Depictions of the Cultural Revolution in Chinese Juvenile Fiction

Dear Bookbird Reader,

Adolescence is often regarded as a time of "crisis" during which the individual seeks his or her place in the world. Within historical Chinese juvenile fiction, however, the main crises appear to be located outside the individual inside the society. In this letter, I will outline the common features found in fiction for adolescents (and adults as well) depicting the events of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). This traumatic period in Chinese history marks the era when Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the Communist Party, urged the young to resist the "bourgeois elements" or "revisionists" he claimed were damaging the government and the society. The groups of Red Guards that sprang up in response to Mao's call were mainly comprised of high school and college students. Their aim was to destroy the Four Olds: old ideas, old culture, old customs and old habits. The movement resulted in great social chaos throughout China, and was very traumatic for numerous individuals, adults and children alike. Juvenile fiction about this era tends to reflect either the traumas adolescents faced during that period or the guilt of those who perpetrated violent acts.

The Cultural Revolution provided an unparalleled "free" epoch for children and teenagers. The popular idea that education was useless meant that many schools closed and teachers were dismissed. In the midst of the social chaos, parents had no time or mind to discipline their children. Without these normal constraints, there was greater freedom for adolescents to become "wild." In YA fiction about this era, this freedom is characterized as a period in which norms are dismissed and teenagers can become "beasts." Su Tong's short stories about teenagers' turbulent lives during the Cultural Revolution, such as his anthologies Memory of Mulberry Garden, The Era of Tattoo, The North of The City and Xiangchun Street written in the 1980s and 1990s depict teenagers wandering in the streets to idle away their time.¹ They imitate the political factional frictions and fight other gangs of teenagers. In Fierce Beasts by Wang Shuo (1991), the teenagers indulge in bullying weaker children, defeating their opponents and fighting for girlfriends. Eventually they commit so many errors that even they can see they are heading for disaster. It is also worth noting that, in Wang Shuo's novel, parallels are drawn between the teenage perpetrators' pursuit of power and that of the evil political authority. The children's troubled world mirrors the troubled society. These texts depict teenagers as being disturbed by the social power and disturbing the society as a result; they are unable to judge and reject the political views promoted by the authorities in power.

During the Cultural Revolution, the political authorities persecuted millions of people. Children were also persecuted, especially by their peers. In Praise for Freedom and Leisure by Liu Heng (1989), the teenagers, abandoned by the political mainstream, hide in a deserted building. Initially they seem to have escaped the turbulence of the society, but soon life within the walls of the building begins to follow the same patterns as those outside. Eventually, some of the youngsters die as a result of conspiracies or assaults by their peers. Although presented as fiction, the novel accurately depicts the impact the Cultural Revolution had in nearly every corner of the country. Another typical text is The Way to Hometown by Ai Wei (2000), which depicts a boy whose father is arrested for being a "counter-revolutionary." As a result, the boy becomes the victim of insults and bullying from other children, which ultimately results in his death. This novel shows that children who engage in political games can easily become the ignorant and ruthless accomplices of those in power.

Many families were destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, not only by outside persecution, but also because of the tensions the Cultural Revolution wrought within the family. Misled by the political mainstream or under the political pressure, children were inclined to disown parents who had political problems. In three recent novels, Whom Did the Dog Bite in 1966? by Shen Qiaosheng (2002), Living in...