Born Red

Born Red: A Chronicle of the Cultural Revolution is an autobiography of Gao Yuan (高 原 Gāo Yuán, born 1952) and his recollection of experiences during the Cultural Revolution in China. Stanford University Press is the publisher. The foreword was written by William Joseph.

Stanley Rosen of the Journal of Asian Studies said that the book was aimed at audiences broader than just specialists in China. Rosen said that the book "does not provide enough chronological detail or related political information to anchor the general reader in the larger milieu" but that the foreword, which he called "admirable," "fills in most of these gaps."

Lucian W. Pye, author of a book review for the The China Quarterly, wrote that Born Red "is a step-by-step, blow-by-blow account of how a bright Chinese middle-school student went about "making revolution," the name Red Guards gave their blend of high jinks and vicious cruelty." He argued that the book "is another big nail in the coffin of the once popular theory that the Cultural Revolution was a consciousness raising [sic], idealism inspiring movement."

Structure

Within the book, Gao Yuan author changed the names of all of the local place names. He also changed the names of all of the names of his classmates because they "all, innocent or guilty, were caught up in a movement beyond anyone's ability to control."

The primary setting is Yizhen Number One Middle School in Yizhen, a county seat in Hebei. Because of its location, the central government of the People's Republic of China has indirect influence in the events documented in the book.

Story

At first the students at the school of Gao Jianhua (now Gao Yuan) gain the power to attack their teachers and leave school ("[[play hooky"). Pye wrote that the "playfulness" of the movement decays into a "wanderlust of street-smart, child delinquents" who abuse others and kill defenseless people.

Characters

Gao family

• Gao Jianhua (S:高建华, T:高建華, P: Gāo Jiànhuá)
  • Gao Jianhua, born in 1952, is a member of Class 85 of Yizhen Number One Middle School, and the main character. Jianhua, who lives in Yizhen, is 14 years old when the Cultural Revolution begins.
  • The author, Gao Yuan, was originally known as Gao Jianhua (Jianhua means "construct China"), but he changed his name because, after the Cultural Revolution, he believed that it was too common. Gao's grandfather had an alternate name, after the poet Qu Yuan. Gao also said that his new given name means highland, which describes the edge of the loess plateau in northern China, where he was born.
• Gao Shangui (高山桂 Gāo Shānguì)
  • Shangui is Jianhua's father. His name means "mountain laurel." He serves as a county government head in Hebei.
• Gao Weihua (S:高维华, T:高维華, P: Gāo Wéihuá)
  • Jianhua's older brother, born around 1950 during the beginning of the Korean War. His name means "safeguard China."
• Gao Zhihua (S:高指华, T:高指華, P: Gāo Zhǐhuá)
  • Jianhua's first younger brother. His name means "command China."
• Gao Xinghua (S:高兴华, T:高興華, P: Gāo Xīnghuá)
  • Jianhua's second younger brother. His name means "make China flourish."
• Gao Meiyuan
  • Jianhua's first younger sister. Her name suggests beauty and refinement.
• Gao Yiyuan
  • Jianhua's second younger sister. Her name is a reference to Yizhen, where she was born.

Yizhen Number One Middle School people

Yizhen Number One Middle School (nicknamed "Yizhong") is Gao Jianhua's school, and many of the main characters originate from the school.

Gail Hershatter of The American Historical Review said that Gao Yuan's peers "were capable of extreme dedication, courage, generosity, selfishness, and murderous violence," whether as individuals or as part of the political factions that arose. Many of the members of Class 85 were known amongst each other by a series of nicknames.

• Erchou (二臭 Èrchòu)
  • Erchou is a member of Class 85. His nickname means "two foul odors" and refers to his flatulence. Gao Yuan said that Erchou blamed sweet potatoes for the predicament. Erchou later becomes Jianhua's ally in their Cultural Revolution political faction.
• Little Bawang (小霸王 Xiǎo Bàwáng)
  • Little Bawang is a member of Class 85. His nickname means "little overlord" and refers to a general from the Three Kingdoms period. Bawang becomes a member of a rival political faction.
• Little Mihu (小迷糊 Xiǎo Míhu)
  • Little Mihu is a member of Class 85. His nickname means "little muddle," and he received it because he was accident prone and often tripped over chamberpots. Mihu becomes a member of a rival political faction.
• Wen Xiu - The Class 85 homeroom teacher
• Lin Sheng - The vice principal
• Wuxiang (五香 Wǔxiāng) - The cook, who likes the male students. His name means "five spices."
• Shuanggen (S:双根, T:雙根, P: Shuānggēn) - His name means "double roots." He travels with Jianhua to the urbanized areas. He later joins the rival political faction.
• Sanxi (三喜 Sānxǐ)
  • His name means "triple happiness."
• Yuanchao (援朝 Yuáncháo)
  • His name means "aid Korea."
• Kangmei (抗美 Kàngměi)
  • Yuanchao's younger sister. Her name means "resist the United States."
• Huantian (S:换天, T:換天, P: Huàntiān)
  • Her name means "changing heaven."

Reception

Gail Hershatter, author of the "Born Red/Life and Death in Shanghai" book review of the The American Historical Review, said that Born Red "stands out for the immediacy of its portrait of the Red Guards" and "is powerful, compelling, and deeply disturbing precisely because it refuses to impose retrospective interpretation or an adult voice in the events of those years."

Stanley Rosen of the Journal of Asian Studies said that even though "[one] might argue that [Born Red] is less exciting than The Revenge of Heaven; less timely than Red Guard; less personally moving than Son of the Revolution, which also covered a wider span; and less politically sophisticated than Les années rouges. Rosen said that, despite this, the book is "extremely well written and absorbing, adds considerably to our understanding of this period" and "[in] some respects," "surpasses the other accounts." Rosen adds that "[n]o previous work conveys the absurdities of the Red Guard movement as effectively as Born Red."

References

• Hershatter, Gail. "Born Red/Life and Death in Shanghai" (Book Review) (alternate title: "Reviews of Books: Born Red"). The American Historical Review. June 30, 1989. Volume 94, Issue 3. p. 830. ISSN 0002-8762. Retrieved on March 21, 2012. Available at EBSCOHost (Academic Search Complete and Military & Government Collection) and Jstor.
• Pye, Lucian W. ""Born Red: A Chronicle of the Cultural Revolution". By Gao Yuan. Forward by William A. Joseph" (Book Review). The China Quarterly. June 1, 1988. Issue 114. p. 291. ISSN: 0305-7410. Available at Jstor.
• Rosen, Stanley. "Book Reviews: Life and Death in Shanghai / Born Red." The Journal of Asian Studies. May 1988. Volume 47, Issue 2. p. 339-341. Available at ProQuest.

Further reading

• Ansley, Clive M. "BORN RED: A Chronicle of teh the Cultural Revolution [sic]. By Gao Yuan." (Book Review). Pacific Affairs. January 1, 1988. Volume 61, Issue 3. p. 495. ISSN: 0030-851X
• Tung, Timothy. "Paperbacks: Beware the Children of Mao." The New York Times Book Review. May 3, 1987. p. 34. ISSN: 0028-7806. Available at Academic Onefile, General Onefile, and Popular Magazines InfoTrac of Gale Cengage Learning (Document number: GALE|A176142645).
• Unger, Jonathan. "Born Red: A Chronicle of the Cultural Revolution", by Gao Yuan" (Book Review). The Australian Journal of Chinese Affairs. January 1, 1988. Issue 19, Page 366. ISSN: 0156-7365 Available at Jstor Chicago Journals.