Status
Available
Call number
Publication
New York : Pantheon Books, ]c2009].
Description
An extraordinary work of oral history that illuminates the diverse ways in which the Chinese perceive and understand their own modern history.
User reviews
LibraryThing member cameling
China's history experienced by millions during Mao's Cultural Revolution is captured in a series of interviews by a journalist. Her subjects are the grandparents and great-grandparents who survived imprisonment, re-education, famine, separation from their families and hard labor.
The author
Some of the interviews were more detailed than others, but on the whole, they were all very interesting.
The author
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selected 50 ordinary individuals across China to interview. The interviews covered not only the tragedies and hardship that they experienced, but also their candid opinions of the changes that China has gone through since the end of the Mao's reign. A number of them agreed to be interviewed as long as their real names weren't used for fear of reprisals from the government.Some of the interviews were more detailed than others, but on the whole, they were all very interesting.
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LibraryThing member PattyLee
Not as riveting as Wild Swans, mostly because the interviews were so uneven. Some were fascinating and others, minimally interesting. Also, the author was disturbingly intrusive throughout. I wanted to get more of the flavor of the Chinese subjects, without her commentary- except perhaps as a
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footnote. The question and answer format was annoying, especially as she kept asking key questions over and over to all the subjects. There is no doubt that the interviews are an important part of the story of twentieth century China, but there is a large sense that many things are left untold. Show Less
Language
Original language
Chinese
Physical description
557 p.; 25 inches
ISBN
0307388530 / 9780307388537
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