Upon invitation, renowned British-Chinese writer Jung Chang visited Singapore this month for the Singapore Writers' Festival. Jung Chang is best known for the publication she co-authored with her husband, renowned historian Jon Halliday, entitled Mao: The Unknown Story. In an interview with The Epoch Times, Chang shared with us her journey of writing this historic and ground-breaking book.
Taking-up the Historic Responsibility of Finding out the Truth about Mao
When asked what prompted her to write the book, Chang said, "Although Mao is an important man in China's modern history, a man who affected the lives of generations of Chinese and brought about numerous large-scale disasters, not much is known about him."
Chang then went on to explain that through her efforts to unveil the mystery of Mao, she hoped to shed light on the cause of the madness of the revolutionary period, and to identify the root cause of this national tragedy. She felt it was necessary to find out the historic truth, and so took on the responsibility.
Research & Investigation
Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China took Chang less than two years to complete; she and her husband took twelve years to finish Mao: The Unknown Story. The bulk of the work is research, as they were determined to write a biography based on first hand information; in particular, real-life experiences, documents from the time and historical materials.
They went through archives in 28 countries, including those in Russia, Albania, former East Germany, the United States, the United Kingdom and the Vatican City, discovering a great deal of untold information. They interviewed 116 witnesses of the time, 159 leaders who were in contact with Mao, 34 of Mao's relatives and friends, and 18 people who served as Mao's personal staff.
The original compilation was five times as thick as the final copy published. Chang explained that the first version, comprising of detailed analysis for how they arrived at their final conclusion, is more for academic research. The couple then summarized their findings into a simpler and more reader-friendly version for popular consumption.
Precious Historical Documents: Letters From Mao's Second Wife Discovered
Included in Mao: The Unknown Story is the never-before published memoirs of Mao's second wife, Yang Kai-Hui. Kai-Hui was abandoned by Mao in 1927 and latter executed by the Nationalists in 1930. The letters were discovered hidden behind a roof beam, in 1999.
Chang said that she was fortunate to be able to read the letters, which are still considered very sensitive and that even Mao's surviving family had not seen. Kai-Hui's letters are full of her devastation and longing for Mao, and her anger at his desertion of their family. They also reveal that Kai-Hui, who had been drawn to the ideals of communism, was losing her faith in the cause because of Mao's insistence on killing off his opposition.
Astonishing Disaster
After having gone through twelve years of research, Chang found that her initial understanding of Mao had changed greatly. Having lived under Mao's rule and having completed Wild Swans, she had thought she had a good understanding, however, almost every day her research brought her startling new findings. It was an exiting journey of discovery for her and her husband. Chang and Halliday conducted the research separately, with Chang looking into Chinese materials and Halliday researching materials in English and other languages. Although some of her initial impressions remained, Chang shared that her overall assessment of Mao had been broadened.
During the Japanese occupation, Mao did not fight the Japanese. He relied on the Japanese to fight Chiang Kai-shek, thereafter expecting Stalin to step in. After 1945, 1.5 million Russian troops invaded northeast China, providing military weapons and training to help Mao fight Chiang Kai-shek. That is how Mao conquered China in 1949. Mao was skilled at exploiting the weaknesses of his rivals and allies to achieve his goals. He even thanked the Japanese for helping him to take over Beijing.
The disastrous "Great Leap Forward", Chang and Halliday discovered, was in fact not due to an over-zealous application of Mao's ideology or Mao's lack of economic knowledge, as is commonly believed. Upon research, they found that the cause is simply Mao's goal to dominate the world by becoming the leader of a military superpower. China exported vast amounts of peasant-produced food and agricultural products to buy expensive and advanced modern military weapons. This is what caused the most devastating famine in history, causing the death of 38 million people.
Mao was fully aware that people were starving to death, but he told his staff, reassuringly, not to be fearful of people dying. He even said dead people can enhance the land's fertility. Mao even mentioned that he still had many campaigns in mind, and that if all the campaigns were implemented, approximately half of the Chinese population would be killed.
70 Million Unnatural Deaths
Apart from the 38 million that starved to death, approximately 27 million people were killed during Mao's 27-years in power. The Cultural Revolution alone resulted in over 3 million deaths. Having personally lived through the Cultural Revolution, Chang feels certain the death toll is higher than 3 million. Rivals, family members, peasants, city dwellers, soldiers, and lifelong allies were all among the victims of Mao's ambition and paranoia.
Initial Suspicion
Chang shared with The Epoch Times that when she was a child she idolized Mao, just like many other children. After the Cultural Revolution began in 1966 however, the indescribable violence and brutality enacted under Mao's name occurred all around her. That was when she first started to doubt Mao sacredness. At that time, however, she didn't dare to think any further. She would wonder to herself "If Socialist China is heaven, then what is hell like?!"
At the time, she blamed Mao's troops and Qing Jiang for the disaster. In 1974 she saw a photo of Mao and Jiang in an American magazine; the caption stated that Jiang was only the eyes, ears and mouth of Mao. From this she came to realize that Mao was responsible for the tragedy. It had taken her eight years to dare to face the truth and condemn Mao. In an environment where everyone is brainwashed, being able to identify the factual truth is very difficult.
Chang lamented that living under the Chinese Communist Regime, many were and still are, unable to see or know the true situation. There is no freedom of the press, information is limited and many books, documents and materials are burned. Living outside of China and having access to overseas information, with the imminent collapse of communism, the myths she had accepted are all shattered and she is now able to find out the truth.
Idolizing a Tyrant is Dangerous
"We should admire a righteous person of good morality," remarked Chang. She advised that Mao should not be idolized, because he rose to power through underhanded and sly means. The sins he committed render him detestable.
Mao is a brutal totalitarian and a thug, Chang remarked, who relished in unleashing Stalin-like purges of millions for his personal gain. No-one escaped unharmed from Mao's unscrupulous yet invincible political maneuverings and betrayals. He disregarded inevitable future historic contempt and infamy.
Fear, Control of Media, Lack of Spiritual Belief
Chang also pointed out that state-incited terror was used to control and deceive the Chinese people. Under Mao's rule, people were too afraid to even think, and so simply accepted what was told to them.
The restriction on freedom of information was also a major factor. During Mao's era, there was no religious belief, traditional culture was destroyed and only government-controlled media was allowed. There was a severe lack of spiritual nourishment. Living under such an environment for decades, people became easily deceived and readily manipulated. Even today, for many people living outside of China, the way of thinking of mainland Chinese citizens can seem absurd and hard to follow.
Even after Mao's death, criticism of Mao in China remains taboo. Chang's publication "Wild Swans" is banned in China, as is "Mao: The Unknown Story".
Confronting the Historic Truth of a Tragedy Helps to Prevent its Recurrence
It is increasingly reported that Chang's book on Mao, although banned in China, is finding its way to the Chinese people, with more and more people reading it. By confronting the historic facts of the catastrophe Mao brought to the Chinese people, we may very well prevent such a tragedy from recurring.
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