REVIEW:WILD SWANS:THREE DAUGHTERS OF CHINA BY JUNG CHANG

Abstract

In this saga, Jung Chang opens the door into the intimate lives of four generations of women. In Wild Swans, she covers the era of warlords and concubines (1920s) through the ideals of communism and life under Mao, to the break-up of the “Gang of Four” (1970s). How easy it is to fall under the spell of a tyrant. How hard it is to reverse the course of history. For equality between the sexes and classes, the Chinese embraced communism under Mao, but classes of another kind emerged and gains on all early fronts lost. Yet, Wild Swans is story of survival of a family with the resilience to endure history.