"The ten years China was crazy."

[warpedbored]

I've been interested in the cultural revolution since my wife and I met. It was a tough time for her as a child. She knows what it's like to go to bed hungry. As a young woman she was forced to go work in the countryside on a farm. Her father was sent to a work farm for two years because someone who didn't like him accused him of things he wasn't guilty of. The Red Guard terrorized the nation destroying so many priceless artifacts. My wife calls it "the ten years China was crazy."

 

I heard this story on Public Radio International today and thought it fascinating. The Chinese government still doesn't like to talk about it but a few people are now coming forward and apologizing for their part at the time.

One business near Beijing has a performance where they sing the old patriotic songs and period costumes. The story is HERE

 

 

Others have come forward with expressions of apology, which is not an easy thing to do in a country that places great value on saving face.

 

 

 

[Guest ExChinaExpat]

The wounds still run deep from those awful years, and still many people in China who have no idea what really went on. Earlier this year a Chinese man in his 80s was put on trial for a murder he committed during the cultural revolution.

 

The BBC report:

 

 

 

21 February 2013 Last updated at 18:16 ET

 

The trial of Chinese man in his 80s, accused of murdering a doctor more than 40 years ago at the height of China's Cultural Revolution, has prompted a vigorous online debate. The traumatic period in Chinese history remains a highly sensitive topic and public discussion is usually limited. However, as John Sudworth reports from Shanghai, the case has touched a nerve in China.

See the video here

More here:

China Cultural Revolution murder trial sparks debate
Growing up in Mao's ChinaThe trial in China of an elderly man accused of murder during the Cultural Revolution has sparked online debate. The man, reportedly in his 80s and surnamed Qiu, is accused of killing a doctor he believed was a spy. The Cultural Revolution, launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, was an era of violence against intellectuals and other alleged bourgeois elements.

Some have questioned why one man is on trial so belatedly when so few officials have been brought to account. Prosecutors say that in 1967 Mr Qiu, from Zhejiang province, strangled the doctor with a rope. Charges were filed against him in the 1980s and he was arrested last year, Global Times reported.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-china-21529138

Edited December 21, 2013 by GuangDongExpat (see edit history)

[Randy W]

It's surprising that that restaurant is still around after Bo Xilai's downfall - one of the official "reasons" given was his promotion of "red nostalgia"

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/45988-freedom-of-speech-for-maos-followers/

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/topic/45900-cultural-revolution-vigilantes/

[Mick]

When I lived in China, I made numerous friends who were roughly my age, which meant they were around 17 when the insanity began in 1966. Most were reluctant to talk about their experiences and aware of that, I never brought it up. Yet there were a few who did want to discuss it and the stories they told were horrific. I have one friend, a professor of Chemistry, who was a student at Beijing University at the time. He desribed being on the roof of a building with his best friend when the friend, all of a sudden, just took of running and jumped off the building, killing himself. He had been under suspicion of some bogus crime and was being pressured by the Red Guard to write a "confession." Li's family on the mother's side suffered greatly as many were teachers. Wearing the dunce cap was common in Anhui at the time.

[danb]

We heard nothing about this period when I was younger. My Lao Po's has never mentioned this period. But a few years ago on a trip back to the old hometown my JieJie mentioned that time and how it affected her family. Not a good time. I wonder how it is taught in school in China. I believe it is blamed on the notorious Gang of Four. Also earlier wasn't there a post on this forum about Li Zhensheng's, a photographer, who had his photos' of this period shown in photo's exhibitions in the west a few years ago? I tried to access a link about his photos but was not able to. Danb

[warpedbored]

I believe you're right Dan. I think they do blame it on the gang of four. More likely IMO Mao felt power slipping away and used it to depose his rivals. It got out of control and the fervor nearly destroyed the country.

[eseum]

Some time back I read the book "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang. It was a pretty interesting, and unflinching look at the Cultural Revolution as experienced by the author and her family.

[Mick]

Some time back I read the book "Wild Swans" by Jung Chang. It was a pretty interesting, and unflinching look at the Cultural Revolution as experienced by the author and her family.

 

I read that book back in the mid-90s, before I moved to China. It is a remarkable study of a family through the lens of three generations of women. The author's mother especially bore a heavy burden during the Cultural Revolution as i recall. I think the author left China in or around 1977, just after the craziness had subsided. It is a great book and I highly recommend it.

Edited December 23, 2013 by Mick (see edit history)

[Dennis143]

What amazes me is how my wife, who spent 3 of her teenage years working on a farm, away from her family and bypassing her HS education, and other Chinese friends who also lived through that period of time don't seem to carry any lasting scars. Most of them seldom talk about it and have put it all behind them only looking toward the future now. It's a sad time in China's history. The country and its people remind me of an ant colony where it can repeatedly be destroyed, but is rebuilt even stronger in very short order.

[warpedbored]

What amazes me is how my wife, who spent 3 of her teenage years working on a farm, away from her family and bypassing her HS education, and other Chinese friends who also lived through that period of time don't seem to carry any lasting scars. Most of them seldom talk about it and have put it all behind them only looking toward the future now. It's a sad time in China's history. The country and its people remind me of an ant colony where it can repeatedly be destroyed, but is rebuilt even stronger in very short order.

I knew you would relate to this thread Dennis. Our wives being about the same age and both from Nanning. I don't know about scars but I do sense some hurt and anger from Bing. She too was yanked out of high school but amazingly managed to get into Guangxi University and get a degree in law. Tough women our wives. Indeed "Steel rods swathed in flowers".

[david_dawei]

It's a sad time in China's history.

 

And a remarkably polarizing time of opinion or regard by the generations who experienced it vs did not.

 

I personally find myself unable to take a strong side other than to say there needs to be more respect for the former but the latter offer a balance which defies the mind at times.

 

BTW: Swans is a worthwhile book to read.

[warpedbored]

On your recommendations I downloaded "Wild Swans" from Google Play Books. I'm still in the first chapter but the forward alone where the author describes her own life was worth the price of the book. Thanks guys.

[Randy W]

Preparations for "Mao-Mas" - the birthday of Chairman Mao

 

Global Times - Evoking a legacy

 

The former title "The Sun is Reddest, Chairman Mao is Dearest" was changed to "Ode to the Motherland," and the sentence "This year is the 120th anniversary of Mao Zedong's birth" from the concert introduction was revised to "To embrace the coming 65th anniversary of the founding of New China," the reports said.

He Chenggao, a Shenzhen local who has been organizing red song and commemorative activities annually, said his application to hold activities marking this year's anniversary at the nearby Donghu Park was repeatedly turned down by the police.

While unloading exhibition materials from the car to start the activities, he was taken away by police last Sunday at the park, he told the Global Times.

"They said I was being disorderly in a public place and that's the reason they keep turning down my application," He said.

From peers, he also heard that similar activities have been disrupted in several other cities like Guangzhou, Chongqing, Shenzhen and Nanjing, which hasn't happened in the past.

In addition, some Weibo users also complained that their posts promoting the commemorative activities were blocked without any reasons being given.

 

 

 

 

Washington Post - Communist Party feeling uneasy about Mao ahead of his birthday celebrations

 

. . . says a lot of the same things.

[danb]

After reading this post I talked to my Lao Po about Mao a little bit. She likes Mao but not his wife. I think her name was Jiang. She was an actress at one time. I can't find one photo of her where she looks like a "Hollywood like" beauty. Mao past away on 9- 9- 1978. We had dinner over at Mama's house last night. Mao was watching over us. They have a large portrait ( maybe 20 X 24 inches) of Mao in the living room. Danb

[warpedbored]

After reading this post I talked to my Lao Po about Mao a little bit. She likes Mao but not his wife. I think her name was Jiang. She was an actress at one time. I can't find one photo of her where she looks like a "Hollywood like" beauty. Mao past away on 9- 9- 1978. We had dinner over at Mama's house last night. Mao was watching over us. They have a large portrait ( maybe 20 X 24 inches) of Mao in the living room. Danb

Mao is regarded as the father of their country much like George Washington is here. How much do most of us really know about our first president? Pretty much what the history books tell us. The history books we learned from in school didn't mention that he was a slave owner most of his life or that he authorized emergency financial and military aid to French slave owners in Haiti to put down a slave rebellion. China has an even tighter grip on what is taught there. I do suspect that he may be more highly regarded by women than men. Before Mao women were not much more than property. One of his most famous quotes is "Women hold up half of the sky". Equality for women was a major part of his reforms.

https://www.mtholyoke.edu/~jejackso/Women%20Under%20Mao.htm