London, England (CNN) -- Whether in the form of personal history or political biography, Jung Chang has spent her writerly life telling the story of China's tumultuous recent past. The best-selling author of "Wild Swans," an account of three generations of women in her family, Chang gained a following for her frank portrait of life in China in the 20th century. More recently, she's made waves with "Mao: The Unknown Story" -- the scathing, 800-plus page biography of the Chinese leader that she wrote with her husband, historian Jon Halliday. Born in 1952 in Sichuan, a province in China's southwest, Chang came of age during the height of the Cultural Revolution. She served briefly as a Red Guard and worked a variety of odd jobs in the countryside before turning to studying English.Jung Chang came to fame in 1991 for her account of life in Communist ChinaHer books "Wild Swans" and "Mao: The Unknown Story" are banned in mainland ChinaShe says she feels frustrated by China's repression of expressionShe hopes the country will find a way to debate the past without inhibition
People are under the impression that _ is what it is today because Mao had laid the foundation.