{"product_id":"1000-years-of-joys-and-sorrows-a-memoir","title":"1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows: A Memoir","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eOnce 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAi 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAi 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. \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003eHere, 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.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAt once ambitious and intimate, Ai Weiwei’s \u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003e1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan\u003e 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.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003ch3\u003e\u003cspan\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eAi Weiwei\u003c\/span\u003e is one of the world’s most important living artists. Born in 1957, he lives in Cambridge, UK.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003eAllan H. Barr\u003c\/span\u003e is the author of a study in Chinese of a literary inquisition in the early Qing dynasty, \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eJiangnan yijie: Qing ren bixia de Zhuangshi shi’an \u003c\/span\u003e江南一劫：清人笔下的庄氏史案, and the translator of several books by contemporary Chinese authors, including Yu Hua’s \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eChina in Ten Words \u003c\/span\u003eand Han Han’s \u003cspan class=\"a-text-italic\"\u003eThis Generation\u003c\/span\u003e. He teaches Chinese at Pomona College in California.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAdditional Information:\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHardcover\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e400 pages\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e6.36 x 1.28 x 9.54 inches\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e1.65 pounds\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003ePaperback\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e400 pages\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e5.17 x 0.89 x 7.98 inches\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003e\n\u003cspan\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e12.3 ounces\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-list-item\"\u003e\u003cspan class=\"a-text-bold\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e","brand":"PENGUIN RANDOM HOUSE","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":48704059638016,"sku":"25365","price":32.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true},{"title":"Paperback","offer_id":48704059670784,"sku":"104554","price":20.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0188\/3776\/files\/100yrs.jpg?v=1689529597","url":"https:\/\/asianartmuseumstore.myshopify.com\/products\/1000-years-of-joys-and-sorrows-a-memoir","provider":"Cha May Ching Museum Boutique","version":"1.0","type":"link"}