Wild Swans by Jung Chang Book Review

When I decided to review books on this page, this is one of the books I really wanted to talk about, Wild Swans by Jung Chang. I recently read that this is the highest selling non-fiction paper back ever and was published back in 1991. I found this book in the local charity shop not knowing anything about it and was intrigued by the preface. Since buying it I have seen it several times in various charity shops just in my local village and they all look unread which is a real shame. I had just finished The Wind Up Bird Chronicle by Haruki Murakami and was looking for more Asian literature so Wild Swans was a good find.

Wild Swans is a History of China over a hundred year period as seen and experienced by three women, the Author Jung Chang, her mother Bao Qin and her grandmother Yu-fang. The story starts with Yu-fang as a child living in the last days of the Emperor, she is from a poor family and her feet are bound. This is an era in China were regions were controlled by war lords and the story relates how Yu-Fangs father wanted to send her to be a Concubine. Of course many things happen (which i dont want to give away here) and the story then moves on to Bao Qin. At a young age Bao starts working for the Communist Party in the midst of the revolution, fighting the Kuomintang and the Japanese.Over time Bao Qin moves up the ranks in the party and marries Wang Yu with whom she has Jung Chang and other children. Soon after this book moves onto a biography of Jung's life and specifically the period of the cultural revolution. Three generations of Chinese history is an epic period of time is covered in one book, as such it is a good thick read.

What makes this book stand out as an account of history is the personal nature of events as seen by Jung and her relations.For lack of a better term it is a view of events from the grass roots level, seeing things from a families perspective and the consequences of actions taken by the leaders of China of which has been so readily covered in many books. However the actual consequences of the leaders actions especially in China over the last century are rarely recorded from the average persons experience. As you might guess from the picture Chairman Mao almost an ever present shadow amongst the pages, no more so than in the chapters covering the Cultural Revolution. These were amongst the most riveting, awful, scary, amazing chapters I have ever read. It was Orwell's 1984 but real. I was not really prepared for the personal and real actions of individuals who lived and conducted the Cultural Revolution. It can be so easy when reading history to forget the human cost, the misery and suffering and just read numbers and names .

Even if you do not like reading about history, this would still be a book I would highly recommend. The history is so well entwined into the story of the three women that you have the same sort of connection with Jung or Bao Qin that you would with any fictional character. The history aspect comes second to a well written and vivid story.

This book is over 20 years old and is a testament to how far China has come but also how far it still has to go. Jung is still banned in China for writing this book, even after the fall of Mao and the demise of the cultural revolution, his cult lives on. Since Wild Swans was published there have been many other books that have followed its format, Red Azalea by Anchee (another exceptional account of the cultural revolution) and Havana Dreams by Wendy Gimble (Cuba) to name two that I have bought since. Both of these are good but do not match the scale and brilliance of Wild Swans.

Best 50 pence I have ever spent! I cannot recommend this book anymore! A Must Read!


Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Possibly one of the best books I have ever read, a full 100 years of Chinese history as seen from 3 womens perspective. From the last days of the emperor all the way through to the end of the cultural revolution! Brilliant!

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