A Thousand Names For Joy: How To Live In Harmony With The Way Things Are

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This is an engaging and honest memoir of the author's life, part of which he spent in exile as a child with his father, a poet of renown.

Er schildert darin seine Kindheit, Jugend und Schaffensjahre bis zu seiner Auswanderung aus China 2015.Instead, I found myself comparing the two stories, and found that the story of his father held far more emotion and self-awareness than that of his own. I realize now that my former erroneous impressions came solely from a lack of curiosity and knowledge and I sorely regret that I once considered Ai Weiwei just another contemporary [Chinese] artist out for personal/financial gain. Here is the story of a childhood spent in desolate exile after his father, Ai Qing, once China's most celebrated poet, fell foul of the authorities.

The quote I remember most came at the end and for me summed up Ai Weiwei's life and work: "Art is the antidote to fear" (p. However, after the first one hundred pages or so, this all changed and I could feel the person writing, could feel that he felt what he was writing. A delightful puzzle that is sure to boast a challenge for whoever takes it on, perfect to complete on your own or with friends and family.If the item comes direct from a manufacturer, it may be delivered in non-retail packaging, such as a plain or unprinted box or plastic bag. Here is his extraordinary account of how his work has been shaped by living under a totalitarian regime.

Despite living in relative freedom, he knows that because of his notoriety, there are forces within China that will not allow him to live completely free. With uncommon humanity, humbling scholarship, and poignant intimacy, Ai Weiwei recounts a life of courage, argument, defeat, and triumph.It's an embodiment of timeless beauty and grace, suited for those who appreciate the finer things in life. Personally, I was rather pleased with the structure, as Ai didn't mince his efforts to flesh out the history of both his father and his country, delving into the Occidental imperialism that would radicalize both Chinese nationalist and Chinese communist (which can be explored in much greater detail in Mishra's From the Ruins of Empire). He endured many hardships and in spite of, or because of, that Ai Weiwei became an activist, using his art to speak for the rights of people. With art I opened up a space that was new to me, an abandoned space infested with weeds, in wild and desolate ruin.

The book is a memoir about his father; about himself; about his country; about the necessity for freedom of expression everywhere in the world. Dabei holt er aus und erzählt uns die Geschichte seines Vaters, dessen Verbannung unter Mao an die äussersten Rände China zu einem Leben in den widrigsten Umständen Ai Weiweis Charakter nachhaltig prägte und stählte.Hailed as "an eloquent and seemingly unsilenceable voice of freedom" by The New York Times, Ai Weiwei has written a sweeping memoir that presents a remarkable history of China over the last hundred years while also illuminating his artistic process. There is a long chapter recounting 81 days when the author was disappeared and held for daily questioning and round-the-clock observation. At once ambitious and intimate, Ai Weiwei's 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows 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. So, when I first saw this memoir, I was intrigued because I wanted to know more about this person’s story but I didn’t know who he was. The book is powerful because it offers a wide-ranging glance over China's recent past, just so we can glimmer its painful horrific violent cauldron; empires fell, people fought, killed and were killed in great numbers, Japan invaded, the Western powers were neglectful or worst yet, conceited, and through it all artists forged on.