Son of the Revolution by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro

"You're a human being, not an animal. You have the right to be loved" (262). "Son of the Revolution" by Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro was a book that showed how inhumane many of the aspects of Chinese life were during the Cultural Revolution. The book followed Liang Heng through many of his childhood memories to his departure from China in his twenties. The book applied a real face to the important movements during the Cultural Revolution, the effects that "the cult of Mao" had on society and Heng, and the way the period affected Heng's personal family life.

The first major movement in the Cultural Revolution was the "Hundred Flowers Campaign" (later called the "Anti-Rightist Movement"), which took place from 1956 to 1958. "Its official purpose was to give the Party a chance to correct its shortcomings by listening to the masses' criticisms" (8). Heng's father was out in the country reporting on something with the peasants, so he escaped having to criticize the Party. His mother, however, had the job of validating arrest warrants for the whole city. She did as she was told and suggested three minor changes for the Party. Then, suddenly she was said to have "Rightist thought," and was sent off to a labor camp where they broke her down, attempting to "re-educate" her. This movement was a plot by the government to weed out all Rightist thought. In actuality the government ended up just punishing people who had committed no crimes. Many of these people, such as Heng's mother, were actually very dedicated to the Party and communism.

The second major movement began in 1958 and lasted through 1959. It was the "Great Leap Forward." This movement was one of the most destructive to China. It was a movement that w...

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...and scrawled instructions that approval should be sent down via Premier Zhao Zi-yang" (284).

The main problem for the Liang family was that they had been scattered. Father and Mother divorced, Liang off at college, and the two girls (although they later lived near Liang Shan) were off for a long time in the country. This separation made hard times even harder.

"Son of the Revolution" showed how inhumane many of the aspects of Chinese life were during the Cultural Revolution. It followed the important movements during the Cultural Revolution, the effects that "the cult of Mao" had on society and Heng, and the way the period affected Heng's personal family life. But most of all "Son of the Revolution" showed us the horrible way China treated its people during this time period. "You're a human being, not an animal. You have the right to be loved" (262).