Growing up During the Great Proletarian Revolution

Heng came from an ordinary family which lived in the city of Changsha in southeastern central province of Hunan. As the story begins, Heng's father and mother are supporters of the regime, each holding responsible lower level positions. His father, Liang Shan, is a reporter and editor of the local party newspaper, the Hunan Daily. His mother is a cadre in the Changsha Public Security Bureau. Even though their marriage is one of convenience, Heng and his two older sisters are being brought up in a stable family structure in which there is a considerable degree of warmth and mutual support. The children are largely looked after by the grandmothers, Waipo and Nai Nai. They take care of the children while their parents spend long hours at work.

In the 1957-1958 period, when Heng

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ent to the country where they join Production Team No. 9 and work as and live with peasants. Heng spends some time in Peking where he joins his Red Guard friend, Peng Ming, whom he assists doing propaganda tasks. He is thrilled when he sees Chairman Mao in a crowd and goes through a period of revolutionary fervor. As, however, the revolution becomes more violent and faction-ridden, Heng gradually becomes disaffected. He thinks that "there was much good in this crazy world, but so much more that was impossible to understand" (207). He spends some time in an adolescent gang and learns to steal to survive. He himself is finally accused of writing counter-revolutionary material and urged to confess. He is released because authorities in Peking were easing up on purges at that time. At one point, Peng comes close to committing suicide because his parents' past appears to block any future career or university education and because of the tragedies he observes all around him. He decides to live but no longer "numblessly and aimlessly" (207). Unusually tall for a Chinese, Heng excels in basketball and comes in demand by several factory-sponsored sports teams. When he returns to Peking, he discovers that Peng Ming has been arres
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Some common words found in the essay are:
Cultural Revolution, Nai Nai, Revolution Otherwise, Chairman Mao, Peng Ming, Red Guards, Bai Ying, Communist League, Childhood Heng, Proletarian Revolution, cultural revolution, peng ming, nai nai, heng family, son revolution, chinese society, peasants heng, judith shapiro,
Approximate Word count = 1623
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page)

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