects of corruption. The story begins with Chang¡¦s grandmother as a Concubine to a Warlord General during the fall of the Manchu dynasty. It continues with her life during the changes of power. Some of the earlier conflicts include fleeing with her daughter after the warlord¡¦s death and her subsequent marriage to Dr. Xia. Chang¡¦s mother grows up under Kuomingtang rule but becomes part of an underground Communist movement. As an adult, Chang¡¦s mother married Chang¡¦s father, an idealistic man utterly devoted to Communism. Their story grows rotten when Chang¡¦s mother and father become suspect of being counter-revolutionary and anti-party. Chang¡¦s story is about her being indoctrinated with the Communist philosophy. She also became a devoted follower in the Cult of Mao. In the end, she sees the truth and renounces Communism. Wild Swans is a clear picture of China after the Manchu dynasty. It is filled with rich descriptions without sacrificing clarity. Almost every detail provokes a reaction. She paints a brilliant picture of the brutality and corruption involved the changing and maintaining of power. The reading is easy and rewarding. After reading it, I gained a much deeper understanding of the Cultural Revolution and the Great Leap forward. At the height of the Cultural Revolution, she describes her father¡¦s brief bout with insanity that resulted from imprisonment. I was sickened by the injustice. The unfeeling witch-hunt had ruined an honest, hard working man. Besides learning a great deal, I also enjoyed reading it.
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Summary: Great book, a must read!!
Review: Jung Chang writes a very compelling story talking about how she and her ancestors lived through the many years in China's changing history. The feudal system, Kuomintang rule, Japanese oppression, and Communist beginnings are all highlighted in this novel. Jung Changhad torrs in China dating back decades, and her great-grandmother and grandmother lived during the feudal system of China when there were Emperors and powerful Generals ruling China. Next came the Japanese invasion of China, in which her mother and grandmother were directly affected. Finally, came the Kuomintang rule and thier eventual dethroning by the Communist forces. The author herself and her mother endured the problems of democracy and saw the rise of Communism. I think that the book portrayed the roles of women very well. Chang's grandmother and mother were able to speak thier minds, in a time when Chinese women were to be the most subservient of people. The author talks about how they felt and the emotions they could and couldn't show. It really shows how oppressed they were and how they had to abide by the rules of ancient China. Some that was a bit to graphic was the very descriptive passage on the binding of the feet. I found that very painful to read, no matter now true it was. As the book progressed, I was able to feel the emotions of the people because of how Chang was able to show the many facets of Chinese life. Her mother had to do her time with the Communist Party before she would eventually become a high-ranking official. Her dedication to the Communist Part even caused her to have a miscarriage of her first child. The author herself speaks very fluently of the life of a commoner during the Communist and Kuomintang governments. I believe that this book could have been a bit more effective if the author had not put so much time and effort into educating the reader about the general history of China, and had focused on the trials and tribulations of the people. I understand this is coming from a biased view, however, I feel that mand people have a good general knowledge of Chinese history, and should not have to read some of the passages that described the fighting between the Kuomintang and the Communist forces, or how Mao was considered the greatest man in China. Overall, I found this book to be very informative and it really was able to show the differences in lifestyles that the people in China have, and what people in other countries are accustomed to having. I would definitely consider this book a must read.
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Summary: Wild Swans A Trip Back in Time
Review: The book Wild Swans is an excellent lesson on the way of life in China in the past 200 years. It covers the story of three generations of women in 20th century China. Jung Chang is the third of these, born in China in 1952. She is the author and tells the story of her family's past. The story tells us of the voyages that her grandmother went on, and then the life that her mother lived in a country filled with turmoil, and finally how the author's life was affected by the past of her family and the many changes in society that took place during her time there. One of the most important sections of the book is during the Cultural Revolution. The events the ten years between 1966 to 1976 are documented very well in this book: the descriptions allow you to visualize the events so well you live side by side with the person, the depictions of all the murder and torture, and the explanation of the destruction of China's economy. Jung Chang is an observer through all of this, and learned many things from it all. She goes through all the turmoil of a broken life that most of those growing up in those years were subjected to; family harassed, school destroyed, being sent from one part of the country to another for "re-education." She finally escapes in a scholarship to the west to study English, and has lived here ever since. This is another must book for anyone trying to understand what happened in China while it tried to catch up with the rest of the world. In particular, if you want to read a personal account of what the Communist revolution brought to China, this is an excellent story.
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Summary: My Education of China
Review: Just holding the massive 500-page novel, Wild Swans, gives the reader an accurate depiction of the scope of history, politics, and human nature that are about to be learned. Jung Chang's Wild Swans is the story of three generations of Chinese women, each living under a different political system. The novel beings with Jung Chang retelling the stories of the lives of the leading females in her life and concludes with an account of her own childhood under Mao. Chang's grandmother lives a life of foot binding, concubine, submissiveness to men, and cruelty under the Kuomintang party. Quite contrasting is the life of Chang's mother; she holds a prestigious government position, is treated as an equal to men, and later suffers denouncement and torture during the Communist Party's Cultural Revolution. It is impossible to put into words, or at to least keep this review brief, the amount of knowledge that is gained by reading Wild Swans. As a novice to Chinese history, I was shocked at the ease at which I learned about China's history from the late 1800's to present-day. Perhaps, the secret to Chang's success in conveying history is the rich narration in which she does it through. The reader feels not like he is reading an encyclopedia but a carefully structured, fairytale. One can't help but become engrossed in the images of China that come alive from the pages of Wild Swans. As the novel progresses, the reader is able to relate to the different but similar lives of the characters. Young readers relate to the adventurous, naïve, and inquisitive, teenage Jung Chang; trying to find her identity amidst political turmoil, while adults and parents relate to Chang's mother and father; their determination to protect their children, their loyalty to their family, and their failure to surrender despite insurmountable obstacles. What makes Wild Swans such a literary treasure is that readers, though geographically different, can understand the experiences of the characters living in China. Whether you are reading Wild Swans for pleasure or for a school assignment, you are surely to appreciate Jung Chang's literary masterpiece. One will pleasantly discover that learning about history can be fun!
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Summary: Wild Swans: Good or Bad?
Review: Throughout the first part of this book I was quite surprised when I learned of the struggles some families had to endure to try and "get ahead" in life. It is one thing to learn about it in history class but it is something completely different to learn about someone's first-hand experiences. I was a little taken-aback when I learned of the tradition of binding women's feet. I fail to see how men would find something like that attractive. This book also shows that there were some Chinese warlords in the early part of the twentieth century who were not bad men. The grandmother was extremely lucky that General Xue, a warlord, set her free when he died. If not for that selfless act, Jung Chang, the author of the story, may not have been born. It was also quite interesting to learn of the extent to which Dr. Xia and the grandmother loved each other. For him to give up everything and go live in poverty for love is something that not very many people would do, especially in China during that time. Another thing that completely disappointed me was the whole issue of Hui-ge, who was an officer under the Koumintang. He took many risks for the communists and they did not even show him the courtesy of at least being exiled from the country. They just killed him because of what he was. I am sure that if he knew that was going to happen he would have never helped the mother and the communists. Communist China needed more people like the father, who made his family suffer to aspire to the communist ideal, to help their cause. If there had more people as dedicated to the cause as he was, the system may have turned out differently than it did. In comparison to the first part of the book, I would say that the second half was pretty dull. It dragged on at times and went to an extreme with detail. Some detail is good but to the extent that the author went to in this part of the book was too much. The first part with the grandmother and the Japanese occupation was nice and concise.
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Summary: A Common Mao
Review: Mao Zedong is the result of centuries of evolutionary development in dictators. His transmogrification of China from 1949-1976 was remarkably original, yet frighteningly common to other dictators. Jung Chang's Wild Swans unraveled the mystery of China's Communism and Maoist regime through a compilation of the lives and experiences of her grandmother, mother, and herself. Chang described the Chinese culture and the values contained by the Communists which facilitated Mao's rule. These values were part of "the greatest horror of the Cultural Revolution," because they were "carried out by the population collectively" (498). Her provocative narration describes her internal struggle to understand the society at large and make sense of the sudden change of events. The initial plot delineates conflicting feelings about the old culture, by expressing disapproval of foot binding, concubines, and female inferiority. Yet, this true story then focused on Mao's dynamic regime that stifled freedoms. When Chang embraced Communism, the reader felt a sense of appreciation and support for this system. However, when the Party changed, the story incited similar reactions. The indoctrinations described in the book and the self-criticisms and public denouncements that peaked in the Cultural Revolution of the 1960s were appalling. These campaigns were "designed to serve no other purpose than to create a people who had no thoughts of their own" (271). Mao had infiltrated the minds of his people and forced his deification unto them. Chang's gradual change in perspective and growing doubt were a shock to the reader and gave an understanding of the situation in China. In a sense, Mao gained control with a new type of economy that had the support of the peasants, yet he was only another emperor or king, comparable to King George III, Queen Victoria, Mussolini, or Hitler. The means of control are the same for all these dictators and so is the human susceptibility to subservience.
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