Historical Context | redscarfgirl

Habibeh Marron

Historical Context

Red Scarf Girl

By Jiang Ji-Li

This is not “any“ Revolution“

“Destroying the Four Olds was a new battle, and an important one: It would keep China from losing her Communist ideals. Though we were not facing real guns or real tanks, this battle would be even harder, because our enemies, the rotten ideas and customs we were so used to, were inside ourselves” (Jiang 28–29).

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The Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was a socio-political movement mainly supported by Mao Zedong the Chairman (Wikipedia). Red Scarf Girl by Jiang Ji´Li is a novel that explores the main conflicts of a twelve-year-old girl who experience the Cultural Revolution in all ways possible. Our main character is now dealing with a new concept that means leaving her physical and psychological belongings behind, her childhood and everything she treasures is now breaking apart. Some of the basic laws that Ji´Li and her family faced during this time period were:

1. Abolition of private property and the application of all rents of land to public purposes.

2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.

3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.

4. Confiscation of the property

5. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state (Liberty Zone).

Another main conflict the modifies our author's perspective are the da-zi-bao´s that are written in school as part of the proletarian revolution, these seem to criticize every performance of “four olds“ (Shanghai Propaganda Art). In that time period being a landlord was one of the most criticized jobs in China, worse than a criminal, and for unfortunate Ji-Li comes to light that her grandfather was a landlord. This issue and her family´s black class status become a nightmare for our main character´s future. At one time of the novel, after Ji-Li's father has been arrested, she lays between the wall and the sword and has to decide to either betray and end her relationship with her family and hand them to the authorities or keep her loyalty to them and live the rest of her life against the revolution. “We cannot choose our families or our class status. But we can choose our own future“ (Jiang 198). Ji-Li chose a future with her family, she realized that it was better to work hard, take care of her two little siblings and be loyal to her parents, than any mere revolution that would cause her eternal misery.

Some connections between Animal Farm (Russian revolution) and Red Scarf Girl (Chinese Cultural Revolution):

Chairman Mao Represents Napoleon,
The Propaganda is like Squealer,
Communism is like Animalism,
Destroying Four Olds are like the Commandments/ Things to get rid of,
Red Guards are symbolizing the Puppies,
The People are like Boxer and how he says “Napoleon is always right"

In the Red Scarf Girl there are many connections. High officials and followers of Chairman Mao were addressed as Comrade. In Animal Farm Squealer Napoleon and the other animals that followed Napoleon were addressed as Comrade. Another connection I made was that the "Four Olds" were Jones way of doing things and the "Four News" were Napoleon's way of doing things in the farm.

This masterpiece is the winner of books for Young Adults, 1998 Parents' Choice Gold Award, 1998 Books of Distinction, and many more (GoodReads). For Jiang Ji-li, the Revolution didn't end until she was 22, therefore it had a great impact on her childhood. In summary Red Scarf Girl is a novel that shows how changes might affect someone's life so much, though times will always get better.