The Criticism of the Cultural Revolution and the Maoist Regime

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Dai Sijie was sent to a re-education camp in Rural Sichuan from 1971 to 1974 because he was born into an educated family. Due to this experience, Sijie wrote Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress which tells the story of two boys undergoing re-education during the Cultural Revolution. The creation of Scar Literature began following the end of the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong.(“Post-Mao Years”) “Scar Literature was intended to be cathartic…[and] contained depressing or horrific accounts of life during the Cultural Revolution…[and] each personal story effectively constitutes a criticism of their policies” (“Scar Literature”). These characteristics of Scar Literature are present in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress.
Following Mao Zedong’s death, “the rise of the moderate Deng Xiaoping created new opportunities for public expression” (“Scar Literature”). People began to write about their lives under Mao which led to the emergence of Scar Literature. The main characteristics of Scar Literature are the criticism of the Cultural Revolution and the Maoist regime, details of the suffering that people went through during Mao’s rule and the Cultural Revolution and catharsis. The criticism of the Cultural Revolution and the Maoist regime is obvious in every piece of Scar Literature. However, this criticism is likely indirect because direct attacks on the Maoist government would not have been received well by the new leader of China. (“Scar Literature”) The details of the suffering that people went through during Mao’s rule and the Cultural Revolution may include the experiences that people had during that time period like persecution and the emotions that were felt during that time as a result of living under Mao...

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...inese Seamstress (Sijie) - Author Bio." Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. LitLovers, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. .
Dai, Sijie. Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress. Trans. Ina Rilke. 1st ed. New York: Anchor, 2002. Print.
Guppy, Shusha. "A Classical Reeducation." The World & I 17.10 (2002): 246-50. ProQuest. Web. 6 May 2014.
Kempf, Andrea. "After Pearl Buck: Modern Chinese Fiction." Library Journal 1 Feb. 2002: 164. Literature Resource Center. Web. 6 May 2014.
"Post-Mao Years." Post-Mao Years (1976- Present). Mount Holyoke College, n.d. Web. 08 May 2014.
"Scar Literature." Chinese Revolution. Alpha History, n.d. Web. 06 May 2014. .

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