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.
