Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China

The death of Lin Biao had left Mao with no way to control the army and, with the latest round of purges, he was forced to restore Deng Xiaoping and other officials who had been exiled since the start of the Cultural Revolution. Chang’s mother returned to Chengdu in November 1971. Her father remained at the Miyi camp, but his salary was restored. Things began to improve. Chang left Deyang, took a job in a factory, and re-established her Chengdu city registration. After a month, she was assigned to the electricians’ team. She grew “very attracted” to a fellow electrician named Day (467). They read poetry together. Day’s father, however, had been a Kuomintang officer. Day, therefore, “could not show his love” for Chang “for fear of ruining” her (469).

Meanwhile, doctors advised Chang’s mother to seek medical treatment in Peking. Chang accompanied her mother to the capital in April 1972. They stayed for five months. During their travels, they visited many friends who also had been rehabilitated. Best of all, in May 1972 they reunited with Chang’s father, who also had been sent to Peking to receive treatment for serious health issues, including “dangerously high blood pressure” (471).