Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

Mao wanted to destroy the Four Olds—Old Ideas, Old Customs, Old Culture, and Old Habits—because they symbolized pre-revolution China and the old power structures. This elimination was a key part of...

In Red Scarf Girl, what the narrator means by the term “political excellence” is political reliability. Jiang has been handpicked by her school's Red Guard Committee to represent the school in the...

The "Four Olds" in "Red Scarf Girl" are old ideas, old habits, old customs, and old culture. During the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards, under Communist Party orders, aimed to eradicate these...

Ji-li initially supports Chairman Mao and the Communist Party, appreciating the idea of a reformed cultural and political landscape. However, she becomes disenchanted when her school activities focus...

Ji-li's beliefs significantly influence her choices, as she struggles with the expectations of the Cultural Revolution. She refuses to denounce her teachers and father, despite pressure to conform to...

Mao despises the "five black categories" because they represent groups he believed opposed Communist ideals, such as landlords, counterrevolutionaries, and rightists. In the cultural revolution...

In Red Scarf Girl, propaganda is exemplified by the slogan "STUDY HARD AND ADVANCE EVERY DAY" displayed under Chairman Mao's picture in classrooms, promoting pro-social values like hard work and...

Ji-li faced the conflict of criticizing her teachers when asked to write a da-zi-bao during the Cultural Revolution. Unable to find faults in her teachers, she decided to copy a newspaper article...

Teacher Zhang wanted Ji-li to attend a school meeting organized by the Red Guard Committee to discuss a Class Education Exhibition aimed at exposing class enemies and highlighting societal...

Family relationships are changed by the atmosphere of distrust and resentment during the cultural revolution in Red Scarf Girl. Ji-li finds herself resenting members of her family because of their...

Ji-Li Jiang's attitude toward the Chinese government evolves from loyalty to disillusionment during the Cultural Revolution. Initially, she is a staunch supporter, but as she witnesses the injustices...

During China's Cultural Revolution, lower class status was desirable because the upper class was blamed for the country's problems and seen as dangerous. Class status was determined by one's family's...

The Precious Red Book in "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" refers to a small book containing important sayings by Chairman Mao Zedong. During the Cultural Revolution in communist...

Jiang's perspective on being asked to join the Class Education Exhibition in Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution is that she's unworthy of such an honor. As she tells teacher Zhang,...