Editor’s Note: Ai Weiwei, 64, is an artist and activist. His sculptures and installations have been viewed by millions around the globe, and his architectural achievements include helping to design the iconic Bird’s Nest Olympic Stadium in Beijing. His political activism, however, has long made him a target of Chinese authorities, and in 2011, he was detained for “inciting the subversion of state power.” He was held captive for 81 days and fined $2.4 million. After his passport was returned to him in 2015, he moved to Europe, where he has been living in exile since. What follows is an excerpt from his newly published memoir, 1000 Years of Joys and Sorrows.
On April 3, 2011, as I was about to fly out of Beijing’s Capital Airport, a swarm of plainclothes police descended on me, and for the next 81 days I disappeared into a black hole.
My son had just turned 2 years old, and during my confinement I began to reflect on my own father, Ai Qing, who had hims
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