Author: Jung Chang
Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister is the fascinating collective biography of the Soong sisters of Shanghai — three strong-willed, passionate, and independent women who influenced the development of modern China and Taiwan, often from opposing political camps.
Jung Chang’s research “is impressive, delving into archives in the US, the UK, Taiwan, Russia and Hong Kong, as well as diaries, interviews with the Soong’s family and friends, and eyewitness accounts of various events. The result is a vivid and detailed historical book” said a review in goodreads.com.
Jiayang Fan said in a review for The New York Times that Chang’s book “is a riveting read, but at times her focus — on disproving her initial bland impression of the sisters — can feel narrow.”
The review added: “In her introduction to Big Sister, Little Sister, Red Sister, Jung Chang recalls her first impression of the Soong sisters as ‘fairy-tale figure’ who, in contrast to the subjects of her previous biographies — Mao and the Empress Dowager Cixi — seemed free of “mental conflicts or agonizing decisions.”