Historical Artifacts Activity Red Scarf Girl English 6
Slide 2
The Cultural Revolution The Cultural Revolution began in 1966
and was created by Chairman Mao in an attempt to rid China of the
four olds. These were old ideas, old customs, old culture, and old
habits.
Slide 3
Bound Feet
Slide 4
This is a picture of a womans bound feet. A young girls feet
were bound to keep them from growing larger, so they could fit into
these small, delicate shoes. This was considered to be a symbol of
status and beauty up until the 1800s in China. Some older women
(grandmas) in the RED SCARF GIRL have bound feet.
Slide 5
Red Lacquer Gold Leaf Trunks
Slide 6
This type of ornate furniture was often given as a wedding
present, due to its expensive nature. These chests are lacquered
with red paint and then detailed with intricate golden leaf
patterns. Why would this make such a nice wedding present?
Slide 7
Mao Ze-dongs Red Book
Slide 8
This little red book was a common handout explaining Chairman
Mao Ze-dongs ideology about the Cultural Revolution to the people.
It featured his quotes and beliefs and people were required to
carry the book around at all times, in order to praise Chairman
Mao.
Slide 9
The Red Guard
Slide 10
The Red Guard was an appointed group of school-age children who
enforced Chairman Maos rules during the Cultural Revolution. For
example, these children helped raid peoples houses and write
da-zi-baos DA-ZI-BAO -> big character posters that publicly
displayed peoples crimes against the Cultural Revolution
Slide 11
Four Old Sign Burning
Slide 12
This is an example of a business sign burning that was
considered to have a four old name or affiliation. Red Guards would
take anything that was against the Revolution and destroy it in
public Book burnings were also very common during this time period;
anything that could be connected to the four olds was seen as a
threat to the Cultural Revolution.
Slide 13
Cultural Revolution Propaganda Poster
Slide 14
A propaganda poster is an advertisement encouraging people to
believe or do something. This poster shows a young Cultural
Revolutionary working hard to crush the traditional symbols of the
four olds. Propaganda posters played a major role in supporting the
many campaigns that were designed to mobilize the people. Most of
them showed people displaying model behavior.
Slide 15
Mao Ze-dong Mao Ze-dong was the Chinese military and political
leader who led the Chinese communists to victory in the countrys
civil war. He died in September of 1976. Some suggest that violent
attacks on Chinese citizens had the official blessings of Mao.
Slide 16
The Cultural Revolution During the Cultural Revolution, schools
were greatly affected. The brightest students were sent to the
lowest standardized school if their background was unclear. During
this period of time, students were treated unequally and were not
given much choice in their future.
Slide 17
Ji-Li Jiang Red Scarf Girl is about a girl living through the
Cultural Revolution in China (1966-1976). She has to make many hard
decisions and has to choose between supporting her family or
promising allegiance to Chairman Mao (the leader of Communist
China) and the good of Communist China. Ji-Li Jiang has written
many books, Red Scarf Girl being the first. Ji-Li has many
childhood memories of the Cultural Revolution and she brings them
to life in her books. She also talks at schools and conferences
about her past experiences.
Slide 18
At age twelve, Ji-li Jiang had everything to look forward to -
especially continued success in junior high school. She and her
parents believed that a girl in Chairman Mao Ze- dong's New China
could go far with so much intelligence and talent. However, in
1966, the start of the Cultural Revolution changed all that. Ji-Li
Jiang
Slide 19
Ji-li Jiang and her family were persecuted and humiliated when
the old ways and ideas were suddenly deemed undesirable, Anyone
with ties with the Jiang family became suspect. Because Ji-li
Jiang's grandfather had been a landlord, her entire family was seen
as being opposed to the new values of the Communist Party. Ji-li
Jiang is forced to choose between her family and her future in
Communist China. Ji-Li Jiang continued