Jung Chang Quotes & Sayings (Page 2)

“When I was in China, Mao was Chairman, and parents were terrified to tell their children anything that differed from the party line in case the children repeated it and endangered the whole family.”

“While I was writing Wild Swans I thought the famine was the result of economic mismanagement but during the research I realised that it was something more sinister.”

“Although my book is banned I am still allowed to go to China and travel. There is no longer the kind of control that Mao used to have-there have been deep fundamental changes in society.”

“For anyone to open their heart, they need the right atmosphere, and something to prompt them. For my mother it was her trip abroad: she was in a very relaxed, understanding environment. I was very sympathetic towards her.”

“We were not treated by our own government as proper human beings and consequently, some outsiders did not regard us as the same kind of humans as themselves.”

“I always wanted to be a writer.”

“I feel perhaps my heart is still in China.”

“I would love mainland Chinese to read my book. There is a Chinese translation which I worked on myself, published in Hong Kong and Taiwan. Many copies have gone into China but it is still banned.”

“I remember when my mother pointed to a stone, and she said this was the kind of stone people used to place on the feet of the baby girls to stop them trying to climb away and unbind their feet.”

“In certain areas where the media are still controlled, the changes have come to a halt, which is a very frustrating situation. I would like the changes to take place throughout China.”