1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir
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- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2021-11-06 06:51:11
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Weiwei Ai
- ISBN：0553419463
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
In Ai Weiwei's widely anticipated memoir， "one of the most important artists working in the world today" （Financial Times） tells a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own extraordinary life and the legacy of his father， the nation's most celebrated poet。
"With uncommon humanity， humbling scholarship， and poignant intimacy， Ai Weiwei recounts a life of courage， argument， defeat， and triumph。 His is one of the great voices of our time。"--Andrew Solomon
Hailed as "an eloquent and seemingly unsilenceable voice of freedom" by The New York Times， Ai Weiwei has written a sweeping memoir that presents a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process。
Once an intimate of Mao Zedong and the nation's most celebrated poet， Ai Weiwei's father， Ai Qing， was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution， and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as "Little Siberia，" where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets。 Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile， and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America， where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol。 With candor and wit， he details his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist--and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime。
Ai Weiwei's sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe， and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing。 His political activism has long made him a target of the Chinese authorities， which culminated in months of secret detention without charge in 2011。 Here， for the first time， Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father， whose creativity was stifled。
At once ambitious and intimate， Ai Weiwei's 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows offers a deep understanding of the myriad forces that have shaped modern China， and serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression。
"With uncommon humanity， humbling scholarship， and poignant intimacy， Ai Weiwei recounts a life of courage， argument， defeat， and triumph。 His is one of the great voices of our time。"--Andrew Solomon
Hailed as "an eloquent and seemingly unsilenceable voice of freedom" by The New York Times， Ai Weiwei has written a sweeping memoir that presents a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process。
Once an intimate of Mao Zedong and the nation's most celebrated poet， Ai Weiwei's father， Ai Qing， was branded a rightist during the Cultural Revolution， and he and his family were banished to a desolate place known as "Little Siberia，" where Ai Qing was sentenced to hard labor cleaning public toilets。 Ai Weiwei recounts his childhood in exile， and his difficult decision to leave his family to study art in America， where he befriended Allen Ginsberg and was inspired by Andy Warhol。 With candor and wit， he details his return to China and his rise from artistic unknown to art world superstar and international human rights activist--and how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime。
Ai Weiwei's sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe， and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird's Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing。 His political activism has long made him a target of the Chinese authorities， which culminated in months of secret detention without charge in 2011。 Here， for the first time， Ai Weiwei explores the origins of his exceptional creativity and passionate political beliefs through his life story and that of his father， whose creativity was stifled。
At once ambitious and intimate， Ai Weiwei's 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows offers a deep understanding of the myriad forces that have shaped modern China， and serves as a timely reminder of the urgent need to protect freedom of expression。
Reviews
Lloyd Fassett
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10/31/21 Found it through a NYTs review
Shelby Thompson
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This is the type of book I can see Timothée Chalamet （NYU Chalemet， not Dune Chalemet。 People can change） reading on the subway while making little notes in the margins about the necessity of sacrificing ones’ self for artistic expression， while literally attending NYU。 The bastion of self-expression。 To be fair， Al Weiwei was constructing his artistic identity in communist China， not the Ivy Towers of the American education system， but his writing contains the same thinly-veiled elitism。 Which This is the type of book I can see Timothée Chalamet （NYU Chalemet， not Dune Chalemet。 People can change） reading on the subway while making little notes in the margins about the necessity of sacrificing ones’ self for artistic expression， while literally attending NYU。 The bastion of self-expression。 To be fair， Al Weiwei was constructing his artistic identity in communist China， not the Ivy Towers of the American education system， but his writing contains the same thinly-veiled elitism。 Which sucks， because his writing is beautiful。 His memoir tracks the parallel events of his father’s life （a famous Chinese poet who was exiled to a labor camp during the Cultural Revolution）， and his own clashes with authority， which culminated in his 3-month detention in 2011。 The two different stories are supposed to highlight how the memory of government oppression in China has continued ripple effects across generations。 Instead， I found myself comparing the two stories， and found that the story of his father held far more emotion and self-awareness than that of his own。 Weiwei writes in a detached style， which works when he’s writing about a man who withheld many of his emotions and troubled thoughts from his family， and instead poured them into his devotion to his art and his country。 But when talking about his own life， I got the sense that he’s never really examined his personal choices or the impact that he has had on the people around them。 He briefly mentions friends， colleagues， lovers， and then rushes on from them （both figuratively and literally。 Both Weiwei and his father seem to have played fast and loose with romantic fidelity）。 He is so filled with scorn for his fellow country-men and their sheep-like tendencies， but doesn’t question the fact that both he and his father were able to fuel much of their artistic livelihoods through loans from their family and the unwavering financial and domestic support of their wives and international friends。 This could be a cool book if it were trimmed down and focused in more on the history of China’s oppression of the arts – if that sounds interesting to you， then you can just read the first half of the book which focuses on his father， and skip the rest。 。。。more
Jessica Paul
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DNF - I gave this a good go and gave up at about 40% through the book。 I found this very difficult to read due to a combination of factors; the telling is not chronological - there are points when you jump back and forward between Ai Weiwei being a small boy to before he was born making it difficult to follow。 The translation didn’t lend itself to immersive reading and I found myself tripping over and rereading sentences。 Ai Weiwei and his family suffered immensely and I just wasn't in the right DNF - I gave this a good go and gave up at about 40% through the book。 I found this very difficult to read due to a combination of factors; the telling is not chronological - there are points when you jump back and forward between Ai Weiwei being a small boy to before he was born making it difficult to follow。 The translation didn’t lend itself to immersive reading and I found myself tripping over and rereading sentences。 Ai Weiwei and his family suffered immensely and I just wasn't in the right place to read about starvation， death and destruction。 I may come back to it， but it's unlikely。 If you did want to learn more about modern Chinese history I’d recommend Wild Swans by Jung Chang which is one of my very few five star reads。 。。。more
Kea4
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You might know him for creating the “Bird’s Nest” which is the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics。As for this book talking about life in the camps in China was very eye-opening and interesting。 But I found this book did bounce around a little too much。 So much so I could not get a handle on his entire family。 It kept going back and forth between him and his father。Sadly most editors now seem to turn a blind eye to these last two issues in the book:Explaining how Chairman Mao w You might know him for creating the “Bird’s Nest” which is the Beijing National Stadium for the 2008 Summer Olympics。As for this book talking about life in the camps in China was very eye-opening and interesting。 But I found this book did bounce around a little too much。 So much so I could not get a handle on his entire family。 It kept going back and forth between him and his father。Sadly most editors now seem to turn a blind eye to these last two issues in the book:Explaining how Chairman Mao would talk/write to his followers is fine but dumbing down your audience and trying to compare this to Trump’s late-night tweets is just stupid and an insult to the reader。 （page 11）Also on page 366， the author claims that in most European countries that migrants receive no assistance is incorrect。If I have two items already that are false how can I take the rest of the book seriously？https://theworldisabookandiamitsreade。。。 。。。more
David V。
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Received as an ARC from my employer Barnes & Noble。 Started 10-7-21。 Finished 10-14-21。 Wonderfully written story of the author's father's life as a reknown poet in China， and the author's life as a writer， photographer and artist in China。 Author's name is pronounced "eye way-way。" Both man were arrested and jailed for being outspoken critics of the Chinese government--80 years apart！！！ They loved their country but not the autocratic， vengeful leaders who stifled free expression of their citize Received as an ARC from my employer Barnes & Noble。 Started 10-7-21。 Finished 10-14-21。 Wonderfully written story of the author's father's life as a reknown poet in China， and the author's life as a writer， photographer and artist in China。 Author's name is pronounced "eye way-way。" Both man were arrested and jailed for being outspoken critics of the Chinese government--80 years apart！！！ They loved their country but not the autocratic， vengeful leaders who stifled free expression of their citizens and arrested and even executed many on false charges without benefit of a defense or even a hearing。 Ai Weiwei's art is exhibited all over the world but rarely in his native country but he continues being a "thorn in their side。" Along the way of these men's lives， the reader learns the history of China and its numerous leaders。 。。。more
Stephanie Crowe
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An astonishing memoir of a Chinese artist who reveals the tumultuous life he and his father and family experienced under communist rule。 Very poignant and insightful！ Weiwei now lives in Europe。
Roxanne
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Review upcoming。。。
Susan
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Outspoken artist and international human-rights icon Ai Weiwei here chillingly documents--originally as a record for his young son， and subsequently for all the rest of us--the brutal life of privation and repression he experienced growing into manhood in remote China before， during， and after the Cultural Revolution as the son of a prominent poet， one of many thousands of wrongfully imprisoned political prisoners。 Years later， when he himself is taken into custody for 81 angst-ridden days by Ch Outspoken artist and international human-rights icon Ai Weiwei here chillingly documents--originally as a record for his young son， and subsequently for all the rest of us--the brutal life of privation and repression he experienced growing into manhood in remote China before， during， and after the Cultural Revolution as the son of a prominent poet， one of many thousands of wrongfully imprisoned political prisoners。 Years later， when he himself is taken into custody for 81 angst-ridden days by Chinese authorities who do not respect his provocative politically-charged public art and social media posts， Ai feels a renewed closeness with his now-deceased father: both men of principle， courage， and conviction under extreme and protracted pressure。 Throughout his life， Ai has sacrificed almost every creature comfort and stability in pursuit of his artistic freedom （and the right of others to enjoy the same） against overwhelming odds， enduring a fallen-apart marriage， an art studio bulldozed before his eyes， hostile 24/7 surveillance by Chinese police and state， and much more。 Through it all， his wit， his optimism， and his playful vision of art as meaningful expression remain unstoppable。 Luckily for us， after a nail-biting exit from his native land， Ai is today writing and creating his thought-provoking art installations from a new home， safe in Europe。 As a bonus， Ai's memoir is replete with his own sketches of scenes and artworks which played a pivotal role throughout his development as artist and human-rights advocate。 Thought-provoking， meaningful， very deftly told。 。。。more
BigBlueSea
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