Jung Chang

Wild Swans author Jung Chang talks about the sequel to her seminal story of three daughters of   China under the last emperor and through Mao Zedong’s rule and the cultural revolution.

Wild Swans – the story of Chang, her mother and her grandmother – finished at the end of the Mao era in 1978 when Chang was one of the first to leave Communist China for the West. In that time, China has risen to become a global power. In Fly, Wild Swans, Chang brings the story of her family and of China up to date. Chang says Xi Jinping is seeking to turn back the clock to the Maoist days and build a communist state with capitalist features. She describes how these changes are greatly affecting her life and that of her mother back in China. And she reflects on the threat posed by China to the international order.

Chang was born in Sichuan Province and worked as a peasant, a barefoot doctor, a steelworker and an electrician before becoming an English language student. Wild Swans has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Her other books include Mao: The Unknown Story, Empress Dowager Cixi and Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister.