Jung Chang

Chinese-British author · United Kingdom · On the map · Writers · Born 1952 · age 74

Jung Chang is a Chinese-born British author. She is best known for her family autobiography Wild Swans, which has sold over 10 million copies worldwide but is banned in the People's Republic of China.

Jung Chang is read about 303 times a day, in 31 languages.

A typical day, 30 days to 6 November 2026

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A life in dates

2024Commander of the Order of the British EmpireAward2019“Wild Swans shows how life was different for each of the women - my grandmother, my mother, me.”In their wordsOn her book Wild Swans in “Jung Chang: ‘To be a writer was the most dangerous profession’” in The Guardian (2019 Oct 13)Read the whole statement

2014“A large part. Woman rulers were always subject to condemnation. She never ruled in her own right and always had to be behind a screen.”In their wordsOn her biography of the Empress Dowager in “Interview: Jung Chang” in The Oxford Student (2014 Nov 10)Read the whole statement

2013“The thing is, the regime makes it very hard for people to be interested. If you are dedicated to finding out the truth, you can. There are ways to climb the firewall.”In their wordsOn the middle class in China’s seeming apathy in “Jung Chang interview: why I'm still banned in China” in The Telegraph (2013 Sep 22)Read the whole statement

1998Honorary DoctorateAward1952Born25 March 1952

People around Jung

Family

Jung Chang

Partners

Spouse Jon Halliday

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Media & music

Photos 4

Xue Zhiheng, Jung Chang's grandfather

Chang (right) and Halliday (left) with Spanish politician Santiago Carrillo in 2009

Chang being interviewed at the 2025 edition of the Danish bookfair Bogforum in Copenhagen

In their own words 2

Jung Chang

2 statements, newest first

I had always wanted to be a writer as a child but couldn’t spell out this dream to myself because during the Cultural Revolution all writers were condemned.
On how writing was perceived during her childhood and adolescence in “Jung Chang: ‘To be a writer was the most dangerous profession’” in, Own words
There’s no sense of heritage. Mao destroyed the culture and produced a generation of philistines who do not appreciate culture.
On how the destruction of monuments has contributed to a cultural shift in China in “The NS Interview: Jung Chang, author” in The New, Own words

Wikiquote, CC BY-SA 4.0

Awards

Commander of the Order of the British Empire2024

Honorary Doctorate1998

About this person

Her 832-page biography of Mao Zedong, Mao: The Unknown Story, written with her husband, the Irish historian Jon Halliday, and touching on parts of her personal memoir, was published in June 2005. Reception of the work by academics is mixed, though the work has received acclaim in the popular press.

Country

United Kingdom