Nien Cheng is the author of the autobiography, Life and Death in Shanghai. This book takes place in Shanghai, China, starting around the first few days into the Cultural Revolution. Nien Cheng was a widow in her 50's working as a senior partner for Shell in Shanghai. In late 1966, Nien Cheng was arrested and her house lay looted and vandalized. She was sent to the No.1 Detention House, where staying for six and one-half years, she was punished and pressured for a false confession that she was a spy
No Going Back “It was not easy to live in Shanghai” (Anyi 137). This line, echoed throughout Wang Anyi 's short piece “The Destination” is the glowing heartbeat of the story. A refrain filled with both longing and sadness, it hints at the many struggles faced by thousands upon thousands trying to get by in the city of Shanghai. One of these lost souls, the protagonist, Chen Xin, was one of the many youths taken from his family and sent to live the in the countryside during the Cultural Revolution
To what extent did the Red Guards control the Cultural Revolution? Section A The Cultural Revolution in China started in 1966 and ended on Mao Zedong’s death in 1976, on September 9th. While headed by Mao Zedong (sometimes spelled Tse-Tung), otherwise known as Chairman Mao, the Cultural Revolution contained a powerful group who called themselves the Red Guard, student activists who killed, pillaged, and destroyed “Old Fours” for Zedong. One could argue they were the drive of the Revolution. However
actions they deserved, and the tortured victims finally inadvertently received the vengeance they deserved. Works Cited Cheng, Nien. Life and Death in Shanghai. New York, New York: The Penguin Group, 1986. Hoobler, Dorothy, Thomas Hoobler, and Michael Kort, comps. China: Regional Studies Series. Upper Saddle River, New Jersey: Globe Fearon, 1993. 174-177. Interview Mr. Nien with His Daughter. The Harbinger. 27 Mar. 2001. 21 May 2004 . Jiang, Ji Li. Red Scarf Girl. N.p.: HarperTrophy, n.d
The “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” or the “Cultural Revolution” had been a failed attempt at making China a stronger country. This revolution had destroyed China’s rich history. The period from 1966 to 1969 had been terrifying years in which the Red Guards used violence to purge China of any anti- communist sources. Mao Zedong had led the violence and turmoil in China after his failed attempt at the Great Leap Forward. He relied on China’s youth to change the traditional customs and ideas