Lost in revolution and reform: The socioeconomic pains of China's Red Guards generation, 1966-1996

Journal of Contemporary China

Volumn 8, Issue 21, 1999, Pages 219-239

  Chen, Yixin ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA WILMINGTON   (United States)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE; POLITICAL REFORM; REFORM PROCESS; SOCIOECONOMIC CONDITIONS;

CHINA;

EID: 0032871303     PISSN: 10670564     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10670569908724345     Document Type: Article

References (144)

1. For a discussion of the Red Guards' violence during the Cultural Revolution see: Anita Chan, Children of Mao, Personality Development and Political Activism in the Red Guards Generation (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1985), pp. 124-184;
2. Jing Lin, The Red Guards' Path to Violence: Political, Educational, and Psychological Factors (New York: Praeger, 1991), pp. 19-29;
3. Lynn White, Policies of Chaos: the Organizational Causes of Violence in China's Cultural Revolution (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1989), pp. 277-283;
4. William Joseph, Christine Wong and David Zweig, eds, New Perspectives on the Cultural Revolution (Cambridge: Harvard Contemporary China Series: 8, 1991), pp. 44-45;
5. Yin Hongbiao, 'Ideological and political tendencies of factions in the Red Guard movement', Journal of Contemporary China 5(13), (1996), pp. 269-280.
6. For very recent discussion of Cultural Revolution studies in China see: Sun Yijiang, 'Jinri wengexue hua kaizai shuijia?' (Where are the Cultural Revolution studies?), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 114, (1997), pp. 1-5;
7. Qi Quande, 'Wenge weishenme chengwei jinqu'? (Why has the Cultural Revolution become a forbidden area?), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 94, (1996), pp. 8-9;
8. Yazhou Zhoukan, 'Yuhuochongsheng zhilu: cong huanmie dao xiwang' (The journey of reviving from fire: from disillusion to hope), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 93, (1996), pp. 1-6.
9. Feng Jicai, 'Feiwenge jinglizhe de wenge ainian' (The concepts of the Cultural Revolution from those who have never experienced the Cultural Revolution), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 114, (1997), pp. 7-9.
10. Meng Fanhua, Zhongsheng kuanghuan: dangdai zhongguo de wenhua chongtu wenti (The Revelry of All Gods: the Issues of Cultural Conflict in Contemporary China) (Beijing: Jinri zhongguo chubanshe, 1997), pp. 73-76.
11. The numbers of the Red Guards generation are based on the statistics of 1966-68 urban high and middle school graduates and 1969-75 urban middle school graduates, available in Jiang Kun et al., eds, Zhongguo zhiqing huiyilu (The Memoirs of China's Sent-down Youths) (Jilin:Jilin renmin chubanshe, 1996), pp. 1633-1757.
12. Chinese urban (shi and zheng) population was 97.81 million in 1964 and 206.31 million in 1982. See: Tian Xueyuan, Daguo zhi nan: dangdai zhongguo de renkou wenti (A Big Country's Problem: the Population Issue of Contemporary China) (Beijing: Jinri zhongguo chubanshe, 1997), p. 155.
13. Thomas Bernstein has estimated that the Chinese urban population was 125 million in 1970. See: Thomas Bernstein, Up to the Mountains and Down to the Villages: the Transfer of Youth from Urban to Rural China (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1978), p. 2.
14. Wang Youqin, 'Wengezhong de tongxue pohai tongxue: shishi yu fenxi' (The classmates persecuted classmates in the Cultural Revolution: facts and analysis), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 121, (1997), pp. 1-13;
15. Zhong Weiguang, 'Qinghua fuzhong hongweibing xiaozu dansheng shishi' (The history of the birth of the Red Guards Group at the Qinghua middle school), Part I, Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 109, (1997), pp. 1-11;
16. Part II, Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 110, (1997), pp. 1-5.
17. Liu Xiaomeng, Zhongguo zhiqing shi: dachao, 1966-1980 (The History of China's Sent- down Youths: the Great Waves, 1966-1980) (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1998), pp. 269-275, 491.
18. For the discussion of the pre-Cultural Revolution education of the Red Guards generation see: Irving Epstein, ed., Chinese Education: Problems, Policies and Prospects (New York: Garland, 1991), pp. xiv-xvi;
19. Suzanne Pepper, 'New directions in education', in Roderick MacFarquhar and John K. Fairbank, eds, The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 14 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1987), pp. 398-431;
20. Chan, The Cambridge History of China, op. cit., pp. 11-123;
21. Jing Lin, The Cambridge History of China, op. cit., pp. 73-113.
22. H. J. Lethbridge, 'Youth, Society, and the Family in China', in E. Stuart Kirby, ed., Youth in China (Hong Kong: Dragonfly, 1965), pp. 31-66;
23. Hong Yung Lee, The Politics of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1978), p. 61.
24. Jing Lin, The Politics of the Chinese Cultural Revolution ( op. cit., p. 127.
25. For detailed discussions of the pre-Cultural Revolution education see: Zhou Jin, 'Kua shiji de qiaoliang' (The bridge that links the coming century), in Li Guangping, ed., Zhongguo zhiqing beihuanlu (The Bitter Happiness of the Chinese Sent-down Youths) (Guangzhou: Huacheng chubanshe, 1993), pp. 530-539;
26. Tan Can et al., 'Sikao yidai de fansi' (The reflection of the thinking generation), Part I, Qingnian Yanjiu 11, (1986), pp. 21-31;
27. Part II, Qingnian Yanhiu 12, (1986), pp. 12-17;
28. Rae Yang, Spider Eaters: A Memoir (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997), pp. 87-100;
29. Jing Lin, Spider Eaters: A Memoir ( op. cit., pp. 83-132;
30. Chan, Spider Eaters: A Memoir ( op. cit., pp. 11-123.
31. Zhou Jin, Spider Eaters: A Memoir ( op. cit.;
32. Tang Can et al., Spider Eaters: A Memoir ( op. cit;
33. Cui Wunian and Van Huai, 'Tantan laosanjie' (Talk about the old three classes), Qingnian Yanjiu 4, (1986), pp. 1-4;
34. Guo Dong, 'Disandai renL kunan yu fengliu' (The third generation: their pains and glories), Qingnian Yanjiu 8, (1993), pp. 16-19
35. ; Huang Jie and Mou Xiaoguang, 'Zhongguo qingnian sichao beiwanglu' (A memorandum on the intellectual trends of Chinese youths), Qingnian Yanjiu 9, (1990), pp. 20-27;
36. Liang Heping, 'Wuhui' (No regrets), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 1407-1418;
37. Yang Shaobo, 'Miandui xinshiji de sikao: guanyu zhongnian zuojia de fangtan' (Thinking when facing the new century: the interviews with some middle-age writers), Renmin Ribao, 17 April 1998.
38. Xie Yiwei, 'Xiangqile women zheyidai de weilai' (The future of our generation comes to mind), Dushu 1, (1998), p. 148.
39. Liu Xiaomeng, Dushu op. cit., pp. 4-8, 16;
40. Liu Yingjie et al., eds, Zhongguo jiaoyu dashidian (The Book of Major Educational Events in China) (Hangzhou: Zhejiang jiaoyu chubanshe, 1993), pp. 3-7.
41. Yazhou Zhoukan, 'Hongweibing lingxiu fujinsixi' (The Red Guards leaders reflect the past and present), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 94, (1996), pp. 1-3.
42. Liu Yingjie et al., Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit., pp. 271-273.
43. Cui Wunian and Yan Huai, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.;
44. Tan Can et al., Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.;
45. Zhou Jin, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.
46. Ding Shu, 'Cong shixue gemin dao wa zufen' (From the historiography revolution to the digging ancestral graves), Huaxiao Wenzhai ZK 105, (1996), pp. 7-18;
47. Xu Haoyuan, 'Wode fansi: gei laosanjie huobanmen' (My reflection: to the fellows of the old three classes), Huaxiao Wenzhai ZK 125, (1997), pp. 1-8.
48. Liu Yingjie et al., Huaxiao Wenzhai op. cit., pp. 22-23.
49. et al., Huaxiao Wenzhai Ibid., p. 276.
50. Wang Youqin, 'Nuxing de yeman' (Barbarity of female gender), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 125, (1997), pp. 8-13.
51. Liu Yingjie et al., Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit., pp. 277-279, 376.
52. Suzanne Pepper, 'Education', in Roderick MacFarquhar and John K. Fairbank, eds, The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 15 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1991), pp. 540-593.
53. Liu Yingjie et al., The Cambridge History of China, op. cit., pp. 282-286.
54. et al., The Cambridge History of China, Ibid., p. 285.
55. For a discussion of education during the Cultural Revolution, see also: Suzanne Pepper, 'Education', op. cit.
56. Liu Yingjie et al., Education op. cit., p. 283.
57. For the depression of the sent-down youths and their lack of cultural life, see: Shi Weimin and He Lan, Zhiqing beiwanglu: shangshan xiaxiang yundong zhong de shengchan jianshe bingtuan (A Memorandum of the Sent-down Youth: the Farming Corps During the Sent-down Movement) (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1996), pp. 284-311;
58. Zhiqing Riji Shuxin Xuanbian Bianweihui, ed., Zhiqing riji xuanbian (The Selected Diaries of the Sent-down Youths) (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1996), p. 93;
59. Zhiqing Riji Xhuxin Xuanbian Bianwcihui, ed., Zhiqing shuxin xuanbian (The Selected Letters of the Sent-down Youths) (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1996), p. 52;
60. Ma Xiangbo, 'Nanwang de suiyue' (Unforgettable years), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 43-50;
61. Wang Dawen, 'Shouchaoben' (The hand-copied books), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 59-61;
62. Wang Guizhong, 'Yonggan de ren' (The brave man), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 188-191;
63. Sun Chunming, 'Yege' (The song of evening), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 531-533.
64. Liu Yingjie et al., eds, 'Yege' (The song of evening), op. cit., pp. 282-283;
65. Liu Xiaomeng, 'Yege' (The song of evening), op. cit., pp. 560-569.
66. Liu Xiaomeng, 'Yege' (The song of evening), op. cit., pp. 481-483, 676-687.
67. Zhao Yuhui et al., 'Quanguo dianda biyesheng shouci zhuizhong diaochao' (The first nationwide tracing of the graduates of the Television University), Zhongguo Dianda Jiaoyu 9-10, (1990), pp. 13-48;
68. Xie Guanxin, 'Dianda jiaoyu shinian' (The ten years of the Television University's education), Zhongguo Dianda Jiaoyu 12, (1989), pp. 11-16.
69. Liu Yingjie et al., eds, Zhongguo Dianda Jiaoyu op. cit., pp. 1961-1971, 1982-1990.
70. Zhu Guanglie, Dafenhua Xingzuhe (Great Diversity and New Synthesis) (Tianjin: Tianjin renmin chubanshe, 1994), pp. 241-246.
71. Wang Zhaolan, 'Shen feng nijing wu ruonu, kuhan guohou cha piaoxiang' (There is no weak woman while facing adverse circumstances, and there is tea scent after bitterness), Renmin Ribao, 21 May 1998.
72. Mei Zhe, 'Xiagangren shangxinchu changchu zili de ge' (The laid-off workers sang a song of self-reliance from bitterness), Huade Tongxun 86, (May 1995), pp. 3-6.
73. Mei Zhe, Huade Tongxun op. cit.;
74. Zhang Huiying, 'Shehui xuyao shi wo zaijiuye de diyi xuanze' (The need of the society is the first choice of my re-employment), Renmin Ribao, 21 May 1998;
75. Wu Van, 'Duanwan hou de xinsheng: Shanghai baiwan guoqi xiagang zhigong zaijiuye jishi' (A new life after the cut: a report on the re-employment of a million laid-off workers from Shanghai's state enterprises), Renmin Ribao, 16 May 1998.
76. Qu Zhe, 'Faduan: 1967 nian 10 yuc 9 ri' (The beginning: October 9, 1967), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 366-371;
77. Liu Xiaomeng, 'Faduan: 1967 nian 10 yuc 9 ri' (The beginning: October 9, 1967), op. cit., pp. 738-748, 828-832.
78. Shi Tiesheng, 'Huangtudi qingge' (The love song of yellow land), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 283-290.
79. Liu Xiaomeng, 'Huangtudi qingge' (The love song of yellow land), op. cit., pp. 670-671.
80. Xue Zhaohong, 'Zhongshi yanjiu daling guniang de zeou xinli' (The old maids' psychology of choosing spouses should be paid attention), Shehui 4, (1984), pp. 49-50;
81. Zhang Shuying, 'Tianjinshi guangxin danianling weihun qingnian de hunyin' (The city of Tianjin cares for the plight of unmarried adults), Shehui 3, (1984), pp. 27-29.
82. Liu Xiaomeng, Shehui op. cit., pp. 669-672.
83. Emily Honig and Gail Hershatter, Personal Voices: Chinese Women in the 1980's (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1988), pp. 206-242.
84. See also: Jiang Wei, 'Rensheng huanxingdao' (The circle of life), in Li Guangping, ed., op. cit., pp. 215-251;
85. Wu Biwen, 'Cuo, cuo, cuo' (Wrong, wrong, wrong), in Li Guangping, ed., op. cit., pp. 252-271;
86. Xu Anqi, 'Zhongguo lihun xianzhuang, tedian, ji qishi' (The present status, characteristics, and tendency of China's divorces), Xueshu Jikan 2, (1994), pp. 156-165;
87. Rae Yang, Xueshu Jikan op. cit., pp. 272-273.
88. Zhongguo Renmin Daxue Zhexuexi 77ji Hunyin Wenti Diaochazu, 'Xin hunyinfa shishi hou lihun qingkuang ruhe: Beijingshi Donchengqu de diaocha' (The divorce situation after the proclamation of the New Marriage Law: an investigation on the Dongcheng district in Beijing), Shehui 3, (1982), pp. 17-21.
89. In its New Marriage Law promulgated in 1980, the Chinese Government for the first time defined 'love' as a foundation of a marriage. The definition, however, eased divorce and resulted in a rapid increase in adjudicated divorce cases from 115,000 couples in 1978 to 292,000 in 1986. In 1986, over 60% of the divorced couples were aged between 26 and 35, or they were members of the Red Guards generation born between 1951 and 1960. Sha Jicai, ed., Gaige kaifang zhong de renkou wenti yanjiu (A Study of the Population Problem in the Reform and Open Door) (Beijing: Beijing daxue chebanshe, 1994), pp. 432-442.
90. Cheng Kaiping and Zhang Fang, 'Menghui pujiang' (Back to Shanghai in dreams), in Jiang Kun et al., op. cit., pp. 1472-1484.
91. Zhu Guanglie, 'Menghui pujiang' (Back to Shanghai in dreams), op. cit., p. 139.
92. For a detailed discussion of 'waiting-for-work youths' in the early 1980s, see: Beverley Hooper, Youth in China (New York: Penguin Books, 1985), pp. 77-93.
93. For detailed discussions of the sent-down youths' returning urban areas before and after 1977, see: Liu Xiaomeng, Youth in China ( op. cit., pp. 481-500, 723-799;
94. Shi Weiming and He Lan, Youth in China ( op. cit., pp. 340-373, 392-423.
95. For individual cases of how some sent-down youths managed to return to urban life, see: Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro, Son of the Revolution (New York: Random House, 1984), pp. 209-216;
96. Jung Chang, Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China (New York: Doubleday, 1991), pp. 444-446;
97. Fulang Lo, Morning Breeze: A True Story of China's Cultural Revolution (San Francisco: China Books, 1989), pp. 232-243;
98. Rae Yang, Morning Breeze: A True Story of China's Cultural Revolution op. cit., pp. 261-273.
99. Deng Xian, 'Zhongguo zhiqing meng' (The dream of China's sent-down youths), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 25, (1993), pp. 1-7;
100. Guo Dong, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit;
101. Liu Xiaomeng, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit., pp. 725-726.
102. Liu Xiaomeng, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit., pp. 822-823.
103. Mei Zhe, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.;
104. Wu Yan, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.
105. Wang Anyi, 'Destination', in Wang Anyi, Lapse of Time (San Francisco: China Books, 1988), pp. 1-24.
106. Jiang Kun et al., Lapse of Time op. cit., pp. 1721-1722;
107. Liu Xiaomeng, Lapse of Time op. cit., pp. 804-805.
108. Sha Jicai, ed., Lapse of Time op. cit., pp. 482-496.
109. Honig and Hershatter, Lapse of Time op. cit., pp. 142-143.
110. Chen Xiaoguang, 'Zhu sansan qiren qishi' (Some kind of biography of Zhu Sansan), in Jiang Kun et al., pp. 939-951.
111. Wang Mingyi, 'Nanhezhai jiushi' (The old stories at Nanhezhai), in Jiang Kun et al., pp. 122-131.
112. Honig and Hershatter, 'Nanhezhai jiushi' (The old stories at Nanhezhai), op. cit., pp. 137-166.
113. Yang Yiyong, Gongping yu xiaolu: dangdai zhongguo de shouru fenpei wenti (Justice and Efficiency: the Problem of Social Wealth Distribution in Contemporary China) (Beijing: Jinri zhongguo chubanshe, 1997), pp. 77-78;
114. Yang Fan, 'Wei disandairen zheng gongdao' (Fight justice for the third generation), Zhongguo yu shijie 12, (1997), pp. 12-13.
115. Lu Xueyi et al., 'Zhongguo jianli chengzhen zhufang xintizhi de jiben silu' (Some basic considerations on establishing a new system of China's urban housing), in Xu Xueyi and Li Peilin, eds, Zhongguo xinshiqi shehui fazhan baogao (Reports on Social Development in the Market Transition in China) (Shenyang: Liaoning renmin chubanshe, 1997), pp. 633-671;
116. also see: Li Peilin, ed., Zhongguo xinshiqi jieji jieceng baogao (Reports on Social Stratification in the Market Transition in China) (Shenyang: Liaoning renmin chubanshe, 1995), pp. 422-424.
117. Hu Sheng, Zhongguo gongchandang de qishinian (The Seventy Years of the Chinese Communist Party) (Beijing: Zhonggong dangshi chubanshe, 1991), p. 509;
118. Yang Yiyong, Zhongguo gongchandang de qishinian (The Seventy Years of the Chinese Communist Party) op. cit., pp. 66-67.
119. Zhu Qingfang, 'Zhongguo shiji shenghuo shuiping jiqi mianlin de wenti' (China's real level of living standards and related problems), in Lu Xueyi and Li Peilin, cds, op.cit., pp. 234-266.
120. For a detailed discussion of the overheated consumerism and the influence of Western lifestyles, see: Hooper, 'Zhongguo shiji shenghuo shuiping jiqi mianlin de wenti' (China's real level of living standards and related problems), op. cit., pp. 35-40, 133-157.
121. Liu Xiaomeng, 'Zhongguo shiji shenghuo shuiping jiqi mianlin de wenti' (China's real level of living standards and related problems), op. cit., pp. 785-790.
122. Fang Ping, 'Zhongguo xianjieduan de shehui liudong' (Social mobility in contemporary China), in Lu Xueyi and Li Peilin, eds, op. cit., pp. 138-162;
123. Li Yingjie, 'Zhongguo chengxiang guanxi de bianhua de chulu' (The changes and the future of China's urban-rural relations), in Lu Xueyi and Li Peilin, eds, op. cit., pp. 163-194.
124. Wang Meng, 'Wang Meng, Chen Jiangong, Li Hui tan hongweibing" (A dialogue on the Red Guards between Wang Meng, Cheng Jiangong and Li Hui), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 94, (1996), pp. 5-8.
125. Wu Yan, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.;
126. Mei Zhe, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.
127. Honig and Hershatter, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit., pp. 250-255.
128. Yang Fan, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.;
129. Mei Zhe, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit.
130. Yang Yiyong, Shiye congjibo: zhongguo jiuje fazhan baogao (The Shock Wave of the Unemployment: A Report on China's Employment) (Beijing: Jinri zhongguo chubanshe, 1997), pp. 232-233.
131. Wu Yan, Shiye congjibo: zhongguo jiuje fazhan baogao (The Shock Wave of the Unemployment: A Report on China's Employment) ( op. cit.
132. Mei Zhe, Shiye congjibo: zhongguo jiuje fazhan baogao (The Shock Wave of the Unemployment: A Report on China's Employment) ( op. cit.
133. Xin Haonian, 'Deng hou zhongguo: laosanjie ling fengsao' (Post-Deng China: the rise to prominence of the 'old three classes'), Shijie Ribao, 30 March 1997.
134. For some cases of this particular part of the Red Guards generation, see: Zhong Weiguang, Shijie Ribao, op. cit.;
135. Lu Ren, 'Guyuan sanshier nian qian: wenge zayi' (My homeland of thirty-two years ago: some recollections of the Cultural Revolution), Huaxia Wenzhai ZK 151, (1998), pp. 1-7.
136. Shi Weimin and He Lan, Huaxia Wenzhai op. cit., pp. 301-305;
137. Xiao Xiao, 'Wenhua genmin zhong de dixiao dushu yundong' (The underground reading movement during the Cultural Revolution), Huaxiao Wenzhai ZK 136, (1997), pp. 5-14.
138. Shijie Ribao, 'Rencai duanceng wenti' (The problems of talent shortage), Shijie Ribao, 24 January 1998.
139. Yang Xiaosheng, 'Duanceng weixie gongheguo de mingtian' (The break [in the scientist generations] is threatening the tomorrow of the People's Republic), Huaxia Wenzhai 399, (1998), pp. 3-8.
140. Yin Hongbiao, 'Ren dao zhongnian de hongweibing shidai' (The middle-aged Red Guards generation), Haoxia wenzhai ZK 101, (1996), pp. 11-13.
141. Guo Dong, Haoxia wenzhai op. cit.;
142. Huang Jie and Mou Xiaoguang, Haoxia wenzhai op. cit.;
143. Tan Can et al., Haoxia wenzhai op. cit.;
144. Zhou Jin, Haoxia wenzhai op. cit.