Talk:Wild Swans

Citations

"Outside China it has been praised by many scholars as an informative look at the lives of the Chinese people during the Cultural Revolution, though it has a small number of critics as well."

Does anyone have precise numbers or at least a credible estimation of "many scholars" or "small number of critics?" Are these claims verifiable? We should at least list a few names of the "many scholars" and "small...critics". Count de Chagny 22:44, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Of course it's impossible to have precise numbers - estimations are also difficult. As to names, you could try digging some up. John Smith's 12:04, 19 February 2007 (UTC)This book also refers to the atrocities against Mongols in Inner Mongolia during the Cultural Revolution, the most may have been referred tp in testimonial in manifesto for independence for Turkic Uyghurs in Turkestan which I think was linked to Human Rights Watch, I do not think it was of the United Nations and was before 2005 I think, and described "death by the sewing method" describing winding round up down cord, string or thread around testicles, and burning sticks into reproductive systems against over half the Mongol population in connection with their being accused of closeness to the MPRP, the governing Communist party of Mongolia with capital in Ulaanbaatar.

Claims

Does anyone know whether the claims in the book about Japan showing newsreels to girls showing prisoners being cut in half are true and verifyable? Do those newsreels still exists?

Who knows. Who knows if half the stuff various people claim to have seen/know happened, etc really exists? How do we know that we're not really inside the Matrix!?!?!?!?! John Smith's 19:53, 5 May 2006 (UTC)

About the overview/criticism

All the stuff there is in the reference section (no less than 4) references on the same topic all with similar comments. This book was written way before the advent of everyday internet and such there is almost no information avalible on it in terms of literary commentry and close analysis, all such information is text based only in one off publications which took me a long time to attain considering i live on the other side of the Earth.TTMSHU 14:02, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

But the points are still not referenced. If you can't remember who said what then it's just hearsay. If you seriously don't have the original documents any more then it will have to be deleted. Otherwise you could be making it up - no offence.

If you do have the original documents, then I suggest you copy and paste the relevant parts here with page numbers and references. John Smith's 14:09, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

I'm making a few edits. The book was not simply aimed at a Western audience, as she tried to have it released in China. At first it was tolerated (as far as I know), but then suddenly banned. If it had not been released in China the person that said that might have had a point. Second it was not a simple attack on Communism - many individuals such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng and even Zhou Enlai are made to look like good leaders. Third there's nothing wrong to say it was well praised as well. John Smith's 14:20, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Yup, i agree with that.. Though the geneal concensus is that the target of the text was the western sphere based on many references that western audience can relate to e.g. her allusions to orwellian ideas and her desire for cannonical texts such as t.s.elliot and huck fin, as well as many emotional events such as the 1949 Long March to Sichuan province, though that can also be related to Chinese people as well.

Also, i can't simply copy and paste, its not like i can do so when its written on a piece of paper. Anyway, i've collected some quotes from the shortest of the 4 references i've posted

Hothouse history

Para 2 "The stories of these women are powereful testimonies to the tragic forces that have moulded the lives of so many chinese people this century"

Para 2 "...dealing with the dualism of social idealism and political repression"

Para 3 "...Chang reveals some relatively unknown aspects of the activities of privilaged young people..."

Para 4 "Unlike many personal accounts of China's recent history... Wild swans is written without sentimentality"

I'll get around to quoting the other 3 over the next few days TTMSHU 14:30, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

Please, page numbers not paragraphs. That's how one makes references. But I'm glad we're moving to a consensus over the section in question. John Smith's 14:48, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

I already gave you page numbers, just look at the references section that i put in earlier........TTMSHU 15:29, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

I mean page numbers when you quote something. John Smith's 15:44, 24 June 2006 (UTC)

I already gave you the page numbers, im quoting the whole article.TTMSHU 05:29, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

The section is not cited, it is written poorly, and its phrasing suggests the tone of a critical reviewer. If no one deals with these problems in the next few days I will probably delete it again. --TJive 20:07, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

I have to agree. All points need to be properly referenced - that's individually, not at the end. John Smith's 21:57, 25 June 2006 (UTC)

Fine, you can delete the overview and i will write a close study of the text citing each quote individualy later on. Currently, these comments are reflective of the reviews of the wider literary community. Specifically, indicating that it is a sucessful text however it suffers from the political overtones of the composer. TTMSHU 11:04, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't matter what you think people have to say about it - you need to be specific. John Smith's 11:24, 26 June 2006 (UTC)

About the Chang's story

the following statement is incorrect:

"At university Chang studied English. After her graduation and a stint as an assistant lecturer, she won a scholarship to study in England and did not return to China."

she did return to china in many occasions but only for holydays.Jordifreixa (talk) 13:01, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

Tone

I have concerns about the tone and accuracy of this article. The synopsis section strikes me more as an informal book report than an encyclopedic article. Descriptions such as "her man" seem out of place. There are several sentences such as the following written in a dubious style: Jung's grandmother managed to avoid going for two years, until the officer became sick of health and the need for a heir was dire." Furthermore, Chang's grandmother became a concubine to a warlord general, not a Kuomintang official.

207.35.204.153 02:59, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

Original language & date inaccuracy

Was this book written in Chinese of in English? Also, the intro says it was a 1992 novel, while the bottom list of publications mentions a publication in 1991? 84.194.172.120 (talk) 17:47, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

Yes it was first published in 1991 - good spot. But what do you mean when you say Was this book written in Chinese of in English? It doesn't make sense. John Smith's (talk) 18:56, 21 December 2008 (UTC)

I'm a bit late in replying here, I meant was it originally written by the author in English or in Chinese? Now that I've finished reading it, I know she studied English and lived in London while she wrote the book, so I'm guessing the manuscript was in English - but that's still a guess from my part. 84.196.57.120 (talk) 20:12, 16 May 2009 (UTC)

I just finished the book. In the postface it clearly states that it was originally written in English with the help of her husband. Jordifreixa (talk) 12:18, 26 October 2009 (UTC)

Banned Books

Should there be a banned books segment? According to the wikipedia page for banned books, Wild Swans was banned in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_books_banned_by_governments

I haven't yet spent time researching the status of the book in China today.

Torfrid (talk) 18:32, 14 February 2016 (UTC)