The hunger for power lies within every one of us, yet most can have the strength to resist it. However, occasionally the temptation is so strong that it corrupts the brain. All the person can think about is achieving that power, no matter the cost. Ji-Li Jiang’s memoir, Red Scarf Girl, tells the personal narrative of a young girl growing up during the Cultural Revolution in China. Despite being a black whelp, the child of a family belonging to any of the “Five Black Categories”, Ji-Li Jiang is able to overcome the countless tribulations brought upon her and her family. Although Ji-Li’s naivety enhances her involvement in the Cultural Revolution, her constant loyalty towards her family perseveres; nevertheless, without her earlier devotion …show more content…
to Chairman Mao, she would have never become the independent, strong, successful person she is today. Throughout her childhood, Ji-Li Jiang endeavors to balance her loyalty to her family with her devotion to Chairman Mao, the leader of the Communist Party. The community advises her to become an educable child, a student who is devoted to Chairman Mao and one that has rejected her “black family.” In an effort to persuade her, Thin Face, one of the Red Guard leaders, tells her " [she is] different from [her] parents.
[He tells her she was] born in New China. [She]can choose [her] own destiny; [she] can make a clean break from [her] parents and have a bright future, or [she] can follow [her] parents, and then… [she] will not come to a good end” (190). Her parents’ futures are already destroyed. However, Ji-Li grew up during the Cultural Revolution; thus, she has the opportunity for a bright future as an educable student apart from her parents. In order to succeed, Ji-Li is required to reject the people she loves the most, a task she is not willing to undertake. Despite numerous tribulations, Ji-Li is determined to keep her family together. However, when a news article is released, exposing her grandfather as a wealthy landlord, she feels that her parents have deceived her. Thinking her efforts to gain back the respect of her peers had gone to waste, she shouts, “I hate landlords. I hate this landlord family” (211). At the time, landlords were despised throughout the community. In addition to living a bourgeois, capitalist lifestyle, they were considered, according to the Communist Party, the Revolution’s …show more content…
worst enemies, hence, the worst enemies of the common people. Furthermore, landlords would exploit people, therefore, go against the Communist ideology that all means of production are owned by the community and used for the good of all its members. Once the Cultural Revolution begins, Ji-Li’s bright future falls apart; her dreams and accomplishments are torn away from her one by one. Nevertheless, she realizes that friends will come and go, but her family will always be there to support and love her; only then does she comprehend that “[her] family [is] too precious to forget, and too rare to replace” (263). She finally understands that no matter how hard she tries, she does not get to choose her family; they are God’s gift to her as she is to them. Though Ji-Li Jiang's loyalty towards Chairman Mao was great; her loyalty to family was greater. Prior to the Cultural Revolution, "[Ji-Li] was an Outstanding Student, an Excellent Young Pioneer, as well as the Da-Dui-Zhang, the chairman of the entire school. What more could they want?” (9). To be an Excellent Young Pioneer, the first step towards membership in the Communist Party, was a privilege, but it was the highest honor to be Da-Dui-Zhang. Furthermore, Ji-Li was both a Young Pioneer and Da-Dui-Zhang, proving that she is intelligent, respected, and popular. As a result, she was always able to excel and always expected to succeed. Hence, when her father questions her political involvement, Ji-Li is astounded as she is proud of her active piety to the Communist Party. However, everything changes in 1949 when the Cultural Revolution starts. Until then, her future had been full of infinite possibilities as “[she] had never doubted that [she] could achieve anything [she] wanted” (18). Not only did she dream of becoming a doctor, but an architect and an actress as well. She had friends who supported her in addition to a family that loved her. The Cultural Revolution replaced her self-confidence with the uncertainty of her ability to succeed. One afternoon, Ji-Li “saw a boy blowing big, splendid, soap bubbles that shimmered with colors in the sunlight. One by one they drifted away and burst. In a few seconds, they were all gone…[she] wondered if [her beautiful dreams] would drift away just like those lovely soap bubbles” (18). Often times soap bubbles symbolize qualities that are both delicate and fleeting; yet, they can symbolize our hopes and dreams, as well as, childhood innocence. Shortly after discovering her family’s bourgeoisie history, her once light, playful ambitions began to disappear just as those soap bubbles had. In Ji-Li’s case, the soap bubbles represented her aspirations for they were both delicate and fleeting; the Communist Party “popped” her fragile ambitions, eventually sending the disappearing into thin air. Nevertheless, Ji-Li Jiang is able to overcome the most difficult dilemma of her life with courage and determination. The initial problem was that "[Ji-Li] never doubted what [she] was told [; she believed when people told her that] heaven and earth and great, but greater still is the kindness of the Communist Party; father and mother are dear, but dearer still is Chairman Mao” (1).
Ji-Li Jiang was not the only citizen deceived by the Communist Party and Chairman Mao. Once most Nationalists, dissidents of Communism, immigrated to Taiwan in 1949, the only people remaining in China were Communist; thus, the common people supported Chairman Mao. He took advantage of the people’s trust and manipulated the entire country. In the hope of spreading enthusiasm about Communism, Chairman Mao used propaganda wisely. New and modern technologies were conducive to the development of Chairman Mao’s personality cult, a group of supporters that follow him for his personality rather than his ideas. Through secular religion, the abolishing of all faiths, Chairman Mao replaced God, Allah, or any other deities with himself. Seeing that religion was the central force in everyone’s life, Chairman Mao was worshiped throughout the nation. The Chinese citizens’ devotion towards Chairman Mao was so great that despite being prosecuted and humiliated themselves, "[they] believed that the Cultural Revolution was necessary to prevent revisionism and capitalism from taking over China… [For instance, when questioned whether or not she hated Chairman Mao, An Yi’s mother replied] ‘if the country was better for the movement
that persecuted me, I was still in favor of it’” (265-266). Namely, both proletarians and bourgeoisie agreed with the Communist beliefs; thus, they were unwilling to speak out against Chairman Mao. It was not until the death of Chairman Mao on September 9,1976, that the Chinese citizens realized that they had been deceived. Instead of regretting her naivety, Ji-Li Jiang “was willing to take on the struggle to establish [herself] in a new country because [she] knew that was the price [she] would have to pay for the freedom to think, speak, and write whatever [she] pleased” (271). In contrast to her innocent, previous self, Ji-Li uses the tribulations from her childhood as a catalyst to create a fresh beginning in a new country. On February 21, 1848, Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels published the book, Communist Manifesto, which describes a path to political and economic equality; never would they have guessed that their novel would lead to so much woe and sorrow. Proven through the Cultural Revolution, “without a sound legal system, a small group or even a single person can take control of an entire country” (266). Chairman Mao took advantage of the people’s devotion and manipulated an entire nation for almost two decades. Millions of people can relate to Ji-Li’s childhood for they have experiences of their own to share. Throughout history, communism has played a major role in the development of numerous countries, such as North Korea and Vietnam; Karl Marx and Friedrich Engel’s concepts will continue to affect the world both negatively and positively.
In the very beginning, Ji Li is confidently dedicated to the revolution, but then slowly starts to discover the despicable truth. Ji-Li thinks, " We thanked heaven that Chairman Mao had started this Cultural Revolution… otherwise we would not have even known we were in trouble. What a frightening idea." (38). This quote depicts Ji-Li's thoughts on Chairman Mao as she started off in the beginning; an exemplary student and daughter of Chairman Mao. Her first carefree opinion is quickly countered when she is told she cannot participate in the audition. "'Ji-Li, the fact is that our family will not be able to pass the investigation'…For a long time I did not speak. ‘Why?' I whispered at last." (9). When she is told at this early point in the revolution she would not pass the audition, she is only getting an insidious whiff of what is to come, but has not experienced anything that would be wrong with her family, the revolution, or otherwise the world up until then. Although small, her first glimpse at the tormenting trials that are to come start to penetrate into her oblivious mind, and make her start to think...
At first, Ji-li thought she was the luckiest girl in the world. She came from a very wealthy, loving, respected, and dependable family. In growing up in such was so was she too, “I was happy because I was able to excel and always expected to succeed. I was trusting, too. I never doubted what I was told…”(Jiang 1). The way Ji-li felt towards her family, proving that is the kind of family is everything Ji-li wanted. It is important for her, so then she can feel comfortable, then the family dynamics changed. Ji-li’s relationship has changed due to the Cultural Revolution, because when the change started to happen, she was okay. Ji-li then hated her family’s guts and background; near the end of the book. Ji-li feeling’s toward her family was unbreakable or even strengthened more than ever, and never went away. “… I would never do anything to hurt my family, and I would do everything I could do to take care of them. My family was too precious to forget, and too rare to replace.” ( Jiang 262-263). The importance that she will never abounded her family even in the most difficult times in her life. The reason the change occurred was Ji-li knew she could change her name, but she will always be a Jiang. She could also never leave the best thing in her life. Ji-li had other problems in her life as well, besides her family, there were her friends. Well
This is evident in the persistence of elderly characters, such as Grandmother Poh-Poh, who instigate the old Chinese culture to avoid the younger children from following different traditions. As well, the Chinese Canadians look to the Vancouver heritage community known as Chinatown to maintain their identity using on their historical past, beliefs, and traditions. The novel uniquely “encodes stories about their origins, its inhabitants, and the broader society in which they are set,” (S. Source 1) to teach for future generations. In conclusion, this influential novel discusses the ability for many characters to sustain one sole
In Ji-Li Jiang’s Red Scarf Girl, the story is set in Shanghai, China. In 1966, Ji-Li Jiang is a happy little girl of twelve years. She looks forward to a future working for Chairman Mao's New China and his Communist Party. However, her happy life is suddenly interrupted by the horrors of the Cultural Revolution, a movement led by Chairman Mao, to remove all parts of capitalism in Chinese society. Her family becomes the target of government persecution, since her parents and grandparents are labeled as ''Black'', which means that they are opposed to the (Red) Communist Party. Ji-Li and her family become outcasts of society as they live in fear of arrest. Ji-Li realizes that the Communist Party and Chairman Mao prevented China from improving
There is no better way to learn about China's communist revolution than to live it through the eyes of an innocent child whose experiences were based on the author's first-hand experience. Readers learn how every aspect of an individual's life was changed, mostly for the worst during this time. You will also learn why and how Chairman Mao launched the revolution initially, to maintain the communist system he worked hard to create in the 1950's. As the story of Ling unfolded, I realized how it boiled down to people's struggle for existence and survival during Mao's reign, and how lucky we are to have freedom and justice in the United States; values no one should ever take for
Watch your classmates criticize your teacher; Watch your father being taken away, because of long dead relatives; watch you classmates humiliate you in front of the class; Watch yourself needing to choose between family and future; Watch yourself only watching unable to help. Unfortunate, that was the reality for Ji-Li Jiang. Red Scarf Girl is a memoir written by Ji-Li Jiang, regarding the China cultural revolution between 1966-1976. Throughout the book,Family is important in defining who people are in Red Scarf Girl.
In analyzing these two stories, it is first notable to mention how differing their experiences truly are. Sammy is a late adolescent store clerk who, in his first job, is discontent with the normal workings of society and the bureaucratic nature of the store at which he works. He feels oppressed by the very fabric and nature of aging, out-of date rules, and, at the end of this story, climaxes with exposing his true feelings and quits his jobs in a display of nonconformity and rebellion. Jing-Mei, on the other hand, is a younger Asian American whose life and every waking moment is guided by the pressures of her mother, whose idealistic word-view aids in trying to mold her into something decent by both the double standards Asian society and their newly acquired American culture. In contrasting these two perspectives, we see that while ...
Jonathan Spence tells his readers of how Mao Zedong was a remarkable man to say the very least. He grew up a poor farm boy from a small rural town in Shaoshan, China. Mao was originally fated to be a farmer just as his father was. It was by chance that his young wife passed away and he was permitted to continue his education which he valued so greatly. Mao matured in a China that was undergoing a threat from foreign businesses and an unruly class of young people who wanted modernization. Throughout his school years and beyond Mao watched as the nation he lived in continued to change with the immense number of youth who began to westernize. Yet in classes he learned classical Chinese literature, poems, and history. Mao also attained a thorough knowledge of the modern and Western world. This great struggle between modern and classical Chinese is what can be attributed to most of the unrest in China during this time period. His education, determination and infectious personalit...
To achieve this goal, he crafts a stylized capitalistic society that inflicts grave injustices upon his protagonists. The avarice inherent to this society governs everyday life within Street Angel. Xiao Hong, for example, lives with adoptive parents so corrupted by greed that they prostitute their older daughter, Xiao Yun. In a transaction that reflects the inhumanity of higher-level capitalism, these parents sell Xiao Hong to a local gangster. By juxtaposing the implications of this sale with Xiao Hong’s exaggerated innocence, Yuan appeals to his audience’s emotions, stoking anger toward social values that could enable such barbaric exploitation of the poor. Yuan employs a similar juxtaposition later in Street Angel, when Wang visits a lawyer’s office in a skyscraper – an environment so divorced from his day-to-day realities that he remarks, “This is truly heaven.” Wang soon learns otherwise, when the lawyer rebuffs his naïve plea for assistance by coldly reciting his exorbitant fees. The lawyer’s emotionless greed – a callousness that represents capitalism at its worst – contrasts strikingly with Wang’s naïve purity, a quality betrayed by his awestruck expression while inside the skyscraper. Again, this juxtaposition encourages the film’s audience to sympathize with a proletarian victim and condemn the social values that enable his
...ate her experiences and values into the novel while writing it, exemplifying the characteristics of curiosity, independence and rebelliousness that she feels are important in the conformist society of China. Only through curiosity can people learn of the political oppression so craftily utilized by the government. The Chinese must show independence to stand out from the average citizen “being brainwashed” (Wang, Personal Interview) by nationalistic pride. These individuals must be rebellious, in order to join the revolution desperately needed to break through the masquerade the Chinese dictatorship hides behind; a revolution to fight for freedom and democracy. To paraphrase Ralph Waldo Emerson`s ideals, being yourself means not conforming to a world filled with dictators, oppression and lies. These are the people who have achieved the greatest accomplishment.
“Whenever she had to warn us about life, my mother told stories that ran like this one, a story to grow up on. She tested our strengths to establish realities”(5). In the book “The Woman Warrior,” Maxine Kingston is most interested in finding out about Chinese culture and history and relating them to her emerging American sense of self. One of the main ways she does so is listening to her mother’s talk-stories about the family’s Chinese past and applying them to her life.
...ear and listen. That’s why most of the Chinese youth were inspired to join the army due to the books that were sold and the song that was written just for the Red Guards army. The book’s name is “Little Red Book.” The song’s name is “Red Guard Song.” For the members, the “Red Guard Song” reminds them of their purpose of why they joined the Red Guards. To add on, two young women had wrote their own memoirs to explain what their life was when the Cultural Revolution was happening and how their life was changed when they joined the Red Guards and started to rebel against their parents and their own teachers. As they grew older, they soon realized that everything that they’ve been doing the whole entire time was wrong and regret joining the Red Guards. They realize that all these time, they were killing innocent people that clearly was doing nothing to harm the country.
China’s Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution (GPCR) is a well-documented period in world history, but the most profound records are found vivified in the literature and films later into the 20th century, respectively. One of the most profound novels is “To Live”, authored by Yu Hua, which as a fictional narrative offers both a unique and realistic sense of the time period at the individual level. However, the provocative film adaptation directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994 was formidable enough that it was banned in Mainland China. Zhang paints a more realistic picture of how the GPCR influenced Chinese society but adds zest to Hua’s ambiguity but acceptable imperfection. Naturally, the film has many different characteristics yet still manages to overcome the challenges that implicate film adaptations.
Lindo Jong provides the reader with a summary of her difficulty in passing along the Chinese culture to her daughter: “I wanted my children to have the best combination: American circumstances and Chinese character. How could I know these two things do not mix? I taught her how American circumstances work. If you are born poor here, it's no lasting shame . . . You do not have to sit like a Buddha under a tree letting pigeons drop their dirty business on your head . . . In America, nobody says you have to keep the circumstances somebody else gives you. . . . but I couldn't teach her about Chinese character . . . How to know your own worth and polish it, never flashing it around like a cheap ring. Why Chinese thinking is best”(Tan 289).
Dai Sijie’s novel, Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress gives an elaborate analysis of the lives of children during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution in China. He paints the picture of the life of two young teenage boys, Ma and Luo, who are torn from their lives in the city and forced to live in the countryside to be re-educated with the typical proletariat. (Sijie). Sijie’s overall purpose in the novel is to convey to the reader how re-education in China was a cruel and unusual way to make the society equal as the proletariat and bourgeoisie are so polarized that they don't understand the ways of the other society. Sijie also shows his approval for Western culture to bring these two polarized societies together. He does this in introducing