Wild Swans

"Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China" is an autobiographical family history by Chinese writer Jung Chang. First published in 1992, it is the story of her grandmother, her mother and herself, and in telling their stories gives a unique perspective on 20th century Chinese history. The book won two awards: the 1992 NCR Book Award and the 1994 British Book of the Year. The book has been translated into 30 languages and sold over 10 million copies.

Synopsis

The book begins with a historical story of Jung's grandmother, who wasn't loved by her father. Seeing as how their family was part of the lower tier of the social ladder, he tried to have her sold as a concubine to a high-ranking warlord general for money. He was successful, and Jung's grandmother was carried off to live with her husband. She was left in a rich house with servants, although after the initial stay following the "wedding", she didn't see him again for six years. During that time she was left on her own, with the servants. She had to be conscious of her actions and even presence, as there was great risk that the servants would report rumors or outright lies to the General, based on which he would be quite within his rights to severely punish her. After the 6 year absence, he visited briefly, during which time a daughter, Jung's mother, was conceived. When the General's family found out about the birth, they demanded Jung's grandmother bring her to the officer's house (mansion) as she would be the heir. Jung's grandmother managed to avoid going for a year, until the general was dying of an illness. Jung's grandmother went in time to witness the death of her first husband and to be told that her daughter would be taken in and raised by the shrewd first wife. In fear and despair, Jung's grandmother fled back to her home, sending false word to the family that the child had died on the train in her effort to flee. Forced to return to her parents, Jung's grandmother had a daughter to think of. Eventually she married an old yet kind doctor (Doctor Xia) and went to live with him in outer Manchuria. There they lived happily and modestly, with their daughter, Jung's mother. They went through the Japanese occupation and the torture of it. Then the Revolution started.

At fifteen, Jung's mother started working for the Communist Party of China and Mao Zedong's army. It was when she learned that her first boyfriend, Cousin Hu, was supposedly executed for being a Communist by the corrupt Kuomintang officials, that she decided to join the Communist Party over the Kuomintang. She was once captured for questioning, but she managed to avoid torture. As the Revolution progressed, her work for the party facilitated her rise through the ranks. She met Jung's father, who was also a high-ranking officer. They were both well educated and willing to give their lives for Mao. They fell in love, marrying under the party's protocol which meant they weren't allowed to frequently see each other. Due to tensions with Jung's mother's coworkers in a factory,the couple transferred their work to Yibin, Jung's father's hometown, to further spread communist rule. It was a long trek, much of it through mountainous and hilly regions. Due to the Communist ideals Jung's mother was forced to travel on foot or else she would be seen a traitor; Jung's father, a higher ranking officer, who stood by his values and incredibly strict rules rode in a jeep, refusing to even carry his wife's bedroll. At this time, he had not known that Jung's mother was pregnant. After arrival at Nanjing, Jung's mother had to constantly do military training until she was inducted to the Party. The strain of the training in addition to the journey was too much for her, resulting in the miscarriage of her first child. Jung's father then swore to never again be so inattentive to his wife. Several months later she journeyed by boat to Yibin.

In the following years, as Mao's rule expanded, Jung's mother gave birth to Jung (then called Er-Hong) and four other siblings (one older, three younger). By the time Jung was a teenager, the Cultural Revolution had started. She willingly joined the Red Guards though did not agree with their more brutal actions. As Mao's regime grew, the Communist party became more corrupt. Her parents were labeled as traitors and made subjects of public humiliation and were also tortured, as were so many other party officers. Jung's mother was taken away because of her past and family connections to the Kuomintong. The family was dispersed to different regions of China. Jung saw little of her parents in those times. When she saw her father, she could see that he was deteriorating physically and mentally, but could do little to help him. Some kinder Red Army Rebels helped him obtain psychiatric care which temporarily improved his condition. His eventual death prompted Jung's previous doubts about Mao to come to the fore and she realised that she had lost faith in Mao's regime. Like thousands of other youngsters, Jung was taken to work alongside the “peasants”, an experience she thoroughly disliked, as she knew little of farming and life in the mountains made her sick. At the end of the Cultural Revolution she returned home with her brother and worked hard to gain a place at university. Not long after she succeeded, Mao Zedong died. The whole nation was in mourning, though Jung writes that: "People had been acting for so long they confused it with their true feelings. I wondered how many of the tears were genuine". She secretly was exhilarated by his death, recalling in the epilogue of the book her lack of fear once Mao was dead.

As the Communist regime became more corrupt, her life turned from luxurious to rough. She had the privilege to go to school and read books as a youth, but slowly her rights to even have a book aside from the Red Book disappeared. While overcoming much hardship with the government and even her family, she was introduced to a new life, one of learning. At the university Jung studied English and was awarded consistent high marks. After her graduation and a stint as an assistant lecturer, she won a scholarship to study in England - where she now lives and where she wrote this book.

Potential film

On November 26, 2006, Variety announced that Portobello Pictures have purchased the film rights to the book. [cite web | url=http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117954500.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562 | title='Wild' pic for Abraham | publisher=Variety | accessdate=2007-02-27] Portobello Pictures' Eric Abraham acquired the rights with Christopher Hampton on board to write the screenplay.

References

*Fitzgerald, Penelope. "Grandmother's Footsteps". London Review of Books (9th April 1992, page 27). ISSN 0260-9592
*Bliven, Naomi. "Good women of Sichuan". New Yorker (10th February 1992, pages 95–98).
*Evans, Harriet. "Hot-house History". Times Literary Supplement (13th March 1992, page 32). ISSN 0307-661X
*Minsky, Jonathan. "Literature of the wounded". New York Review of Books (5th March 1992, pages 6–10). ISSN 0028-7504

English language publication

*Jung Chang, "Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China". Simon and Schuster, (London, 1991); Anchor paperback, (London, 1992), ISBN 0-385-42547-3; Harper Perennial, (London, 2004) ISBN 0-00-717615-5