![]() Our groundless criticisms were then written into “big character” posters – a popular way of criticizing “class enemies” and spreading propaganda – 60 of them in total, which covered the exterior walls of our classroom building. Others accused her of being a Christian because the character “Ji” in her name could refer to Christianity. I pulled accusations out of nowhere, saying she was a heartless and cold woman, which was entirely false. ![]() I was one of the most active students – if not the most revolutionary – when the class held a struggle session against Ms. I regret most what we did to our homeroom teacher Zhang Jilan. Murdered for Mao: The killings China ‘forgot’Īs Red Guards, we subjected anyone perceived as “bourgeois” or “revisionist” to brutal mental and physical attacks. It would be my last normal day of school. I left more slowly, holding hands with my best friend Haiyun as we followed everyone else outside. Two boys rushed out of door, heading to the playground yelling something. “Get out of the classroom! Devote yourselves to the Cultural Revolution!” ![]() “Fellow students, we must closely follow Chairman Mao,” the speaker bellowed. It was my first year of junior high, I was just 13. On May 16, 1966, I was practicing calligraphy with my 37 classmates when a high-pitched voice came from the school’s loudspeaker, announcing the central government’s decision to start what it called a “Cultural Revolution.” A recent photo of Yu Xiangzhen Courtesy Yu Xiangzhen
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