An Enduring Revolution

“ It was an impressive period for my sad memories,” My mother said. This was a dark and painful part of Chinese history, because the Great Cultural Revolution destroyed a generation’s lives. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution, was a social movement that took place from 1966 through to 1976. Mao Zedong and the Chinese Communalist Party mislead the whole country of China. Their actions caused millions of people to die and made many families homeless. A lot of Chinese became poor because the Red Guard confiscated their valuable possessions. On the other hand, most of the Chinese were transferred to the countryside and accepted the labor reform. The Great Cultural Revolution affected my family deeply for a long period.

The Cultural Revolution was the biggest turning point of my grandfather’s life. My grandfather was a happy and wealthy person before the revolution that Mao Zedong and community party took power. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth. His family was very rich, so he grew up in a big house with servants. He earned the bachelor degree in chemistry in the 1940s and became a journalist, and then he joined in The Chinese Nationalist Party in the 1940s too. Everything seemed to go smoothly for him until the Great Cultural Revolution broke out. Because my grandfather had a lot of money and he was a member of The Chinese Nationalist Party, he was arrested and was led through the streets. He was insulted and abused him in front of the public by the red guards of Mao Zedong. His house was also confiscated by the red guards in the 1960s. He lost everything except his family. His whole family was transferred to the countryside and was forced to do heavy work as punishment for my grandfather’s politics. His life had turned upside down. He still feels pain when he thinks of this event now.

In addition, my mother’s family life underwent a big change and they had to live poorly as well. When my grandmother, my mother, and her sisters arrived in the countryside, they had to face the stern environment around them. Because they had lived high quality lives, they were not used to accepting those conditions. My grandmother had to take the heavy burden of life. She did several jobs to support her family, such as farming and cleaning the streets. Therefore, her age must faster than the other women of the same age. My mother and her sisters have sad memories of their childhood because they had little food and a lack of education. They were only allowed to learn the quotations from Mao Zedong, and just knew one English sentence: “Long live Chairman Mao!” They had done lots of farm work for seven years instead of getting an education.

I will never forget the expression on their faces when they were talking about their past. As a daughter of my mother, I cannot experience her past, but I can understand her pain. She should have had a happy childhood like me, but the Cultural Revolution destroyed her future. Some effects of poor education, and physical labor were that my mother and her sisters never had a chance fully to engage them in academic activity. I think this is the biggest regret in their lives. When I think about my mother’s life, I realize I need to cherish my happy life. I was born in the 1980s; I can study and have freedom, but nobody has ever forced me to do something I did not want to do. I still remember the experience of my mother’s family and their “hard-won happiness”.

No one wants to be a sacrifice for a political struggle, but people must become strong once they get involved in it. Even though an event may affects them profoundly, or they may become an innocent person who suffers the unfair life, they need to persist in it until the day of freedom comes, just like my mother’s family. Although they passed through hard times, they still live positively and united as one. There is not an absolutely safe place in the world, but people must learn how to protect themselves and their families when danger comes. After my grandfather was released, he said, “Only you can save yourself, just keep going!”