Jung Chang
Jung Chang
Jung Changis a Chinese-born British writer now living in London, best known for her family autobiography Wild Swans, selling over 10 million copies worldwide but banned in the People's Republic of China...
NationalityBritish
ProfessionWriter
spring taken army
In spring 1989...I saw the buildup of demonstrations from Chengdu to Tiananmen Square. It struck me that fear had been forgotten to such an extent that few of the millions of demonstrators perceived danger. Most seemed to be taken by surprise when the army opened fire.
beings government human humans outsiders proper regard treated
We were not treated by our own government as proper human beings and consequently, some outsiders did not regard us as the same kind of humans as themselves.
constant constantly human mao shocked shrewd taken
It's taken us 10 years, and it was constant excitement. I was constantly shocked by how evil he could be. Mao was very, very shrewd but he didn't have human feeling.
book haunted honestly longer past personal revenge shock
Doing this book didn't shock me at a personal level. I was no longer haunted by the past and I can honestly say that revenge is not in my nature.
mother heart understanding
For anyone to open their heart, they need the right atmosphere, and something to prompt them. For my mother it was her trip abroad: she was in a very relaxed, understanding environment. I was very sympathetic towards her.
dog men heaven
When a man gets power, even his chickens and dogs rise to heaven.
grandmother age fifteen
At the age of fifteen my grandmother became the concubine of a warlord general.
children parent ruins
If children were brought up to become non-conformists it would only ruin their lives. So parents all over China who loved their children told them to do as Chairman Mao said. It was not possible to tell them anything else.
west firsts merit
I no longer have the terrible nightmares that I used to have. Mao had just died in 1976, and China began to open up. For the first time scholarships to go to the West to study were awarded on academic merit.
children party parent
When I was in China, Mao was Chairman, and parents were terrified to tell their children anything that differed from the party line in case the children repeated it and endangered the whole family.
writing swans research
While I was writing Wild Swans I thought the famine was the result of economic mismanagement but during the research I realised that it was something more sinister.
...go in the direction your head is pointed in.
boredom labor exhausting
...boredom was as exhausting as backbreaking labor.
book sea two
I was not allowed to take notes but my friend and I memorised those two and a half pages. Most people talked to me because of the warning. They knew this book was not going to be the official line.