Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China
by Jung Chang
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Book Reviews of Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China
Book Review: Review of Wild Swans
Summary: 5 Stars
It's strange how things work out. I randomly picked Wild Swans out from the list of 1001 Books to Read Before you Die. I can't tell you why I chose it, except that (as I do with all of the books I read from that list), I just scrolled through it and stopped and pointed my finger and that was the book I would request.
Then.. I noticed that it was due back to the library so, after reading my Book Club's selection of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, I decided to move on to Wild Swans. This.. was a good decision. I knew nothing of China - especially China under Chiang Kai-shek and then later on, Chairman Mao. I got a glimpse of the hatred that one of the main characters in Hotel had toward the Japanese (being from China himself), but still had no idea the extent of the torture, the pain and the horrible version of life going on within China's borders.
After I began to read Wild Swans, people around me started to talk about it (without even knowing that I was reading it). I was asked at my book club if I had read Wild Swans and asked by two random people I know through daily life if I'd ever read this book. Before I began to read it though.. I'd never even heard of it.
So I should talk some about the actual book.. since this is technically a review.
First - it's non-fiction. It's readable, in its own way. Although very densely packed with names, dates, places and events, I was able to easily follow the lives of Jung Chang's grandmother, her mother and herself through the changes of China.
This is not an easy book to read and you shouldn't pick it up unless you are willing to be thoroughly invested in learning difficult names, reading about difficult things and prepared to have your eyes opened to something that, in my opinion, is not taught about enough. I've always considered China to be a country of mystery - one that I always hear rumors about.. and honestly, if I hadn't been working my way through the 1001 Books, I don't think I would have willingly chosen this book to read. I chose to begin reading through the list for that very reason, to expose myself to books I wouldn't normally choose and this book is a prime example of why. I consider myself enriched by learning the stories of Jung Chang and her family and blessed to not have to endure even a small fraction of what they had to endure.
There are times I believe that the right book comes along at the right time to be read, and this was one of those books.
Book Review: Power is an end, not a means
Summary: 5 Stars
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.
Book Review: Mao's China-Tales from the Dark Side
Summary: 5 Stars
If you've never encountered a full historical biography of what China was before, during, and after Mao, then, this is the book to read. I was suprised at the level of violence against its own people, under the disguise of the "Cultural Revolution", the "Great Leap Forward", and other such titles. China did not have a much better "quality of life" prior to Mao (many warlords fighting over territories, women treated as possessions, etc), but it did not get that much better with Mao heading the Red Guards, or their numerous cultural "cleansings". Millions have died under dire circumstances, and we are only now beginning to realize the inhumane treatment brought on by the mind of one man. Communist China was an experiment, of the most sordid kind. The writer points out how they just "stopped thinking", they just obeyed "the system" because it had been engrained in their brains by so much propaganda, that they just repeated the slogans and no longer thought if they were true or not. It is surprising to me, that this "experiment" was brought onto so many millions of people, albeit, the vast majority illiterate and peasants. This is why the "peasant revolution" caught on... I could not tear myself away from this book, from this well told story of three generations of women (and their men), with their unfortunate set of circumstances, and their small but meaningful victories. Their voices deserve to be heard. The uncompromising ideals of one man eventually have the ability to sink the whole family into chaos. It is from this chaos that the offspring realize that there must be more to the "revolution", than the level of sacrifice and commitment asked of them, which seem insane. It is also the realization of the parents, that bought into the "revolution" that is so poignantly told in this story. The awakening of the ideas, of the self; amidst all the collective sharing and the collective appartus, which was really the mask of Mao (again, one man).
No matter how much the self gets trampled on, it prevails in this story, in this last daughter. By persevering, she manages to brake away from her oppressing world, while conserving those things she loves about it. Her family, her respect of her elders, her love for her country, no matter how poorly it has treated her and her beloved. A must read.
Book Review: quite possibly the worst nonfiction work
Summary: 1 Stars
I chose this book from an available three as an assignment for my AP Government class (the other two being River Town by Peter Hessler and Bitter Winds by Harry Wu). I regret every word of its gruelling 505-paged crap.
Usually I enjoy memoirs, autobiographies, and non-fiction. However, what I was hoping to find in this telling of the Cultural Revolution had excellent potential but ultimately no elaboration.
I believe that in order for a book to be both enjoyable and historical, there must be some sort of emotional input. It is as if Chang is so terrified to express her views that she holds back completely and the reader is left with an incredible load of names, dates, facts, facts, facts, and really boring information that can be summarized in a paragraph out of my high school textbook.
Perhaps that's what aggrivated me most - there is SO much information in this book alone that one paragraph could indeed be pulled, an an entire book could be based upon it. Characters could actually have depth, the situation could actually be explained in detail, and MAYBE some conversation could be had!
Yes, what this book lacks (among several other things) is decent dialogue. Cliche quotes or proverbs are pulled from time to time, but never do any of the characters in Wild Swans share in any passionate communication - and the book is its consequence. I am receiving no communicative vibe from this author.
This book is NOT unique. She deserves not to be worshipped for her accounts, but her mother and grandmother deserve to be congratulated for going through what they did. Jung Chang has simply written some of it down. Poorly. The historical events can be read truthfully via any wikipedia reference, and more emotion is drawn from a debate session in my government class (involving my protest of this book as a whole).
Unfortunately, this book has turned me away from learning about China though I do hope perhaps to read something a bit more insightful. For now, I'll stick with Frank McCourt and his mastery of the modern memoir.
Book Review: Understanding China and the Chinese people
Summary: 5 Stars
You know that a book is good and tells the "truth" when the government "outlaws" it in China. This is one of several books I have that I hoped would not be found in one of my moves to China several years ago.
This book is amazing. I first read this book just before going to China 10 years ago. I can't imagine what I would have thought or how I would have worked with the people if I hadn't read this book first. Every country/culture/people have their own ways of doing things, communicating, interacting with others, etc. and if you don't understand that, you can have a difficult time with those people or being in that country. This book definitely opened my eyes to not only understand the history, but to understand who the people are--why they do the things they do--which, being from the US, could be misunderstood or taken the wrong way.
I read through a number of reviews (from 5-stars to 1-star--I can't even believe there are any 1-star reviews) and I think most people do appreciate what Jung Chang, her mother and her grandmother had to go through. Yes, it is filled with lots of dates, names, and facts, but to fully understand China, you have to understand THAT is China. The Chinese are masters of facts--memorizing and regurgitating these facts, with not much creativity. Not to say this is good or bad, but this is who the Chinese people are. I have lived in China now for several year, have married a Chinese women (and her family) and it would be much harder to accept them if I did not understand by reading these types of books.
I highly recommend this book. If you are going to China to travel or work, or if you are going to be working Chinese people in the US definitely READ THIS BOOK. I think people should read it anyway just to see how blessed we are here in the US compared to what many other people around the world have had to go through in their lives (in recent history.) China is just one example; there are many others I'm sure.