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1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows
- Author
- Ai Weiwei
- Narrator
- David Shih
- Publisher
- Random House
- Publish Date
- 2 November 2021
- Run Time
- 13 hours 8 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Brought to you by Penguin.
A FAMILY STORY AND THE TALE OF A NATION.
Ai Weiwei - one of the world's most famous artists and activists - weaves a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own life and that of his father, Ai Qing, the nation's most celebrated poet.
Here, through the sweeping lens of his own and his father's life, Ai Weiwei tells an epic tale of China over the last 100 years, from the Cultural Revolution to the modern-day Chinese Communist Party.
Here is the story of a childhood spent in desolate exile after his father, Ai Qing, once China's most celebrated poet, fell foul of the authorities. Here is his move to America as a young man and his return to China, his rise from unknown to art-world superstar and international rights activist. Here is his extraordinary account of how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime.
It's the story of a father and a son, of exceptional creativity and passionate belief, and of how two indomitable spirits enabled the world to understand their country.
'Engrossing...a remarkable story' Sunday Times
'A story of inherited resilience and self-determination' Observer
'A majestic and exquisitely serious masterpiece about his China... One of the great voices of our time' Andrew Solomon
'Intimate, unflinching...an instant classic' Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition
© Ai Weiwei 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
Critics Review
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Intimate, unflinching ... an instant classic ... a glorious testament to the power of free expression
Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition
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This is the rarest sort of memoir, rising above the arc of history to grasp at the limits of the soul
Edward Snowden
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Above all a story of inherited resilience, strength of character and self-determination
Guardian
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An impassioned testament to the enduring powers of art
Michiko Kakutani, author of Ex Libris
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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Ai Weiwei is one of the world's greatest living artists. He is a master of multiple media. His work is always thought-provoking, unpredictable and immensely personal
Elton John
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Told in painstaking but often beautiful detail... It's more like a dual biography, with [his father] Ai Quing's story taking up the first 150 pages, a useful corrective for westerners who know little about him
Guardian
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Engrossing... A remarkable story
Sunday Times
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One of the world's most significant creative talents
The Times
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The most important artist working today
Financial Times
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A majestic and exquisitely serious masterpiece about his China, which is in fact a book about our world. His is one of the great voices of our time
Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and Far and Away
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Ai Weiwei
- Narrator
- David Shih
- Duration
- 13 hours 8 minutes
- Release Date
- 2 November 2021
- ISBN
- 9781473577558
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Random House
- Genre
- Memoirs, Autobiography: arts and entertainment, Social and cultural history, Political oppression and persecution, Sociology: family and relationships
Synopsis
Brought to you by Penguin. In his widely anticipated memoir, Ai Weiwei - one of the world's most famous artists and activists - tells a century-long epic tale of China through the story of his own extraordinary life and the legacy of his father, Ai Qing, the nation's most celebrated poet.Hailed as 'the most important artist working today' by the Financial Times and as 'an eloquent and 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 100 years while illuminating his artistic process.Once an intimate of Mao Zedong, Ai Weiwei's father 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 labour 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 candour 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 own life story and that of his father, whose own creativity was stifled.At once ambitious and intimate, 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.© Ai Weiwei 2021 (P) Penguin Audio 2021
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