Summary Of Jung Chang's Wild Swans: Three Daughters Of China

In the book Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China by Jung Chang, the author talks about the stories of her grandmother and mother as well as herself during their journeys as women in China. The book discusses how gender roles, political ideology, and economic ideology in China change over time. During the entirety of Chinese history, many changes and continuities transpired and had crucial impacts on China. However, a great amount of change occurred during the time period from the 1900s to present day. These changes and continuities incorporate happenings in areas concerning the treatment of women, political structure, and economic capacity. The 1900s were an extremely important time in Chinese History. China, being in decline during

The early republic had frequent wars and changes in policies which eventually led to a collapse of central authority and economic contraction. In the republic of China, after the fall of the Qing dynasty, new industrial developments resulted in an increase in demand for Chinese goods. This demand led to an increase of profit for the industrial workers. Years later around 1931, the rural economy of China hit a Great Depression. The Great Depression was caused by an overproduction of agricultural goods which led to an increase on imports and falling prices in the Chinese market. It also included widespread fighting among warlords. A quote that represents how hard the Great Depression was for industrial business owners is, “but it was the time of widespread fighting among warlords, who all levied heavy taxes. This, combined with the effects of the Great Depression, made it an extremely difficult time to run a textile factory” (Chang 104). Also, prior to the establishment of the Renminbi becoming the national currency in 1935, there were many different forms of payment. For example, in the book, it is mentioned that the only way to get her brother out of prison was to raise, “1,000 pieces of silver” (Chang