“It is very sad to see China being pulled back to Mao times,” says internationally acclaimed author Jung Chang. During an exclusive interaction with the CSR Journal Chang talks about her books Wild Swans which is very popular and sold nearly 10 million copies worldwide, but banned in the People’s Republic of China, her life in exile and why she is not able to return to China. Chang has written history not just from some text, it is her reality, her personal pain, survival, and memory.
Wild Swans: A Book That Changed Global Perceptions
Chang’s most popular book ‘Wild Swans’ was published in the early 1990s, and post the launch it changed the world’s perception of China. It not only documented Chang’s real-life incidents but also it documented the lives of three generations of women; Chang’s grandmother, mother, and herself. “My book documented the stories of my mother, grandmother, and myself. It gives me so much joy that my book became the first book that introduced the world to Chinese society, family life, and the impact of political movements on ordinary people. A lot of the stories were unknown to readers before,” she noted. People associated with the book because it had family relationships at the centre of change.
While the Wild Swans is her own story, despite extensive research and factual verification, a lot of material was gathered, and carefully cross-checking events was done to ensure accuracy. “They are true stories, I ensured that I made them as truthful to the facts as possible,” she noted.
China Then and Now: A Growing Distance
Talking about the current situation in China, Chang said, it is concerning. And for her things have been difficult, she is not allowed to go to China. In the years 1980, things were not that worse as today, China was growing liberal, “When I was writing Wild Swans and later researching my book on Mao, I was able to go to China,” she said. “China was becoming more and more liberal.” However, she feels that things have changed. “Now there is an effort to drag China backwards to the old Mao days, and I am not happy about that.”
She is often called as an author in exile, Chang says that it brings even more responsibility, especially after Wild Swans became a global success. “Before that, I tried my best to be truthful,” she said, “and I did a lot of research.” Chang pointed out that for her fairness is a guiding principle. “I try to be fair to whatever they have done,” she stated.
Chang’s book is a memoir of her personal life and it is filled with pain and suffering, however while writing the book, Chang feels she is able to hold her emotions, only on a few occasions she is not able to hold back, “I believe a good book has emotions,”. Yet, these emotions are carefully controlled, never allowed to overwhelm truth or clarity.
