Author tells of life during Cultural Revolution

Born during the Chinese New Year Festival, she was, according to tradition, destined to be a beggar or a queen. Her father gave her a name that meant lucky and beautiful in hopes she would escape the life of a beggar and have good fortune.

Ji-Li Jiang, author of the award winning, "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution," saw both the good and the bad in life while living through the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Her family was involved in the arts and enjoyed a good lifestyle before the revolution. She experienced a complete turnaround when she was shunned by friends, humiliated in front of others and even feared for the lives of those she loved.

Jiang recently spent a day at Batavia High School talking with students about her experiences and how her family dealt with the embarrassment and the fear of the government's pressure.

The high school kids came to her presentation in the usual manner, a bit of bustling and a constant chatter. When Jiang started to speak, everyone became silent, weighing every word against the horrifying images of the Chinese people being ridiculed and even tortured. She spoke of the love the Chinese people had for Chairman Mao Zedong and how they looked to him as if he were a god-like figure.

"We were told that people in the West were dying under capitalism," she said. "We felt so lucky to have Chairman Mao as our savior."

Jiang spoke of a much simpler life without conveniences such as a telephone.

"We had one phone in the neighborhood and when someone would get a call, the operator would have to leave the phone and run and tell the party that there was a call waiting for them," she said. "We would pay her 3 cents for her service."

There was no television and there was no air conditioning. Yet her life was filled with happiness surrounded by family and neighbors who were very close.

To build loyalty to his government and squash any possible dissent, Mao Zedong stirred up the Chinese students and convinced them to rebel against those who were in a higher class of life.

Jiang watched as she and her family were shunned by friends. She spoke of a time when her own father, a famous actor, was accused unfairly. He wrote a letter proclaiming his innocence but decided not to mail it, thinking it would bring more attention to him. He threw the letter in the toilet and a fellow actor retrieved it and turned him in.

The most difficult moment came when the government insisted that she turn against her father and denounce him publicly. As she told the Batavia High School students about this moment in her young life, her eyes filled with tears.

Throughout the entire ordeal of dealing with this terrible time in her life she never lost her love of country. Even after embracing the U.S. as her new country, she still speaks lovingly of the Chinese people and life before the cultural revolution.

"I tell this story because I don't want people to forget about this time in history," she said. "Only those who saw it happen can prevent it from happening again."

Through Jiang's presentation students were able to see a book come to life. They asked questions and made observations. Jiang's experiences may now be memories, but they will not be forgotten.