"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...