Imagine a world where books are banned, burned, and deemed dangerous. For Jung Chang, author of the international bestseller Wild Swans, this wasn’t a dystopian fantasy—it was her childhood reality. Growing up under Mao’s regime, she witnessed firsthand how the destruction of books could strip a society of its humanity. Now, she’s sounding the alarm: the decline of reading isn’t just a cultural shift—it’s a threat to our empathy, our curiosity, and our very essence as humans. But here’s where it gets controversial: in an age of smartphones and instant information, do we really need books anymore? Chang’s answer is a resounding yes—and her story explains why.
Chang’s family saga, spanning three generations of Chinese women, has captivated 15 million readers worldwide. Yet her connection to books goes far beyond authorship. As a teenager during Mao’s Cultural Revolution, she watched as millions of books were incinerated, their ideas erased. ‘Mao didn’t burn books just to control information,’ she explains. ‘He did it to control minds. Without books, people become more rigid, more isolated, more easily manipulated.’ This isn’t just history—it’s a warning for today. Chang argues that reading isn’t just about acquiring facts; it’s about expanding your worldview, nurturing empathy, and connecting with the human experience. ‘Reading makes you more human,’ she insists. ‘Without it, we risk becoming like frogs at the bottom of a well, thinking the sky is no bigger than the well’s mouth.’
And this is the part most people miss: reading isn’t a luxury—it’s a lifeline. During the Cultural Revolution, when officially sanctioned books were little more than Maoist propaganda, Chang’s younger brother risked everything to smuggle banned titles. ‘He hid them in abandoned water towers, buried them in the ground, even disguised them as Mao’s writings,’ she recalls. ‘Those books kept me sane. They kept my soul alive.’ At 16, she was forced to flush her own poetry down the toilet to avoid detection by the Red Guards. Yet, even in the darkest times, literature offered her a glimmer of freedom.
Today, Chang joins luminaries like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie and Ian McEwan in supporting The Sunday Times Get Britain Reading campaign, which aims to reignite a love of reading for pleasure. But here’s the controversial question: in a world where social media and screens dominate, are we willingly burning our own books? Chang believes so. ‘Many think scrolling on their phones is enough,’ she says. ‘But reading isn’t just about information—it’s about transformation. It’s about seeing the world through someone else’s eyes.’
The campaign encourages simple yet powerful actions: donate to Bookbanks, volunteer to read in schools, or pledge to read for just ten minutes a day. But why stop there? What if we treated books as sacred, as Chang’s father did, spending his last pennies to build a library that became his children’s refuge? What if we saw reading not as a hobby, but as an act of resistance against a world that seeks to narrow our horizons?
Chang’s latest memoir, Fly, Wild Swans, continues her family’s story, exploring themes of resilience, identity, and the power of storytelling. Yet, despite Wild Swans’ global success, it has never been adapted for film or TV. ‘Studios are afraid of offending Beijing,’ she admits. ‘But isn’t that the point? Art should challenge, provoke, and inspire—even if it’s risky.’
So, here’s the question for you: Do you believe reading is essential to being human? Or is it an outdated habit in our digital age? Chang’s story is a powerful reminder of what’s at stake. But what do you think? Is the decline of reading a silent crisis—or just a natural evolution? Let’s debate it in the comments.
