Ai Weiwei’s new memoir is an homage to his father and a gift to his son

The World

Ai Weiwei is probably China’s most famous contemporary artist and activist. His new memoir, “1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows,” is a parallel story about his own life and that of his father, Ai Qing, one of China’s most renowned modern poets. Growing up during the Cultural Revolution with his father a target of the Communist authorities helped turn Ai Weiwei into a staunch defender of freedom of expression at whatever cost. The World’s Carol Hills speaks with Ai Weiwei about his father’s remarkable life.

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