Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China is a family history that spans a century, recounting the lives of three female generations in China, by Chinese writer Jung Chang . First published in 1991, Wild Swans contains the biographies of her grandmother and her mother, then finally her own autobiography . Her grandmother had bound feet and was married off at a young age as the concubine of a high-status warlord. Chang's mother rose in status as a member of the Chinese Communist Party . Chang took part in the Cultural Revolution as a member of the Red Guards, but eventually her father was tortured and she was sent to the countryside for thought reform. Later, she earned a scholarship to study in England, where she still lives.
19-498: Wild Swans won the 1992 NCR Book Award and the 1993 British Book of the Year . It has been translated into 37 languages and sold over 13 million copies. The book starts by relating the biography of Chang's grandmother (Yu-fang). From the age of two, she had bound feet . As the family was relatively poor, her father schemed to have her taken as a concubine to high-ranking warlord general Xue Zhi-heng, in order to gain status, which
38-678: A 'full-ride', covering all tuition, accommodation, housing and others. Some prestigious, highly competitive scholarships are well-known even outside the academic community, such as Fulbright Scholarship and the Rhodes Scholarships at the graduate level, and the Robertson , Morehead-Cain and Jefferson Scholarships at the undergraduate level. While the terms scholarship and grant are frequently used interchangeably, they are distinctly different. Where grants are offered based exclusively on financial need, scholarships may have
57-404: A corresponding obsession with design and presentation". In 1997, the award experienced an existential scandal when it was revealed the judges had used "professional readers", summaries and book reviews instead of reading all of the entries. In response, one of the previous winners, Peter Hennessy , approached Penguin with the idea for a new award, and an anonymous benefactor was found who funded
76-655: The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Mao Zedong 's Red Army . As the Chinese Communist Revolution progressed, her work for the CCP helped her rise through the ranks. She met the man who would become Chang's father (Wang Yu/Shou-yu), a high-ranking officer. The couple were soon married but CCP dictates meant they were not allowed to spend much time together. Eventually, the couple were transferred to Yibin , Chang's father's hometown. It
95-605: The Red Guards when he mildly but openly criticised Mao due to the suffering caused to the Chinese people by the Cultural Revolution. Chang's parents were labeled as capitalist roaders and made subjects of public struggle sessions and torture . Chang recalls that her father deteriorated physically and mentally, until his eventual death. Her father's treatment prompted Chang's previous doubts about Mao to come to
114-486: The child had passed away. With his last words, the general unexpectedly proclaimed her free at age twenty-four. Eventually, she married a much older doctor (Dr. Xia) with whom she and her daughter, Chang's mother, made a home in Jinzhou , Manchuria . Wild Swans portrays her role as a wife rather than concubine. The book now moves to the story of Chang's mother (Bao Qin/De-hong), who at the age of fifteen began working for
133-677: The establishment of the Samuel Johnson Prize (1999). Facing bad publicity and a tarnished reputation, the NCR Award closed out with A People's Tragedy in 1997. Source 1988–1995: Scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education . Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion , athletic skill, and financial need, research experience or specific professional experience. Scholarship criteria usually reflect
152-464: The following years Chang's mother gave birth to Jung and four other children. Wild Swans shifts again to cover Jung's own autobiography. The Cultural Revolution started when Chang was a teenager. Chang willingly joined the Red Guards though she recoiled from some of their brutal actions. As Mao's personality cult grew, life became more difficult and dangerous. Chang's father became a target for
171-577: The fore. Like thousands of other young people, Chang was sent down to the countryside for education and thought reform by the peasants , a difficult, harsh and pointless experience. At the end of the Cultural Revolution Chang returned home and worked hard to gain a place at university. Not long after she succeeded, Mao died. The whole nation was shocked in mourning, though Chang writes that: "People had been acting for so long they confused it with their true feelings. I wondered how many of
190-499: The highly successful Booker Prize for fiction. It was part of a new "golden age" of non-fiction that started in the 1980s, according to Antony Beevor . In the early 1990s, NCR was acquired by AT&T and the award became rudderless and dated; one critic said the "NCR spoke volumes of the Thatcherised values of contemporary English culture – a winner-takes-all triumphalism, a boastful indifference to good writing,
209-443: The production design. On November 26, 2006, Variety announced that Portobello Pictures had purchased the film rights to the book with Christopher Hampton on board to write the screenplay. However, a film adaptation has yet to materialise. In a March 2020 interview with Irish Independent , Chang said that there had been "many, many attempts" for a screen adaptation of Wild Swans but that "distributors are fearful of getting on
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#1732780079426228-465: The tears were genuine". Chang said that she felt exhilarated by Mao's death. At university Chang studied English. After her graduation and a stint as an assistant lecturer, she won a scholarship to study in England and left for her new home. She still lives in England today and visits mainland China on occasion to see her family and friends there, with permission from Chinese authorities. Wild Swans
247-487: The values and goals of the donor of the award, and while scholarship recipients are not required to repay scholarships, the awards may require that the recipient continue to meet certain requirements during their period of support, such as maintaining a minimum grade point average or engaging in a certain activity (e.g., playing on a school sports team for athletic scholarship holders). Scholarships also range in generosity; some cover partial tuition , while others offer
266-607: The wrong side of the powers that be in China." NCR Book Award The NCR Book Award for Non-Fiction , established in 1987 and sponsored by NCR Corporation , was for a time the UK's major award for non-fiction. Closing in 1997 after a period of decline and scandal, it is best remembered as the forerunner of the Samuel Johnson Prize . The award was founded at a time when there were no major non-fiction awards in Britain comparable to
285-413: Was a long and arduous trek. Chang's mother traveled on foot because of her rank, while her father rode in a jeep. He was not aware that Chang's mother was pregnant . After arrival at Nanjing, Chang's mother undertook gruelling military training. After the strain of the training coupled with the journey, she suffered a miscarriage . Chang's father swore to never again be inattentive to his wife's needs. In
304-452: Was allowed to visit her parents' home, but never allowed to spend the night. After his six year absence, the general made a brief conjugal visit to Yu-fang, during which Chang's mother, was conceived. The general named her Bao Qin, meaning "precious zither," but did not stay long after her birth. During the child's infancy, Yu-fang opposed persistent requests for her to be brought to the general's main household, until he became very sick and it
323-412: Was hugely important in terms of quality of life. After a wedding ceremony to the general, who already had a wife and many concubines, the young girl was left alone in a wealthy household with servants , and did not see her " husband " again for six years. Despite her luxurious surroundings, life was tense as she feared the servants and the wife of the general would report rumors or outright lies to him. She
342-409: Was no longer a request. She then had no choice but to comply. During her visit to the household, the general was dying. Since he had no male heir, Bao Qin was very important to the family. Realizing that the general's wife would have complete control over her life and her child's after the general's death, Yu-fang and her daughter returned to her parents' home, sending false word to Zhi-heng's family that
361-701: Was translated into 37 languages and sold 13 million copies, receiving praise from authors such as J. G. Ballard . Although it has also been translated into Chinese, it is banned in Mainland China. However, the book is available in Hong Kong and Taiwan. The book was translated for the stage in early 2012, for the Young Vic . The book was adapted by Alexandra Wood and directed by Sacha Wares. The Daily Telegraph gave it four out of five stars, and called it 'enormously refreshing' while The Guardian praised
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