Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution
By Ji-li Jiang
Chairman Mao Zedung, founding father of the People's Republic of China, has been firmly in control of the communist party since 1949. Ji-li Jiang is a gifted student and athlete, but in 1966 when she is 10 years old, her family is connected to bourgeois interests, and her parents are publicly humiliated. Deeply ashamed, Ji-li remains loyal to Mao even when her home is ransacked and her family is shamed. She writes of her family's experience and her response of embarrassment. In the epilogue, she finally explains that she'd been brainwashed by the regime and her experience stands as a consequence of what can happen when dictatorial leaders show a lack of concern for human rights, a disregard for the family, and an indoctrination that exacts loyal party members to put government above all.
This is a book geared to young adults, but its message is for all ages.
This is a book geared to young adults, but its message is for all ages.
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