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| Readers Respond: The Cultural Revolution’s Lasting Imprint | Readers Respond: The Cultural Revolution’s Lasting Imprint |
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| A fur coat that kept a family’s three children warm at night, seized and still in the home of their tormentors. A 5-year-old’s finger, broken while fleeing from the scene of a terrifying beating. A stone memorial in a village to a “good” family that was largely wiped out. | A fur coat that kept a family’s three children warm at night, seized and still in the home of their tormentors. A 5-year-old’s finger, broken while fleeing from the scene of a terrifying beating. A stone memorial in a village to a “good” family that was largely wiped out. |
| These are some of the things readers recalled when asked how their families were affected by the Cultural Revolution, a decade of political upheaval unleashed by Mao Zedong half a century ago that left a million or more in China dead and many more traumatized. In dozens of responses, the message was clear: People remember. Families talk. The imprint of old fears remains. Those who suffered teach their grandchildren that it is safer to work hard and keep quiet. “The Cultural Revolution is over,” wrote Huang Xin, a reader from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. “But the Cultural Revolution is never far away.” | These are some of the things readers recalled when asked how their families were affected by the Cultural Revolution, a decade of political upheaval unleashed by Mao Zedong half a century ago that left a million or more in China dead and many more traumatized. In dozens of responses, the message was clear: People remember. Families talk. The imprint of old fears remains. Those who suffered teach their grandchildren that it is safer to work hard and keep quiet. “The Cultural Revolution is over,” wrote Huang Xin, a reader from Hohhot, Inner Mongolia. “But the Cultural Revolution is never far away.” |
| Here is a selection of the responses. Some have been condensed and edited for clarity, or translated from Chinese. | Here is a selection of the responses. Some have been condensed and edited for clarity, or translated from Chinese. |
| Chen Xuanzhuo, Tianjin, China | Chen Xuanzhuo, Tianjin, China |
| When the Cultural Revolution began, my grandfather was in Tibet. Because the government was paralyzed he didn’t come back until it was over, and didn’t see his family for more than 10 years. My grandmother had to raise their three children on her own and couldn’t manage, so one daughter was given away to another family. This led to estrangement between mother and daughter that was never resolved. | When the Cultural Revolution began, my grandfather was in Tibet. Because the government was paralyzed he didn’t come back until it was over, and didn’t see his family for more than 10 years. My grandmother had to raise their three children on her own and couldn’t manage, so one daughter was given away to another family. This led to estrangement between mother and daughter that was never resolved. |
| My uncle had a cold when the Red Guards raided our house. The fright worsened his illness, and he developed pneumonia and died. From that day on, my grandmother was never the same. | My uncle had a cold when the Red Guards raided our house. The fright worsened his illness, and he developed pneumonia and died. From that day on, my grandmother was never the same. |
| Both of my parents’ families were cadres who took part in the revolution during the war against Japan and the Chinese civil war, and entered the cities with the Communist Party. They were upright and their offspring were “red,” but even so they were treated like that. My parents used to say our family’s troubles were pretty minor. They knew people who were labeled “Five Black Categories” [enemies of the revolution] and committed suicide, educated youth who were sent to the countryside and never returned, and those whose families remained separated. | Both of my parents’ families were cadres who took part in the revolution during the war against Japan and the Chinese civil war, and entered the cities with the Communist Party. They were upright and their offspring were “red,” but even so they were treated like that. My parents used to say our family’s troubles were pretty minor. They knew people who were labeled “Five Black Categories” [enemies of the revolution] and committed suicide, educated youth who were sent to the countryside and never returned, and those whose families remained separated. |
| Mr. Wan, 47, Nanchang, China | Mr. Wan, 47, Nanchang, China |
| The Gang of Four fell in October 1976, but the Cultural Revolution wasn’t over. On Oct. 21 of that year my uncle was imprisoned for something he said [a political pun on carpentry and the name Mao]. He was a carpenter and about 20 years old. One day on a job he met up with some old student friends and they were shooting the breeze. He told the joke, and someone repeated it. Eventually some young person “grew a conscience” and reported it and one by one the investigation picked people up, eventually arriving at my uncle. My uncle knew it was serious but couldn’t say that he had heard it from his older brother, and he was quickly convicted of antirevolutionary crimes and sentenced to seven years. Afterwards, his older brother said he had heard it from a monk, but my uncle didn’t know that, he thought his brother had made it up. | The Gang of Four fell in October 1976, but the Cultural Revolution wasn’t over. On Oct. 21 of that year my uncle was imprisoned for something he said [a political pun on carpentry and the name Mao]. He was a carpenter and about 20 years old. One day on a job he met up with some old student friends and they were shooting the breeze. He told the joke, and someone repeated it. Eventually some young person “grew a conscience” and reported it and one by one the investigation picked people up, eventually arriving at my uncle. My uncle knew it was serious but couldn’t say that he had heard it from his older brother, and he was quickly convicted of antirevolutionary crimes and sentenced to seven years. Afterwards, his older brother said he had heard it from a monk, but my uncle didn’t know that, he thought his brother had made it up. |
| In 1978-79, when Deng Xiaoping was redressing wrongly convicted cases, my father went to the local county office and saw a pile of rehabilitation forms. He got some “guanxi” [connections] going and gave the person in charge of rehabilitations two chickens. My uncle was among the first batch to be rehabilitated. He had done three years and a month of forced labor in West River Tile Factory. | In 1978-79, when Deng Xiaoping was redressing wrongly convicted cases, my father went to the local county office and saw a pile of rehabilitation forms. He got some “guanxi” [connections] going and gave the person in charge of rehabilitations two chickens. My uncle was among the first batch to be rehabilitated. He had done three years and a month of forced labor in West River Tile Factory. |
| Ji Jingyu, Nanning, China | Ji Jingyu, Nanning, China |
| I often talk about the Cultural Revolution with my family. One aunt was a Red Guard and to this day doesn’t think it was wrong. My mother was very young at the time, too young to be a Red Guard. She said I have two relatives who were struggled against* and to this day we don’t know where they are. | I often talk about the Cultural Revolution with my family. One aunt was a Red Guard and to this day doesn’t think it was wrong. My mother was very young at the time, too young to be a Red Guard. She said I have two relatives who were struggled against* and to this day we don’t know where they are. |
| One of them was in the toilet once. In those days there were lots of revolutionary slogans stuck on the walls of toilets. Our relative had forgotten to bring toilet paper and tore part of a slogan off the wall to wipe his bottom. It happened to be part of the character “Mao,” in “Chairman Mao.” We don’t know who reported it, but my relative was arrested and struggled against, and never returned. | |
| As for what I know about the Cultural Revolution, in our high school history class there was a verdict: The “10 years of chaos” happened because of Mao Zedong’s mistakes in his old age that were exploited by the antirevolutionary Gang of Four. The 10 years totally violated Mao Zedong Thought, which was to “liberate your mind, seek truth from facts.” We only had to adhere to Marxism, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping Thought, and the important “Three Represents,” and we could prevent such mistakes from happening again! As for Mao, our history course said he was 70 percent good and 30 percent bad. | As for what I know about the Cultural Revolution, in our high school history class there was a verdict: The “10 years of chaos” happened because of Mao Zedong’s mistakes in his old age that were exploited by the antirevolutionary Gang of Four. The 10 years totally violated Mao Zedong Thought, which was to “liberate your mind, seek truth from facts.” We only had to adhere to Marxism, Mao Zedong and Deng Xiaoping Thought, and the important “Three Represents,” and we could prevent such mistakes from happening again! As for Mao, our history course said he was 70 percent good and 30 percent bad. |
| * “Struggled against” refers to struggle sessions, when people were accused of political crimes, publicly humiliated and subject to verbal and physical abuse by a crowd. | * “Struggled against” refers to struggle sessions, when people were accused of political crimes, publicly humiliated and subject to verbal and physical abuse by a crowd. |
| Wu An’na, 55, Guangzhou, China | Wu An’na, 55, Guangzhou, China |
| I was 5 years old when the Cultural Revolution started. Even though my parents were locked up and father was often taken out to witness executions and be mock executed, fortunately they both survived. My sister and I didn’t die and weren’t lost. Compared to others around us, we were lucky in bad times. | I was 5 years old when the Cultural Revolution started. Even though my parents were locked up and father was often taken out to witness executions and be mock executed, fortunately they both survived. My sister and I didn’t die and weren’t lost. Compared to others around us, we were lucky in bad times. |
| There’s too much to say, but I do want to write about my little finger. | There’s too much to say, but I do want to write about my little finger. |
| Because grandfather was a general in the Kuomintang and mother’s family lived overseas, during the Cultural Revolution we were a “target of the revolution.” We were raided and my parents locked up. Our nanny was sent back to the countryside because having a servant was considered exploitation. But before she left, nanny took my 2-year-old sister with her, worried that she wouldn’t survive without adults. | Because grandfather was a general in the Kuomintang and mother’s family lived overseas, during the Cultural Revolution we were a “target of the revolution.” We were raided and my parents locked up. Our nanny was sent back to the countryside because having a servant was considered exploitation. But before she left, nanny took my 2-year-old sister with her, worried that she wouldn’t survive without adults. |
| Left without a family, I set out to look for my parents. I had no idea if they were alive or dead. All I could do was go to the struggle sessions and see if I could find them. Because I was small I always took a small stool. I would stand on it to see the people on the stage. | Left without a family, I set out to look for my parents. I had no idea if they were alive or dead. All I could do was go to the struggle sessions and see if I could find them. Because I was small I always took a small stool. I would stand on it to see the people on the stage. |
| Once when I heard that father’s college was having a struggle session, I took my stool and rushed over. Before I’d had a chance to see who was on the stage I saw a colleague of father’s, his two arms tied behind him, kneeling on the ground, a student struggling against him and kicking him in the stomach. I heard a horrible cry and he fell to the ground in pain. I was terrified and, picking up my stool, ran away. In my panic I slipped and the stool crushed the bone of my right small finger. Hospitals wouldn’t take someone like me so I found a piece of cloth and bound it. By the time I found my parents, my finger couldn’t be straightened. | Once when I heard that father’s college was having a struggle session, I took my stool and rushed over. Before I’d had a chance to see who was on the stage I saw a colleague of father’s, his two arms tied behind him, kneeling on the ground, a student struggling against him and kicking him in the stomach. I heard a horrible cry and he fell to the ground in pain. I was terrified and, picking up my stool, ran away. In my panic I slipped and the stool crushed the bone of my right small finger. Hospitals wouldn’t take someone like me so I found a piece of cloth and bound it. By the time I found my parents, my finger couldn’t be straightened. |
| In the 1990s, when the Cultural Revolution had been over for 20 years, I met that man again. I asked him about that scene and he was surprised. He said, “You were only five. How can you remember so clearly?” I said, “It’s etched in my bone. I can’t forget.” He said that his liver had been ruptured and he nearly died. Thanks to a kind herbal doctor he lived. | In the 1990s, when the Cultural Revolution had been over for 20 years, I met that man again. I asked him about that scene and he was surprised. He said, “You were only five. How can you remember so clearly?” I said, “It’s etched in my bone. I can’t forget.” He said that his liver had been ruptured and he nearly died. Thanks to a kind herbal doctor he lived. |
| And he said one thing else. After the Cultural Revolution, the student who kicked him was up for promotion to a leadership position and the organization [the Communist Party] came to him to check if that person had been one of the “Three Kinds of People” [instigators of rebellion, supporters of the Gang of Four or “beaters, smashers and looters”]. Because if he was, he couldn’t be promoted. | And he said one thing else. After the Cultural Revolution, the student who kicked him was up for promotion to a leadership position and the organization [the Communist Party] came to him to check if that person had been one of the “Three Kinds of People” [instigators of rebellion, supporters of the Gang of Four or “beaters, smashers and looters”]. Because if he was, he couldn’t be promoted. |
| I was very surprised and exclaimed, “Of course he was a Three Kinds of People! I can prove it!” But this man said, “I didn’t tell the investigators what he did at the time. On the contrary, I said good things and he was promoted.” | I was very surprised and exclaimed, “Of course he was a Three Kinds of People! I can prove it!” But this man said, “I didn’t tell the investigators what he did at the time. On the contrary, I said good things and he was promoted.” |
| I was angry and asked, “How could you? You forget that you nearly died. And what about my finger?” He said, “You can’t destroy a young person’s future. Let the past be the past.” And he added, “Child, I have been working hard at learning forgiveness. You should too.” | I was angry and asked, “How could you? You forget that you nearly died. And what about my finger?” He said, “You can’t destroy a young person’s future. Let the past be the past.” And he added, “Child, I have been working hard at learning forgiveness. You should too.” |
| I didn’t know what to say. True, people should learn to let go of bitter experiences and learn to forgive those who have hurt them. But if we do, will those who caused damage in the Cultural Revolution ever be punished? If there is no punishment, would those who committed violence voluntarily change and become good people? | I didn’t know what to say. True, people should learn to let go of bitter experiences and learn to forgive those who have hurt them. But if we do, will those who caused damage in the Cultural Revolution ever be punished? If there is no punishment, would those who committed violence voluntarily change and become good people? |
| Later I learned that many people who experienced the Cultural Revolution chose forgiveness, silence and forgetting. Because they had deep wounds in their hearts, and to bring this up again would reopen those wounds. So many people like us quietly celebrated the fact that we survived. | Later I learned that many people who experienced the Cultural Revolution chose forgiveness, silence and forgetting. Because they had deep wounds in their hearts, and to bring this up again would reopen those wounds. So many people like us quietly celebrated the fact that we survived. |
| When I look at my crooked finger, I don’t know what to do. Sometimes I think it’s too tiny and not worth anything. But people are not grass or trees, and my finger isn’t iron. It’s flesh and blood and connects to my heart. Fifty years ago it hurt, and today it still can. It often hurts quietly. | When I look at my crooked finger, I don’t know what to do. Sometimes I think it’s too tiny and not worth anything. But people are not grass or trees, and my finger isn’t iron. It’s flesh and blood and connects to my heart. Fifty years ago it hurt, and today it still can. It often hurts quietly. |
| Yin Hang, Beijing, China | Yin Hang, Beijing, China |
| My grandparents were from a prominent gentry family who did good works and had a high reputation in the district. They were known as Good Big Wang Family. After the Communist Party arrived they became so-called landlords. Their property was seized and they were struggled against day and night. Some people couldn’t take the humiliation and jumped in the river to end it. | My grandparents were from a prominent gentry family who did good works and had a high reputation in the district. They were known as Good Big Wang Family. After the Communist Party arrived they became so-called landlords. Their property was seized and they were struggled against day and night. Some people couldn’t take the humiliation and jumped in the river to end it. |
| My grandparents were never willing to share details of that time. Grandmother died last year, so maybe it’s lost forever. But in a garden in their old home there is a decorated dragon memorial stone. Grandmother told me once that an emperor gave it to our family. During the Cultural Revolution the Red Guards couldn’t move it because it was just too heavy, so it wasn’t “four-olded” [destroyed as one of the “Four Olds” — old customs, old culture, old habits, old ideas]. It’s still there. | My grandparents were never willing to share details of that time. Grandmother died last year, so maybe it’s lost forever. But in a garden in their old home there is a decorated dragon memorial stone. Grandmother told me once that an emperor gave it to our family. During the Cultural Revolution the Red Guards couldn’t move it because it was just too heavy, so it wasn’t “four-olded” [destroyed as one of the “Four Olds” — old customs, old culture, old habits, old ideas]. It’s still there. |
| H.W. Lu | H.W. Lu |
| I was born in 1985 in a village in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Ours was a traditional family where mother took responsibility for the children’s education, so the Cultural Revolution stories I heard were more from her side of the family. Father’s side were poor farmers and I don’t think they had any special memories. | I was born in 1985 in a village in Nantong, Jiangsu Province. Ours was a traditional family where mother took responsibility for the children’s education, so the Cultural Revolution stories I heard were more from her side of the family. Father’s side were poor farmers and I don’t think they had any special memories. |
| By and large, mother turned the Cultural Revolution into an example of bitter days, to teach me to study hard. Her mother was born into a landlord’s family. And her mother’s father’s family owned half the land in the village, as well as some in the neighboring village, a big house with seven courtyards. They lived well. My grandmother’s husband was a village intellectual and counted as a rich farmer. When they married in the 1950s, her dowry included gold, silver, silk and furs. As a rich farmer and intellectual, grandfather was often struggled against, but as one of the few literate people in the village they needed him to record things, so in addition to being struggled against he helped people write letters and helped the production brigade record work points. Even during the struggles his own work points were recorded. | By and large, mother turned the Cultural Revolution into an example of bitter days, to teach me to study hard. Her mother was born into a landlord’s family. And her mother’s father’s family owned half the land in the village, as well as some in the neighboring village, a big house with seven courtyards. They lived well. My grandmother’s husband was a village intellectual and counted as a rich farmer. When they married in the 1950s, her dowry included gold, silver, silk and furs. As a rich farmer and intellectual, grandfather was often struggled against, but as one of the few literate people in the village they needed him to record things, so in addition to being struggled against he helped people write letters and helped the production brigade record work points. Even during the struggles his own work points were recorded. |
| My mother had a sister and a brother. It was hard for them to get by but they did, with difficulty. After so much struggle, grandfather fell ill, and things got bad. At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, my grandmother’s family buried their valuables. But the Red Guards raided the house and physically threatened them to get them to hand over all the gold and silver. All that was left was three hidden pieces of gold. Grandmother and some friends took a boat to Nantong to a black market and sold them for 30 renminbi to buy grandfather medicine. | My mother had a sister and a brother. It was hard for them to get by but they did, with difficulty. After so much struggle, grandfather fell ill, and things got bad. At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, my grandmother’s family buried their valuables. But the Red Guards raided the house and physically threatened them to get them to hand over all the gold and silver. All that was left was three hidden pieces of gold. Grandmother and some friends took a boat to Nantong to a black market and sold them for 30 renminbi to buy grandfather medicine. |
| My mother was still very young then, and didn’t remember much. What she did remember was a large fur, a sable, that was very warm and used to cover the three children in the winter. But it too was seized, and it’s still said to be in the production brigade leader’s home. No one has asked for it back. | My mother was still very young then, and didn’t remember much. What she did remember was a large fur, a sable, that was very warm and used to cover the three children in the winter. But it too was seized, and it’s still said to be in the production brigade leader’s home. No one has asked for it back. |
| Joan Xu, 26, Beijing, China | Joan Xu, 26, Beijing, China |
| My father is from an incredibly poor village deep in the mountains of Hunan. Only recently have modern roads been built to access the village, and it’s still a difficult trip. Without the excellent teachers who were sent from urban areas to his village, he would never have gotten the high-quality primary education he received, enabling him to test into university and leave the village. With his success, our entire extended family was lifted out of poverty and agricultural life. And, of course, I was also born into a more privileged, international life. | My father is from an incredibly poor village deep in the mountains of Hunan. Only recently have modern roads been built to access the village, and it’s still a difficult trip. Without the excellent teachers who were sent from urban areas to his village, he would never have gotten the high-quality primary education he received, enabling him to test into university and leave the village. With his success, our entire extended family was lifted out of poverty and agricultural life. And, of course, I was also born into a more privileged, international life. |
| For many of the less privileged in Chinese society, the Cultural Revolution is remembered as a great equalizer and a time that enabled profound social mobility that is rarely achieved on such a large scale. In that sense, the term “revolution” is apt. Revolutions are painful and upsetting to those with power and resources, but can sometimes do great good for the less fortunate. | For many of the less privileged in Chinese society, the Cultural Revolution is remembered as a great equalizer and a time that enabled profound social mobility that is rarely achieved on such a large scale. In that sense, the term “revolution” is apt. Revolutions are painful and upsetting to those with power and resources, but can sometimes do great good for the less fortunate. |
| Zhiyi Yang, 34, Frankfurt | Zhiyi Yang, 34, Frankfurt |
| My father’s parents, both descendants of gentry, were “re-educated” in the countryside, and their five sons dropped out of school one by one to take care for themselves. My grandfather, previously on the staff at the municipal court, trained himself in Chinese medicine and became a doctor after the Cultural Revolution. | My father’s parents, both descendants of gentry, were “re-educated” in the countryside, and their five sons dropped out of school one by one to take care for themselves. My grandfather, previously on the staff at the municipal court, trained himself in Chinese medicine and became a doctor after the Cultural Revolution. |
| Yet no one talks much about the grueling details of the Cultural Revolution. If anything, my father often fondly recollects his physical endurance as a youngster, that he collected firewood, learned carpentry and cooking, tilled the fields and stole villagers’ dogs with other re-educated youth. | Yet no one talks much about the grueling details of the Cultural Revolution. If anything, my father often fondly recollects his physical endurance as a youngster, that he collected firewood, learned carpentry and cooking, tilled the fields and stole villagers’ dogs with other re-educated youth. |
| It seems to me that the older generations of Chinese have perfected the skill of selective forgetting. It is perhaps a survival strategy, practiced to preserve the better parts of humanity. | It seems to me that the older generations of Chinese have perfected the skill of selective forgetting. It is perhaps a survival strategy, practiced to preserve the better parts of humanity. |
| My mother, on the other hand, has very little to say about the Cultural Revolution. Her father was “wise” enough to have gambled away all his assets before 1949, so he was declared a “middle-level farmer” after the revolution. My mother went through her middle-school education and excelled in math, so she became a math teacher after the Cultural Revolution. | My mother, on the other hand, has very little to say about the Cultural Revolution. Her father was “wise” enough to have gambled away all his assets before 1949, so he was declared a “middle-level farmer” after the revolution. My mother went through her middle-school education and excelled in math, so she became a math teacher after the Cultural Revolution. |
| The only fortunate result of the Cultural Revolution is me. I would not have been born if my father had not been re-educated in the countryside of the city where my mother lived, and where they eventually met. | The only fortunate result of the Cultural Revolution is me. I would not have been born if my father had not been re-educated in the countryside of the city where my mother lived, and where they eventually met. |
| Li, 28, Los Angeles | Li, 28, Los Angeles |
| My father side’s family was from a village and benefited from Cultural Revolution, so they talked about it with pride. My grandparents even named their second son “Great Leap Li.” | My father side’s family was from a village and benefited from Cultural Revolution, so they talked about it with pride. My grandparents even named their second son “Great Leap Li.” |
| My mother side’s family was persecuted during the chaos. Like many other families, they were wrongfully accused and punished. My maternal grandfather died because of it. | My mother side’s family was persecuted during the chaos. Like many other families, they were wrongfully accused and punished. My maternal grandfather died because of it. |
| My parents’ marriage was arranged as a result, and my mom was able to find a job afterwards because her dang’an [personal file] was no longer tied to a family from the “Five Black Categories.” It was a horrible marriage, and they are now divorced. | My parents’ marriage was arranged as a result, and my mom was able to find a job afterwards because her dang’an [personal file] was no longer tied to a family from the “Five Black Categories.” It was a horrible marriage, and they are now divorced. |
| Here in the U.S., we talk about the legacies of Cultural Revolution often within the family, but when I’m in China, it is only mentioned as a reminder to work hard, so we can have a Plan B when things go south. Middle-class and wealthy Chinese are afraid because of the past. They should talk about it within the family to prepare their children for the future, and to make sure this historical chaos will not be repeated. | Here in the U.S., we talk about the legacies of Cultural Revolution often within the family, but when I’m in China, it is only mentioned as a reminder to work hard, so we can have a Plan B when things go south. Middle-class and wealthy Chinese are afraid because of the past. They should talk about it within the family to prepare their children for the future, and to make sure this historical chaos will not be repeated. |
| Pinkie Wu, New York | Pinkie Wu, New York |
| I had just graduated from primary school when the Cultural Revolution began. Middle school was suspended to make revolution. There was nothing to study so we did child labor. We often saw with our own eyes corpses strung together floating down the Pearl River, the result of “Attack With the Pen and Defend With the Sword” [a method of disputation at the time that involved great violence]. | I had just graduated from primary school when the Cultural Revolution began. Middle school was suspended to make revolution. There was nothing to study so we did child labor. We often saw with our own eyes corpses strung together floating down the Pearl River, the result of “Attack With the Pen and Defend With the Sword” [a method of disputation at the time that involved great violence]. |
| In the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution, more than 90 percent of cultural objects were destroyed. Seeing them now rebuilding temples and monasteries, worshiping the gods, worshiping Confucius, it’s so ironic. Our generation was ruined. All we can hope for is that the political situation in China remains stable, the country strong and people at peace. | In the 10 years of the Cultural Revolution, more than 90 percent of cultural objects were destroyed. Seeing them now rebuilding temples and monasteries, worshiping the gods, worshiping Confucius, it’s so ironic. Our generation was ruined. All we can hope for is that the political situation in China remains stable, the country strong and people at peace. |
| Audrey Shi, 21, Cambridge, Mass. | Audrey Shi, 21, Cambridge, Mass. |
| The Cultural Revolution has always been an open topic of discussion on my mother’s side of the family. She was the granddaughter of a landlord who committed suicide in 1951 by swallowing opium, knowing he would otherwise be executed by the state. | The Cultural Revolution has always been an open topic of discussion on my mother’s side of the family. She was the granddaughter of a landlord who committed suicide in 1951 by swallowing opium, knowing he would otherwise be executed by the state. |
| From how I’ve heard it told, life became a hell after 1966. Overnight, she and her siblings discovered that their friends, teachers and neighbors would no longer speak to them. Her father was publicly humiliated at struggle sessions and paraded around the village wearing a dunce cap. | From how I’ve heard it told, life became a hell after 1966. Overnight, she and her siblings discovered that their friends, teachers and neighbors would no longer speak to them. Her father was publicly humiliated at struggle sessions and paraded around the village wearing a dunce cap. |
| As a kid growing up in the American suburbs, I learned very quickly that my complaints (about homework, spats with friends, hating piano, etc.) would not be tolerated. My mother always rebuked me for complaining, saying, “For eight years, there was never a smile in my family.” | As a kid growing up in the American suburbs, I learned very quickly that my complaints (about homework, spats with friends, hating piano, etc.) would not be tolerated. My mother always rebuked me for complaining, saying, “For eight years, there was never a smile in my family.” |
| On my father’s side of the family, my grandfather transformed from a village middle-school teacher to a prominent local Communist official during Mao’s reign in the 1950s. He, too, was denounced and imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, but rehabilitated with the party in the early 1970s. My father has always been open to answering questions about the Cultural Revolution, but his father was much less eager. In all of my conversations with my grandfather, I was never able to solicit any kind of opinion on Chinese political history aside from “Everything was good.” | On my father’s side of the family, my grandfather transformed from a village middle-school teacher to a prominent local Communist official during Mao’s reign in the 1950s. He, too, was denounced and imprisoned during the Cultural Revolution, but rehabilitated with the party in the early 1970s. My father has always been open to answering questions about the Cultural Revolution, but his father was much less eager. In all of my conversations with my grandfather, I was never able to solicit any kind of opinion on Chinese political history aside from “Everything was good.” |
| Li Junfei (Sophie Li), 48, Pleasanton, Calif. | Li Junfei (Sophie Li), 48, Pleasanton, Calif. |
| Mother often said that when I was born, during the Cultural Revolution — the third child and fourth person in the family without a grain ration — it brought us good fortune. I was a girl born after two boys, and the villagers brought my mother red-colored eggs as a gift, because she had really wanted a girl. My brothers and mother had been working hard in the fields, but hadn’t been given grain ration cards. Now it was as if suddenly the villagers came to life. They gave us all ration cards and saved us from starvation. | Mother often said that when I was born, during the Cultural Revolution — the third child and fourth person in the family without a grain ration — it brought us good fortune. I was a girl born after two boys, and the villagers brought my mother red-colored eggs as a gift, because she had really wanted a girl. My brothers and mother had been working hard in the fields, but hadn’t been given grain ration cards. Now it was as if suddenly the villagers came to life. They gave us all ration cards and saved us from starvation. |
| But the people in the village didn’t see us, or mother, as one of them. My grandmother, who had bound feet, told me that my brothers were often treated coldly. One day they came home happy, carrying greenfeed for the pigs, saying the villagers had given it them. Granny looked at it carefully and said, “That’s poisonous.” | But the people in the village didn’t see us, or mother, as one of them. My grandmother, who had bound feet, told me that my brothers were often treated coldly. One day they came home happy, carrying greenfeed for the pigs, saying the villagers had given it them. Granny looked at it carefully and said, “That’s poisonous.” |
| Father used to say, “It’s never easy to feed yourself under the Communist Party.” | Father used to say, “It’s never easy to feed yourself under the Communist Party.” |
| People have the right to life and to freedom and to pursue a happy life, but these things were taken away from my family for too, too long. | People have the right to life and to freedom and to pursue a happy life, but these things were taken away from my family for too, too long. |
| Huang Xin, Hohhot, China | Huang Xin, Hohhot, China |
| I’ve never wanted to think deeply about the Cultural Revolution, and have preferred to quietly avoid it. It’s too dark and cruel. But it does stir deep feelings. My grandfather was an educated and handsome man. But unable to bear the emotional and physical pressures, he died, at the end of that time, in 1976. | I’ve never wanted to think deeply about the Cultural Revolution, and have preferred to quietly avoid it. It’s too dark and cruel. But it does stir deep feelings. My grandfather was an educated and handsome man. But unable to bear the emotional and physical pressures, he died, at the end of that time, in 1976. |
| Considered superficially, the Cultural Revolution is over and everything is fine today. The country is flourishing and the people are at peace. But is that enough? Nearly everyone has memorized our socialist core values: “Strong country, democracy, civilization, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, law, patriotism, respect, honesty, friendliness.” So why do they sound like a joke to me? | Considered superficially, the Cultural Revolution is over and everything is fine today. The country is flourishing and the people are at peace. But is that enough? Nearly everyone has memorized our socialist core values: “Strong country, democracy, civilization, harmony, freedom, equality, justice, law, patriotism, respect, honesty, friendliness.” So why do they sound like a joke to me? |
| Perhaps we are rich and strong. But where are the democracy, freedom and equality? Is the Cultural Revolution really over? It feels as if China is growing more and more like North Korea. The most frightening thing today is that, even when reasonable needs and interests are crushed, very few people stand up to protest. | Perhaps we are rich and strong. But where are the democracy, freedom and equality? Is the Cultural Revolution really over? It feels as if China is growing more and more like North Korea. The most frightening thing today is that, even when reasonable needs and interests are crushed, very few people stand up to protest. |
| The Cultural Revolution is over. But the Cultural Revolution is never far away. | The Cultural Revolution is over. But the Cultural Revolution is never far away. |
| Jonathan Yang, 32, New York | Jonathan Yang, 32, New York |
| As a first-generation Chinese American, I heard at great length about my mother’s struggles to survive her “bad upbringing” (wealthy) and how her family was decimated when she was 8 years old. Growing up in work camps, her adolescence was robbed and although she was lucky enough to escape China under political asylum under Nixon’s open-door policy, the trauma of the revolution lingers in her to this day. | |
| Her stories captivated me. However, they did not seem real because we were never taught how horrendous China’s history was in school. We were taught relentlessly about atrocities such as slavery and the Holocaust, but somehow China’s dark past never seemed to be part of our education. To say this is a disservice is an understatement. Americans for the most part have no idea how heinous Mao’s regime really was. The sheer numbers as compared to slavery and the Holocaust are at least tenfold. Yet there is no memorial, no education. It is almost as if this history does not matter. |