1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows

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1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir is a 2021 memoir by

Bodley Head published the book in the United Kingdom.[1]

The title refers to poetry done by Ai's father, Ai Qing. The book also chronicles similarities between the lives of Ai Qing and Ai Weiwei.[2]

Background

While he had been incarcerated, Ai decided to chronicle his own biography because he wanted to leave a record of his life for his child,[2] especially as Ai Weiwei feared the Chinese government could try to remove other records related to his own life.[3]

Ai Weiwei also wrote the book as a way of resolving how he felt he had, in the words of Jiayang Fan of The New York Times, an "unbridgeable gap" with Ai Qing.[2]

Contents

The memoir chronicles periods when Ai came into disputes with the

Government of the People's Republic of China.[2]

Release

The BBC hosted an audio reading done by Benedict Wong.[4]

Reception

Joan Gaylord of the

Christian Science Monitor described the book as "A fascinating biography" and "a testament to that creative spirit."[3]

Sean O'Hagan of The Guardian wrote that the book "is above all a story of inherited resilience, strength of character and self-determination."[5]

Publishers Weekly gave a starred review, and argued that the book "easily sits in the top tier of dissident writing."[6] Kirkus Reviews described it as "beautiful and poignant".[7]

Kate Taylor of The Globe and Mail described the portions about Ai Qing as being "Perhaps the most gripping".[8]

See also

References

  1. ^ Russeth, Andrew (2021-11-02). "Fathers and Sons: Ai Weiwei's "1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows"". ARTnews.com. Retrieved 2023-11-13.
  2. ^ a b c d Fan, Jiayang (2021-10-30). "For His Father and His Son, Ai Weiwei Is Determined to Leave a Trace". The New York Times. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  3. ^
    Christian Science Monitor
    . Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  4. ^ "BBC Radio 4 - 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei". BBC. Archived from the original on 2021-10-31. Retrieved 2022-05-31.
  5. ^ O'Hagan, Sean (2021-10-24). "1,000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei review – a life of dissent". The Guardian. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  6. ^ "1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir". Publishers Weekly. 2021-11-11. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  7. ^ "1000 YEARS OF JOYS AND SORROWS". Kirkus Reviews. 2021-11-02. Retrieved 2022-12-24.
  8. ^ Taylor, Kate (12 November 2021). "Ai Weiwei's new memoir, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows, examines the roots of the artist's lifelong rebellion". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 6 September 2022.

External links


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