My family rarely talks about the Cultural Revolution in China as it was not remembered fondly on their end. Mostly my family members think of the Cultural Revolution as a terrible time of disruption as some of them were forced to go to the countryside to work in areas where there was no food. Many of the family members ended up scattered around the world because they just wanted out of the chaos and starvation.
On the other hand, mom in particular was very happy with Mao. She thought that he was rather liberal and believed in equal rights for women. She rather liked his policies, especially because she was one of the youngest girls in our family.
Reading this article during Chinese New Years made me feel like my mom and grandfather were around and arguing over Chinese political issues as they always did during family events.
Not sure if all of the items mentioned in this news magazine article are true because there seems to be some literary license, reliance on interviews, and ideas subject to verification but it was very interesting to learn the following:
- Mao did not like fruit.
- Mao re-gifted the mango from a Prime Minister of Pakistan to ordinary workers.
- Mao sent 3,000 workers to Qing Hua University armed with nothing but “the Little Red Book,” to take on students armed with spears and sulfuric acid.
- Mangoes were paraded around China and immortalized in wax.
- Mangoes were not common fruits in the 1960s. (Especially mind boggling for me because I think that some of the best mangoes come from the Guang Dong area).
China’s Curious Cult of the Mango – http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-35461265
Current Mood: Feeling warm and fuzzy hashing out historical political and familial references with my favorite relatives in China.