What was Ai Weiwei's first significant foray into political activism as noted in the nonfiction book, Age of Ambition: Chasing Fortune, Truth, and Faith in the New China?

Ai Weiwei, a well-known Chinese artist and dissident. His first significant foray into political activism was his criticism of the Chinese government’s response to an earthquake in Sichuan province. He completed his own investigation into the collapse of school buildings that killed hundreds of children, filing lawsuits against the government in the process. Much of his activism on this issue and subsequent ones took the form of tweets. Ai was arrested on two occasions and physically abused by the authorities on both occasions. He spent several months in prison and his studio was closely surveilled following his release. Despite his growing frustration and pessimism, Osnos considers Ai to be China’s most prominent dissident.