The "intimate and expansive" (Time) memoir of "one of the most
important artists working in the world today" (Financial Times),
telling a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while
also illuminating his artistic process
"Poignant . . . An illuminating through-line emerges in the many
parallels Ai traces between his life and his father's."--The New York
Times Book Review (Editors' Choice)
ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Time, BookPage, Booklist,
Kirkus Reviews
Once a close associate 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 and the artworks of Marcel Duchamp. 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.
