Jung Chang, a London-based historian specializing in modern China, has released her latest book, 'Fly, Wild Swans: My Mother, Myself and China.' This work is positioned as a follow-up to her 1991 memoir, 'Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China.'
Chang's prior publications include biographies of Mao Zedong, Empress Dowager Cixi of the Qing Empire, and the Soong sisters. Her personal narratives have gained significant readership, with 'Fly, Wild Swans' described as her most personal work. The book explores her life, career, and the influence of her closest relationships.
The book is dedicated to Chang's nonagenarian mother, whom the author has been unable to visit in China since 2018. The reasons for this separation are gradually disclosed throughout the book.
Chang details the severe experiences her parents endured during China's Cultural Revolution. She also recounts increasing obstructions to her professional work, such as state-appointed supervisors monitoring her meetings and interviewees withdrawing their cooperation. Chang conveys a sense of regret for potential difficulties her writing may have caused those connected to her, particularly her mother, who is portrayed as having risked personal safety to support her daughter's international career.
The book contains historical revelations, including the intent to release recordings of interviews with Communist Party insiders conducted for her Mao biography once it is deemed safe for the interviewees. It also includes emotionally charged personal recollections, such as Chang's teenage attempt to find her mother at a temporary detention center during the Cultural Revolution and her journey to a labor camp to visit her father.
Chang noted that inmates at her father's labor camp described river sounds at night as "sobbing of ghosts," causing her concern for her father's mental well-being, given his previous breakdown and risk of suicide. She was determined to visit him to offer emotional support.
As a journalist based in China until 2022, the author of the review observed obstacles similar to those Chang describes in 'Fly, Wild Swans,' including increased surveillance of sources and apprehension among individuals with personal and professional ties in China regarding potential isolation from the country and their loved ones. Chang, a naturalized British citizen, encountered escalating difficulty in securing visas to visit her mother in China, culminating in a denial.
The book is characterized as a combination of memoir, journalistic narrative, and historical account. It provides insights into elite Chinese politics, Communist history, and the economic growth period of the 1980s and 1990s. A central theme is enduring filial love for her mother and gratitude for the numerous anonymous Chinese sources and academics who aided her historical research and subsequently faced repercussions.
Chang recalls a video call with her mother, reflecting on her mother's profound impact on her freedom, happiness, writing career, and personal identity. Chang often uses individual histories to illuminate broader societal dynamics. Her mother is presented as a potential metaphor for China, which has experienced increased state control under its current leader, Xi Jinping.