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��Father is close, Mother is close, but neither is as close as Chairman Mao.��

A fascinating description of one family's experiences of China's political upheavals across the 20th century, focusing on Jung Chang’s grandmother, mother, and then herself.

Although the family are fairly privileged much of the time, they still experience great hardships: being a Party member, or even Party official, was no guarantee of immunity from persecution and sometimes torture.

Hard to categorise - but don’t be daunted

It's part biography/autobiography and part a historical/ political/ psychological exposition of how Communist China came into being and how it maintained its hold on its citizens, even during extreme hardship, such as famine. However, it has the readability of a novel, eschewing sheer horror and dry history - quite an achievement.

This book can seem daunting because of its size, subject matter and fame, but it's actually a riveting read and although some of the content is harrowing, the writing style is very easy going. It is a complex story, but it is not confusing.

It's subtitled "Three daughters of China", but it’s a story for everyone. Strong women are in the foreground, but one of the most powerfully drawn characters is Jung Chang's father: born poor, largely self-educated, who loved literature, was a passionate and principled Communist (putting Party before family), rising to power as an official, but who couldn't cope when he saw his beliefs being violated in the name of the Party.

Contradictions inherent in the system

��They verbally attacked each other with Mao's quotations, making cynical use of his guru-like elusiveness - it was easy to select a quotation of Mao's to suit any situation, or even both sides of the same argument.��

Although I have read quite a few books about China, this one gets to the heart of the contradictions of The Party and how to brainwash a vast nation far better than many others. When Jung Chang subsequently wrote a biography of Mao, she'd already done much of the groundwork in Wild Swans.

Brutality and hypocrisy of various kinds are described, but it's some of the subtler hardships that were especially vivid. I find it extraordinary that strong family ties could coexist with couples not allowed to live together and an apparent casualness/resignation of children left to live with wet nurses, relatives or in boarding nurseries for years.


Image: Scene from The Red Detachment of Women, one of the Eight Model Operas of the Cultural Revolution (.)

During the Cultural Revolution, which began when Jung Chan was a teenager, ignorance was glorified (even in universities) and beautiful artefacts destroyed; the family were expelled from the official compound and sent to live in rooms in an old mansion:
"Beauty was so despised that my family was sent to this lovely house as a punishment."

Unexpected levity

There is humour too: sending those studying English to a southern port to practise by talking to foreign sailors; not being able to rename a street whose sign was too high, and traffic chaos when it was decided that red was a positive colour so oughtn't to mean "stop"!

The extraordinary degree of organisation in some aspects of life and none in others aligned with my expectations, but also highlighted contradictions, such as being sent to "learn" from the peasants, with no guidance as to what was to be learnt, nor account of the peasants not wanting extra mouths attached to not very useful hands.

Flaws

The main problems are minor, but nonetheless irritating.

* Although the political history is explained very well, because it is also autobiographical, important events that didn't affect the family (such as the Long March) are barely mentioned and this is where its confused identity between biography and political text book are a weakness.

* People refer to others by relationship ("my mother", "my father's mother in law" etc), which is confusing when different characters talk about their relatives, without using names.

* Some passages sound clichéd; that is partly because I have read many other books on similar subjects, but it is also because at times the writing style actually is somewhat banal.

Nevertheless, this is an insightful, accessible, and enjoyable book.

Horror and hope

There are many horrors in this book (though generally not graphically described), but I didn't find it depressing: the indomitable spirit of many of the people, coupled with the fact I know Jung Chang is now happy and successful, give an air of hope.

Freedom?

China's people are still far from free, but having read this book and travelled round China in '92 and '08, the transformation is remarkable - and ongoing. It’s a crowded country, but also one of tranquil beauty.


Image: The calm of Shennong Stream (a tributary of the Yangtze), April 2008