Ai Weiwei is one of the world's most important living artists. Born in 1957, he lives in Cambridge, UK. Allan H. Barr is the author of a study in Chinese of a literary inquisition in the early Qing dynasty, Jiangnan yijie- Qing ren bixia de Zhuangshi shi'an, and the translator of several books by contemporary Chinese authors, including Yu Hua's China in Ten Words and Han Han's This Generation. He teaches Chinese at Pomona College in California.
Intimate, unflinching ... an instant classic ... a glorious testament to the power of free expression -- Evan Osnos, author of Age of Ambition This is the rarest sort of memoir, rising above the arc of history to grasp at the limits of the soul -- Edward Snowden An impassioned testament to the enduring powers of art -- Michiko Kakutani, author of Ex Libris Ai Weiwei is one of the world's greatest living artists. He is a master of multiple media. His work is always thought-provoking, unpredictable and immensely personal -- Elton John The most important artist working today * Financial Times * A majestic and exquisitely serious masterpiece about his China, which is in fact a book about our world. His is one of the great voices of our time -- Andrew Solomon, author of Far from the Tree and Far and Away 1000 years of joys and sorrows are here concentrated into a mere 100. They are years that teem with life of a startling variety. The presentation is artful and the translation exquisite -- Perry Link, author of An Anatomy of Chinese An eloquent and unsilenceable voice of freedom * New York Times * Ai Weiwei is the kind of visionary any nation should be proud to count among its creative class. He has drawn the world's attention to the vibrancy of contemporary Chinese culture * Time Magazine *