An ancient Chinese proverb says "No matter how capable, a woman cannot make a meal without food." During the Great Leap Forward campaign of Mao in 1958, the reversal of this pragmatic saying becomes the basis of Chinese rule, "Capable women can make a meal without food." During the end of WWII, China experiences a great upheaval in leadership as China shifts from ancient imperial rule and Japanese occupation to a new form of government known as communism. The author of Wild Swans, Jung Chang, tells a factual account of China's changing society through the eyes of her grandmother, mother, and herself. This story spans a period of sixty-one years in which the ancient traditions of feet binding and kowtowing of 20-century China dissipates into modern China.

Ancient China's history is plagued by constant warfare and corruption. Throughout its long standing, the lands of China are passed from landlords...