Author's view from the east

10:36am Thursday 8th May 2008

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A BREATH of fresh air was blown through the West Swindon library as Liu Hong talked openly about her experiences across the East-West divide.

Liu, pictured, spoke about her new book, Wives of the East Wind, and explained what inspired her.

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She provided an inspiring and eye-opening interpretation of recent Chinese past. Born and brought up in China during the Cultural Revolution, Liu was one of the first Chinese writers to work in English.

She told how she had fallen in love with the English language at a young age and how it provided escape.

"I started keeping a diary in English because I didn't want my parents to know - this became a weapon to find my own identity."

She was partly inspired to write when Jung Chang's novel Wild Swans came out. "I had this quite blissful childhood - I thought there are other things that need to be said like how people carried on with their lives," she said.