A near-fine copy in like dust jacket, unclipped, with touch of creasing. With 16 half-tone plates, double-page map of China.īinding bright, a little cocked, light bumping at spine ends, internally clean and bright. Housed in a dark blue flat-back cloth box by the Chelsea Bindery. Original green boards, spine lettered in gilt with gilt Chinese character "hong" ("swan"). Overall, a unique example of a truly monumental work, exemplifying autobiography's potent ability to challenge hegemonic power. And so, it seems, my fear of many years that I could not be with my mother in her last moments will be a reality".Ĭhang discussed her inscriptions in this copy at a roundtable in support of English PEN held on 3 July 2022 in London. I am facing unprecedented danger if I set foot in China. The regime seems bent on dragging the country back to the Maoist days and is promoting Mao with draconian measures.
In the second entry, penned on New Year's Eve 2021, Chang writes that "news from China is more and more worrying. I am facing unprecedented danger if I set foot in This year, I wake up feeling anxious about whether Joe has adequate personal protective equipment". "Around this time of the year in the past, I was often woken in the middle of the night by a sense of dread, anticipating new hurdles turning up in the morning that would threaten my visit to my mother. She also speaks of her pride in her nephew, an NHS doctor on the front lines of the fight against COVID. In her first entry, dated April 2020, she reflects on the difficulties of securing official leave to visit Xia Dehong in China, as well as her mother's resilience during the lockdown in Chengdu. The author's meditations occupy the final five leaves, the rear pastedown, and a loosely notecard with a printed design after an oil portrait of her mother, Xia Dehong. Today, Wild Swans remains the most widely read English-language autobiography by a Chinese writer. A uniquely inscribed later edition of this famous memoir, with two poignant handwritten reflections by the author on "my mother and my family at the time of Coronavirus", echoing many of the themes of the work including personal liberty, resilience in the face of adversity, and the importance of family.
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