1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei

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1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei: 4. The Wenchuan Earthquake

4. The Wenchuan Earthquake

BBC Radio 4 - 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei, 4. The Wenchuan Earthquake

In his memoir the acclaimed artist and activist has an encounter with China's authorities.

Ai Weiwei's memoir reaches 2008. He is an acclaimed artist, but his relationship with China's authorities reaches breaking point after a powerful earthquake. Benedict Wong reads.

By 2008 Ai Weiwei is an internationally acclaimed artist, but when he sets out to commemorate the victims of an earthquake in Wenchuan, his relationship with China's authorities reaches breaking point. Benedict Wong reads.

In this intimate memoir by one of the art world’s superstars, Ai Weiwei charts his journey as an artist and a human rights activist. It also tells the story of Ai Weiwei's father, Ai Qing arguably China’s most celebrated poet. During the Cultural Revolution Ai Qing was banished, along with his sons Ai Weiwei and Gao Jian, to a remote region of China. He was subjected to degrading work, while Ai Weiwei endured a harsh childhood. Later, aged 19 Ai Weiwei left for America where he studied art. Later, his career as a major artist took off with projects like his installation of 100 million ceramic sunflower seeds at Tate Modern. Ai Weiwei’s art has always been informed by his social activism. His criticism of China, and especially its human rights record, has brought him to the attention of the authorities, culminating in his detention in 2011. While imprisoned he reflected on his father's life, and thoughts of his own son, Ai Lao occupied him. Fathers and sons, China’s totalitarianism, the role of art, freedom of expression, and the need to protect it at all cost, are at the heart of this inspiring life story.

Benedict Wong reads, he played Ai Weiwei in Howard Brenton's play, The Arrest of Ai Weiwei at the Hampstead Theatre in 2013.  For Marvel fans, he is known for playing Wong in Dr Strange. He plays Kublai Khan in the acclaimed Netflix series Marco Polo.

Photo: Ai Weiwei with Ai Qing at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, China, November 1959
Written by Ai Weiwei
Translated by Allan H. Barr
Abridged by Penny Leicester
Produced by Elizabeth Allard.

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The world-famous Chinese artist and activist's memoir of his extraordinary life.

Book of the Week. The world-famous artist and activist's memoir tells an epic story of China through his own extraordinary life and the legacy of his father. Read by Benedict Wong.

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1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows by Ai Weiwei

4. The Wenchuan Earthquake

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