Wild Swans - 3 Daughters of China

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Part memoir, part biography, part autobiography - Wild Swans is a chronicle of the struggle and survival of 3 generations of author Jung Chang's family in the tumultuous 20th century of modern China. It is an astounding personal account of a now well-known history, facts which are at times more disturbing than fiction could ever be! 3 women, 3 generations, 3 lives - so different, and yet bound by a common thread of strength and resilience!

The first is the author's grandmother, born during the unpredictable years of the overthrow of the Manchu empire. The beautiful Yu-Fang, a valuable bargaining chip for her father, has her feet bound to increase her potential market value - and is eventually taken as a concubine by a powerful warlord, General Xue. A baby daughter is born to them, and a couple of years later, Yu-Fang is fortunate enough to be given her independence by the dying General. Overcoming the stigma of having been a concubine, she finds love with Dr. Xia - an elderly widower who overcomes strong family opposition to marry Yu-Fang, and also adopts her daughter, De-hong - the author's mother.

De-hong, the second of the 'swans' - lives through some of China's most pivotal and turbulent moments. The Japanese occupation, the struggle between Mao Zedong's Communists and Chiang Kai-shek's Kuomintang, the ascendancy of the Communist party, the initial fervor and goodwill of the  Communist movement - De-hong soon becomes an officer of the Party and marries a die-hard, principled Communist, Wang Yu. The idealism of Communism soon degenerates into an atmosphere of distrust, suspicion and persecution. The consecutive Three Antis and Five Antis campaigns, the Anti-rightist campaign, and the Hundred Flowers policy lead to widespread insecurity, hatred, denunciation and massacres of thousands. Increasingly disillusioned, the author's parents struggle to keep faith with the Party policies, until finally, they themselves become targets.

Despite the catastrophic failure of the Great Leap Forward, and the devastating famine that followed, Map Zedong's cult went from strength to strength. An entire generation of youth, including the author, was indoctrinated to believe in the god-like status of Chairman Mao. Through the horrors of the Cultural Revolution and the unrelenting, debasing persecution of her parents, the author never loses faith in Mao. The Reform through Labour campaign sees the author sent to a remote village at the edge of Himalayas - where she works first as a peasant and a barefoot doctor. Relocating later to Chengdu, she also works as a steelworker and then an electrician. It is only after Mao's death and the fall of the Gang of Four that the author is able to enroll in an university, and then finally, win a scholarship to study in the West.

To be very honest, I did not really enjoy reading this book. It did not shed any new light on China's Communist history and Mao's disastrous reign. Despite all the hardships, it is very clear that the author and her family led a fairly privileged life as high-ranking Communists - makes it a little hard to sympathize when the author talks about receiving extra food coupons during the famine which killed millions!! The author's naivety - meant to be endearing - borders on simplistic ignorance, and it was a little strange to read about the natural beauty of the villages and the view from hospital windows when there were obviously larger issues at stake!! Even her father's defiance, his admirable principled stand - it is obvious that the author idolizes her father, and the hero-worship makes him out to be a paragon of Communist virtue.

Of the three swans, the author's grandmother comes across as the strongest character. From saving her infant daughter from the General's wife, to standing up to Dr. Xia's family, and ultimately, taking on the responsibility of her grandchildren - I especially loved here little gestures of defiance like wearing her long with flowers! The author's mother, undoubtedly, had a lot of hardship - her husband's callous indifference is something no woman should have to tolerate, and her regret at the end of the book about not having any family memories could be that of any career woman today! As for the author - right to the end when she uses her parents' contacts to get a back-door entry into University, just seems like she was coasting along when there were others drowning in the maelstrom!

Very rarely do I not finish a book - but I came close with this one. I do wish the author had written only about the First Swan, her grandmother - that would have definitely been way more interesting!!