Jung Chang and the price of recording China’s history
Wild Swans tells three stories of China’s past – but thirty years later leaves author Jung Chang with difficult decisions in the present.
Jung Chang lived through some of the defining moments in modern China's history - from the Great Leap Forward to the Cultural Revolution. Her parents were respected members of the Communist Party, before they were later denounced for speaking out against Mao Zedong's policies. Jung eventually moved to the UK where she wrote the international bestseller, Wild Swans, and has watched from afar as the country of her birth opened up to the West, only to withdraw again under the leadership of President Xi. After receiving a CBE for her services to literature and history in March 2024, Jung Chang reflects on her life, her relationship with China, and the prospect of never seeing her mother again.
Presenter: Mobeen Azhar
Reporter: Micky Bristow
Producer: Anna Lacey
Get in touch: [email protected] or WhatsApp +44 330 678 2707
(Photo: Jung Chang. Credit: Ben Gold)
Last on
Broadcasts
- Thu 4 Jul 2024 11:06GMTBBC World Service
- Thu 4 Jul 2024 17:06GMTBBC World Service except East and Southern Africa & West and Central Africa
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