Da Zi Baos, the cause of division between a nation

Da Zi Baos, were very common in China during the cultural revolution. They were a form of propaganda that Mao's followers used to humiliate "anti-revolutionaries" or to promote Mao. Da Zi Baos were often used in school environments. Ji-Li Jiang, the author of The Red Scarf Girl had to write them when she was in school in China. For a while, all classes were canceled and the students had to write Da Zi Baos all day. Many of them were about their teachers and how they had been wronged by them. Da Zi Baos were just another way to create a division between the revolutionaries, and the citizens with a bad class status.

Mao Zedong's Speech

Mao gave the following speech June 30, 1949, in commemoration of the Chinese Communist Party's twenty eighth anniversary. Communists the world over are wiser than the bourgeoisie, they understand the laws governing the existence and development of things, they understand dialectics and they can see farther. The bourgeoisie does not welcome this truth because it does not want to be overthrown. This speech tells that the Communist Party are celebrating the years of commemoration. I believe that Mao has a chance to tell his country that he has the right to do these things. People may agree on this, people may not agree on this, depending on if they believe Mao.

Red Scarf Girl Book Review

The Red Scarf Girl by Ji-Li Jiang is a memoir of the cultural revolution in China from 1966 to 1968. The book shows what life was like for a black family during this time in China. A black family in china is a family that has a socially unacceptable background, or was anti-revolutionary. Any actions done by the regular citizen that slowed or inconvenienced the red guards or a member of the communist party was viewed as being anti-revolutionary. Because of this, Black families were popping up everywhere.

Ji-li Jiang writes of a terrible time in the history of China. Everyone was brainwashed by Mao's greatness that the Chinese began to change the way they thought, dressed, acted and were educated, and if they didn't, they were marked as Four Olds and were humiliated in front of their family and friends by teen red guards. Four Olds are customs that are viewed as being from before the revolution. Mao's philosophy was in with the new, and out with the old. All of the customs that before the revolution were tossed out. Her family went from a success story to being blamed for a grandfather being a landlord which was considered the worst, their furniture and their cloths was taken. Also, their father was arrested and they were questioned as enemies. It was a sobering and scary story by a wonderful, bright, intelligent girl who chose to stand by her family and not renounce them. Ji-li Jiang was a brave young girl that had the power to protect her family.

The book was very well written. As a reader, I was really able to connect with Ji-Li Jiang and her struggles through this time in China. It was easy to understand how Ji-Li Jiang felt throughout the entire book. It really gave me a sense of what what the Chinese culture was like after the cultural revolution. However, the book stopped very abruptly, there were still a few loose ends that never got tied together. Despite this lack of a good ending, the book was an ok read. I would recommend it to anyone who is interested in this time in China.