City of Stirling Library Services

The cowshed, memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Ji Xianlin ; translated from the Chinese by Chenxin Jiang ; introduction by Zha Jianying

eng

Includes bibliographical references

autobiography

no index present

non fiction

The cowshed

bibliography

Ji Xianlin ; translated from the Chinese by Chenxin Jiang ; introduction by Zha Jianying

New York Review book

memories of the Chinese Cultural Revolution

The Chinese Cultural Revolution began in 1966 and led to a ten-year-long reign of Maoist terror throughout China, in which millions died or were sent to labor camps in the country or subjected to other forms of extreme discipline and humiliation. Ji Xianlin was one of them. "The Cowshed" is Ji s harrowing account of his imprisonment in 1968 on the campus of Peking University and his subsequent disillusionment with the cult of Mao. As the campus spirals into a political frenzy, Ji, a professor of Eastern languages, is persecuted by lecturers and students from his own department. His home is raided, his most treasured possessions are destroyed, and Ji himself must endure hours of humiliation at brutal struggle sessions. He is forced to construct a cowshed (a makeshift prison for intellectuals who were labeled class enemies) in which he is then housed with other former colleagues. His eyewitness account of this excruciating experience is full of sharp irony, empathy, and remarkable insights into a central event in Chinese history. In contemporary China, the Cultural Revolution remains a delicate topic, little discussed, but if a Chinese citizen has read one book on the subject, it is likely to be Ji s memoir. When "The Cowshed" was published in China in 1998, it quickly became a bestseller. The Cultural Revolution had nearly disappeared from the collective memory. Prominent intellectuals rarely spoke openly about the revolution, and books on the subject were almost nonexistent

Introduction -- The Socialist education movement -- June 4th, 1966 -- Choosing a label that fit -- A half-year respite -- Joining the fray -- A house raid -- On the brink of suicide -- At the eleventh hour -- Reform through labor begins -- The great struggle session -- Taiping Village -- Building our own prison -- In the cowshed (1) -- In the cowshed (2) -- In the cowshed (3) -- Relocating the cowshed -- Half liberated -- Fully liberated -- Afterthoughts and reflections

adult