"Mao Didn't Care"

Amid the cozy clutter of books and Chinese antiques in her London town house, Jung Chang talked with TIME's Donald Morrison about Wild Swans, Mao Zedong and the future of China. Excerpts:

How did the success of Wild Swans change your life?
It enabled Jon and I to spend more than 10 years writing Mao without having to do another job. It also opened doors for us in China. I'd give interviewees a copy of Wild Swans so they knew what sort of book I'd be writing. In 1994 the regime warned a small group...