A story about "Wild Swans : Three Daughters of China" — 3 years ago
Although it’s fairly sensationalized (Jung Chang was writing for a Western audience, rather than her fellow countrymen, and it clearly shows) it is an intriguing and gripping story of a fairly priveleged Chinese family (although they didn’t start out that way) and their life through the Cultural Revolution.
For a taste of real Chinese Cultural Revolution memoirs, though, that weren’t written for fame or gain, check out The Red Mirror by Chihua Wen or Six Chapters from my Life Downunder by Yung Chiang. They’re a lot darker, but a lot truer, and tell the stories of average people with very little political or financial standing in China. (For example, Jung Chang really bothered me when she bemoaned the loss of one of her two wetnurses… whereas the people in the other books I’ve mentioned never had such a luxury.)
