Wild Swans
Three Daughters of China
Vocabulary
- Maoism- the political, social, economic, and military theories and policies advocated by Mao Zedong, as those concerning revolutionary movements and guerrilla warfare.
- Cultural Revolution - radical sociopolitical movement in China led by Mao Zedong and characterized by military rule, terrorism, purges,restructuring of the educational system, etc.
- Red Guards - groups of militant university and high school students formed into paramilitary units as part of the Cultural Revolution. They were formed under the auspices of the Chinese Communist Party
- Concubine - mistress
- Censorship - the act or practice of censoring
- Denunciation - an act or instance of denouncing; public disapproval or condemnation
- Self Criticism - the act or fact of being self critical
- Kuomintang - led from 1925 to 1975 by Chiang Kai-Shek;the dominant party of the Republic of China
- Communism - Society in which all property is publicly owned and each person works and is paid according to their abilities and needs
- Capitalist Roader - A devious individual that infiltrates a socialist or communist republic to de-rail the glorious choo-choo train of communism onto a capitalist road
- Republic - a state in which supreme power rests in the body of citizens entitled to vote and is exercised by representatives chosen directly or indirectly by them
- Chairman Mao - Communist leader, forces people to only favor him
- Chiang Kai Shek - Chinese army officer and political leader: president of the Republic of China (1950-1975).
- Manipulation - to manage or influence skillfully, especially in an unfair manner
- Hierarchy - any system of persons or things ranked above another
Author's Thesis
A collection of memories that traces to twentieth century Chinese history through three generations of Chinese woman. Portrait of traditional China is glimpsed through the life of the author’s grandmother. The experiences of the binding of her feet, the life of a concubine, and her later marriage displaying the social views and roles of women prior to the Communist Revolution. In contrast, the life of the author’s mothers reveals new routes of movement for women for her generation; an ardent supporter of the new regime, a civil servant and wife of a Communist official. Thus, with a successful position it causes the author to grow up and receive an education in the midst of much social upheaval. However, her fortune is changed when her parents are convicted of being “enemies of the people” and she is sent, like other urban youths of her generation, to receive “re-education” in the countryside.
Personal Interest of Topic
To understand and gain knowledge about the history of China.