Wild+Swans

Synopsis
The book //[|Wild Swans]// is a narrative describing the lives of three generations of Chinese women, before, during, and after the [|Cultural Revolution], or the [|Great Purge], as [|Jung] refers to it. The story begins with [|Jung’s] grandmother, who was married off as a concubine to a warlord just prior to the [|Great Purge]. [|Jung’s] mother was only 15 when she joined [|Mao’s] party, and was married soon after to [|Jung’s] father, who was an officer in the Communist Party. [|Jung’s] parents were eventually discredited and disgraced, which led to a mental breakdown of [|Jung’s] father. [|Jung] herself was indoctrinated into [|Mao’s] [|Red Guards], although she was struck with inner turmoil regarding some of what she saw and experienced. She was eventually able to travel to Britain to study under scholarship in 1978, and wrote //[|Wild Swans]// in 1992 regarding her experience and that of her mother and grandmother.

Reflection
//[|Wild Swans]// is a very dense book; at over 500 pages it will only be suitable for the most advanced high school classes, and the advisability of assigning such a complex text should be considered. However, this would be a wonderful book to incorporate into a course dedicated to the study of Chinese or women’s literature. This book in particular has striking parallels to the concepts underlined in //[|The Joy Luck Club]//: the stories of mothers and daughters, how they interacted, what they experienced, and how they came to understand one another. This concept is directly stated in the introduction to the 2003 version of //[|Wild Swans]//:

As I listened to my mother, I was overwhelmed by her longing to be understood by me…..She did not do this through making demands, which she never did, but by providing me with stories – and showing me how to face the past.

This is outlined again as [|Jung’s] mother implies that regardless of the success of the published version, it was still worthwhile to have written because she became closer to her daughter throughout its writing.

The understanding achieved between mother and daughter is possibly the most important aspect of studying this book in a literature course, however, it is not the only one. A striking part of this book has to do with the political and historical aspects of the book seen from the perspective of those who where there to experience it. //[|Wild Swans]// was revolutionary upon its publication as it was the first glimpse many Westerners had into the lives of the Chinese people under the dictatorship of [|Mao Zedong]. Indeed, this book was banned in China due to uncomplimentary references to [|Mao] and his brutal practices. A reading and understanding of the concepts outlined here can only assist in helping Western readers understand the enormity of what the Chinese people are contending within the bounds of their own country, and get a glimpse of how historical and political events have shaped the lives of the people who lived through them. In this, readers can draw parallels to //[|The Diary of Anne Frank]// in that it brings the reader closely into his/her own experience, and makes the reader understand the implications of political and historical events, and perhaps feel a sense of the immediacy and relevance of history and politics within his/her own life.

Challenge One: Teaching a Long Book
Practically speaking, the most difficult challenge may lay in the overall strategy of teaching such a large book within the context of a semester. This book should ideally be taught as the main focus of a course, with parallel texts such as //[|The Joy Luck Club]// and historical and political texts to supplement understanding of the implications of what the women in each book underwent. Please see the list below for text suggestions.
 * Suggestions:** The best way to set up this material over the course of a semester may be to divide the semester up into thirds, utilizing the first third as a contextual study of China and its social and political history. Brief narrative excerpts may be useful during this time to add a personal and literary dimension to what is being taught and to prevent a spiral into a history, rather than a literature course. The second third could then be devoted to an intermingling of //[|Wild Swans]// and //[|The Joy Luck Club]// within literature circles. The mutual understanding of texts achieved within the context of the literature circle may help compensate for the arduous task of assimilating such a dense text within such a brief period of time. The final third can be given over to contemporary narrative and a study of current events within and around China. This period in time could also be utilized as a reflective part of study where students journal about what they have learned and their perceptions of the literature.

Information on China's Social and Political History
http://library.thinkquest.org/26469/index2.html An online source for Chinese history and politics http://www.wellesley.edu/Polisci/wj/ChinaLinks-New/index.html A site dedicated to the study of Chinese politics

Information on Women in Chinese Culture
http://www.indstate.edu/chinaeduc/equality.html This site deals with issues of gender and minority treatment in China http://hua.umf.maine.edu/China/womtxt.html //[|Gender Politics in Modern China: Writing and Feminism]// by Tani E. Barlow

Information on Modern China
http://library.thinkquest.org/26469/index2.html An online source for Chinese history and politics //[|Modernization and Revolution in China, 3rd edition]// by June Grasso, Jay Corrin, and Michael Kort

Instructional Methodology Links for //[|Wild Swans]//
http://urbandreams.ousd.k12.ca.us/lessonplans/wildswans/index.html This is a great link: it’s actually an instructor’s syllabus outlining the instruction of //[|Wild Swans]//. [|http://www2.ma.psu.edu/~sen/swans.htm] Another instructor’s assignment sheet for work on //[|Wild Swans]//; not as comprehensive as the previous entry. http://www.csuohio.edu/history/courses/his374/eas02.html This has some great essay ideas: they are assignments within the context of a history class taught at the 300/500 level.


 * //I have used the Western manner of referring to an author by last name; however, in China, the last name is stated first so I am assuming that the family name, Jung, is the correct way to refer to her in citations.//

by Mandy Browning