Reading history is a process full of adventures and frustrations, surprises and joys. When we walk in the labyrinth of history, sometimes the best-known historical events and figures may inadvertently reveal the lesser-known faces of the bygone days, which can be a real eye-opener and prompt us to rethink about human nature, society and historical eras.
The author Jung Chang is an expert in pulling historical figures down from the “alter” and portraying them as humans. From Mao: The Unknown Story (2005), Empress Dowager Cixi (2013), to Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister: Three Women at the Heart of Twentieth-Century China, newly launched this year, Jung Chang has insisted on “straightforward and evidence-based history writing”. Her books open up gaps in our usual understanding of history and provide a glimpse into the truths covered in the dust of time.
Her new book takes a very interesting angle. Sun Yat-sen, Chiang Kai-shek, Kung Hsiang-his… these names and the history they carry are familiar to us, and most books on the subject are written from the perspective of these great men. But Jung Chang takes an unexpected angle and places these men into the background of the story, as the “husbands” of the Soong sisters. The book is the history of the era, and also the history of families: the upbringing of the three Soong sisters, their criteria for choosing husbands, their personal journeys before and after marriage… Chang gives a warmer texture and more concrete details to the historical characters and the era.
It is worth mentioning that history writing also has class nature: when authors of history (or the angle of writing) adopt a stance in different classes, readers will have different feelings. Looking back at the chaotic history of the Republic of China period, the rich and powerful, represented by the “four big families” of Chiang, Soong, Kung, and Chen, did not stand on the side of the people.
Instead, they were obsessed with political trickery, power struggles and corruption for the sake of their personal or family interests, which was the fundamental reason why they eventually lost power and retreated to Taiwan. However, if the reader tries to view the story from the point of view of individuals, many things may suddenly become understandable – not necessarily acceptable, but they are no longer difficult to understand, and even arouse a little bit of sympathy in readers.
The course of history is not shaped by the will of individuals. In the current of history, the role of individuals is limited, and more often than not, they can only drift with the current. History makes its own choice in the end, and the failure of the Kuomintang (led by Chiang Kai-shek) in Mainland China, be it military, economic or social, can teach future generations of politicians and political groups an important lesson.
But on a personal level, the story of the three Soong sisters illustrates how women can have a place in a troubled world. When the men and women of today read their stories, full of intriguing details, it feels as if they have stepped down from the towering altar, out of the history textbooks, and reemerged as ordinary mortals standing in front of us.
