WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.580 --> 00:00:03.620 align:center line:-1Interviewer: Hi, how are you? Thank you for accepting my interview. 2 00:00:03.630 --> 00:00:14.410 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Could you tell me which decade you were born in? You don’t need to say the exact year. Just “1950s” or “1960s” is okay. 3 00:00:14.420 --> 00:00:17.500 align:center line:-1 I was born in the 1950s. 4 00:00:17.510 --> 00:00:24.640 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Which areas of China did you mainly living in during the ten years between 1966 and 1976? 5 00:00:24.650 --> 00:00:28.760 align:center line:-1 1966, I was in Beijing. 6 00:00:28.770 --> 00:00:32.550 align:center line:-1 When the Cultural Revolution began, we had just graduated from elementary school, 7 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:40.250 align:center line:-1 and then we went to middle school for a while, but did not receive a good education. 8 00:00:40.260 --> 00:00:50.530 align:center line:-1 In 1969, I went to Heilongjiang Corps with many of my classmates to join a production team. 9 00:00:50.540 --> 00:00:55.650 align:center line:-1 I stayed in Division 4, Regiment 43, for four years. 10 00:00:55.660 --> 00:01:06.020 align:center line:-1 And in 1973, I was selected to study at Beijing Foreign Studies College, as a Worker-Peasant-Soldier student, majoring in English. 11 00:01:06.030 --> 00:01:15.220 align:center line:-1 From 1973 to 1976, the Zhonglianbu selected me to be translator. 12 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:19.870 align:center line:-1 So I was sent to Bengal and studied the Bengali language there for three years. 13 00:01:19.880 --> 00:01:22.350 align:center line:-1 Basically this is what happened. 14 00:01:22.360 --> 00:01:36.050 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: I believe you went through a lot during those 10 years, and probably could talk about your memories for hours or even days. 15 00:01:36.060 --> 00:01:51.070 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: If you are only given about 10 minutes, what are the most important events you want to tell us about those 10 years? 16 00:01:51.080 --> 00:02:02.250 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Anything that has impacted your life or that you want to share with us. 17 00:02:02.260 --> 00:02:07.770 align:center line:-1 I want to know exactly what you are most interested in. 18 00:02:07.780 --> 00:02:14.940 align:center line:-1 Those ten years were long, and I did a lot and went to many places. 19 00:02:14.950 --> 00:02:29.350 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Just your direct responses -- which memories come up first and which do you most want to share with us? 20 00:02:29.360 --> 00:02:34.480 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: You don't need to consider what we are most interested in; it totally depends on you. 21 00:02:34.490 --> 00:02:44.590 align:center line:-1 There are so many special memories that are too deep to be erased. 22 00:02:44.600 --> 00:02:50.480 align:center line:-1 But in particular, there is one thing I can never forget. 23 00:02:50.490 --> 00:02:56.100 align:center line:-1 I will talk a little bit about it, maybe it won’t take 10 minutes. 24 00:02:56.110 --> 00:02:57.990 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Sure, no problem. 25 00:02:58.000 --> 00:03:03.200 align:center line:-1 I went to Yucai Elementary School. 26 00:03:03.210 --> 00:03:19.020 align:center line:-1 I think at that time, Yucai, Yuying, and Jingshan were probably the top three elementary schools in Beijing. 27 00:03:19.030 --> 00:03:21.260 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Yes -- they are all elite schools. 28 00:03:21.270 --> 00:03:27.580 align:center line:-1 I don't know how elite they are now, but back in my time they were really for the elites. 29 00:03:27.590 --> 00:03:49.410 align:center line:-1 Most of my classmates' parents were senior revolutionaries, cadres in revolutionary areas, senior intellectuals, and the leaders of important CCP units. 30 00:03:49.420 --> 00:04:02.990 align:center line:-1 So we received the best treatment and protection at school. 31 00:04:03.000 --> 00:04:09.410 align:center line:-1 Lots of my classmates participated in the large-scale production of “The East is Red." 32 00:04:09.420 --> 00:04:15.890 align:center line:-1 Even during the “[three years of] natural disasters” period, we never starved. 33 00:04:15.900 --> 00:04:19.750 align:center line:-1 The Cultural Revolution shook our world. 34 00:04:19.760 --> 00:04:34.410 align:center line:-1 All of a sudden, many of my classmates’ families fell into an abyss, becoming targets of struggle. 35 00:04:34.420 --> 00:04:44.920 align:center line:-1 Several of my classmates’ fathers committed suicide within a year or two before 1968. 36 00:04:44.930 --> 00:04:51.310 align:center line:-1 I won't talk about that now. I'll share one of my personal experiences. 37 00:04:51.320 --> 00:04:57.660 align:center line:-1 After the Cultural Revolution began, schools were closed, and everyone stayed at home. 38 00:04:57.670 --> 00:05:11.200 align:center line:-1 Some classmates directed their anger at teachers, thinking teachers turned them into the "seedlings of Revisionism." 39 00:05:11.210 --> 00:05:15.180 align:center line:-1 There was a teacher named Zhao Run; she was our Chinese teacher. 40 00:05:15.190 --> 00:05:21.410 align:center line:-1 She was severely impacted [by students' anger.] 41 00:05:21.420 --> 00:05:31.560 align:center line:-1 Now she is a very well-respected and beloved teacher, who is excellent in literature and has a real love for students. 42 00:05:31.570 --> 00:05:37.710 align:center line:-1 So, how did I meet with misfortune? As a child I was pretty good at writing. 43 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:43.960 align:center line:-1 Some of my essays were selected by [my teacher] to be read aloud in front of the class. 44 00:05:43.970 --> 00:05:48.340 align:center line:-1 Although I was not the only one [whose essays were selected], 45 00:05:48.350 --> 00:05:55.180 align:center line:-1 ...somehow some of the boys thought I should be punished, too. 46 00:05:55.190 --> 00:06:08.820 align:center line:-1 One day -- I was 14 then -- someone came to my home, saying we needed to go to school to discuss how to join the Red Guards. 47 00:06:08.830 --> 00:06:16.140 align:center line:-1 I had a bad feeling -- I don’t know why -- but I felt obliged to go. 48 00:06:16.150 --> 00:06:22.500 align:center line:-1 So we biked to Yucai Elementary School. 49 00:06:22.510 --> 00:06:29.290 align:center line:-1 After we got there, four boys locked me in a classroom. 50 00:06:29.300 --> 00:06:35.610 align:center line:-1 They took their belts off and whipped me bitterly. 51 00:06:35.620 --> 00:06:38.880 align:center line:-1 My back was covered in wounds. 52 00:06:38.890 --> 00:06:50.230 align:center line:-1 I don’t remember what they said; nobody ever told me why they whipped me. 53 00:06:50.240 --> 00:06:52.060 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Were they your classmates? 54 00:06:52.070 --> 00:06:54.070 align:center line:-1 Yes, they were all my classmates. 55 00:06:54.080 --> 00:07:00.520 align:center line:-1 I remember very well. They are all very polite to me now. 56 00:07:00.530 --> 00:07:11.380 align:center line:-1 I was really shocked. I felt I could not tell my mom; it would hurt her too much. 57 00:07:11.390 --> 00:07:18.390 align:center line:-1 So I found my classmate, Ping. I showed her the injuries on my back. 58 00:07:18.400 --> 00:07:31.870 align:center line:-1 It was in the summer. Then, we went to the Shichahai Lake to swim and dive. 59 00:07:31.880 --> 00:07:38.770 align:center line:-1 We jumped from a three-meter, then a five-meter, and then finally a ten-meter platform. 60 00:07:38.780 --> 00:07:40.990 align:center line:-1 We felt so scared, looking down. 61 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:48.790 align:center line:-1 At that time, Ping's father, a senior cadre of the Central Propaganda Department, had killed himself at age 42, by jumping from a building. 62 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:52.350 align:center line:-1 He left five children behind. Ping was the youngest one. 63 00:07:52.360 --> 00:07:57.460 align:center line:-1 So when we were standing on the ten-meter platform, we felt we must jump into the water. 64 00:07:57.470 --> 00:08:09.860 align:center line:-1 That was such a kind of implacable sadness. We had no way to vent, no way to heal the pain in our hearts. 65 00:08:09.870 --> 00:08:14.180 align:center line:-1 So we jumped from the ten-meter platform over and over. 66 00:08:14.190 --> 00:08:18.460 align:center line:-1 No matter how frightened we were, we knew we had to jump. 67 00:08:18.470 --> 00:08:21.700 align:center line:-1 After that, we felt a little bit better. 68 00:08:21.710 --> 00:08:28.440 align:center line:-1 The past is the past, right? But I can never forget. 69 00:08:28.450 --> 00:08:37.650 align:center line:-1 I have lived in the U.S. for 35 years. I have gone back home many times. 70 00:08:37.660 --> 00:08:45.700 align:center line:-1 Each time I have met some classmates, but I still cannot face those four students. 71 00:08:45.710 --> 00:08:54.820 align:center line:-1 One of them went to my home and apologized in tears in front of my mom. 72 00:08:54.830 --> 00:09:06.830 align:center line:-1 After we started using WeChat to communicate -- especially after I started collecting data on the “Educated Youth" -- they were very respectful of me. 73 00:09:06.840 --> 00:09:12.310 align:center line:-1 I will go back this September [2016]. I think what happened must be put aside. 74 00:09:12.320 --> 00:09:15.920 align:center line:-1 I have to cultivate my mind for forgiveness. 75 00:09:15.930 --> 00:09:22.480 align:center line:-1 Also, it is not all their fault. They were not bad people. 76 00:09:22.490 --> 00:09:28.870 align:center line:-1 They were just around 14 or 15 years old. They were also victims [of the time]. 77 00:09:28.880 --> 00:09:36.220 align:center line:-1 But it is still a challenge for me, I think. 78 00:09:36.230 --> 00:09:38.540 align:center line:-1 I haven't seen them for 50 years. How should I handle this in September? 79 00:09:38.550 --> 00:09:40.220 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: You will go back in September of this year [2016]? 80 00:09:40.230 --> 00:09:42.090 align:center line:-1 Yes, this September. 81 00:09:42.100 --> 00:09:48.650 align:center line:-1 I am thinking what will first come to my mind when I see them after all these years -- probably still this matter. 82 00:09:48.660 --> 00:09:57.540 align:center line:-1 But I really cannot let this hinder our friendship anymore. I still think there is some affection between us. 83 00:09:57.550 --> 00:10:10.670 align:center line:-1 What happened should fade away -- but it is not easy, especially since feeling that kind of hurt in childhood is so unforgettable. 84 00:10:10.680 --> 00:10:14.830 align:center line:-1 This is the most important event [I remember]. Is my time almost up? 85 00:10:14.840 --> 00:10:17.990 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: You can still continue if you like. 86 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:24.230 align:center line:-1 Then it was about the Corps. 87 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:32.930 align:center line:-1 I spent four years in the Corps, the last two years in Regiment 43, as a reporter for the Corps propaganda unit. 88 00:10:32.940 --> 00:10:36.990 align:center line:-1 I think those years were a very good time. 89 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:42.300 align:center line:-1 I was the youngest one there. I went to the countryside in 1969. 90 00:10:42.310 --> 00:10:46.020 align:center line:-1 All my colleagues were older than me. They kindly called me “Xiao Xie” [Little Xie]. 91 00:10:46.030 --> 00:10:49.190 align:center line:-1 We wrote scripts together. 92 00:10:49.200 --> 00:11:03.000 align:center line:-1 Every day an anchor read our writings, broadcasting our words through a loudspeaker, for every company of troops and all the Educated Youth to hear. 93 00:11:03.010 --> 00:11:10.570 align:center line:-1 I have a picture of us 13 people together, taken in front of the doorway of our regimental unit. 94 00:11:10.580 --> 00:11:16.480 align:center line:-1 This year when I went back [to China], surprisingly, I found 7 of those 13 people -- 95 00:11:16.490 --> 00:11:25.830 align:center line:-1 -- the youth from Harbin, Shanghai, and Beijing, plus our Unit Chief, and the Vice Unit Chief. 96 00:11:25.840 --> 00:11:31.580 align:center line:-1 The other three had passed away, and two were not found. 97 00:11:31.590 --> 00:11:36.700 align:center line:-1 We decided to return to Beijing together this September. 98 00:11:36.710 --> 00:11:43.290 align:center line:-1 We will ask the same photographer to photograph us again, to memorialize that old time. 99 00:11:43.300 --> 00:11:52.290 align:center line:-1 I am so excited about this. I cannot wait for this day to come. 100 00:11:52.300 --> 00:12:07.990 align:center line:-1 You could say the feeling among us "Brothers and Sisters of Heilongjiang" even surpasses that of actual siblings. 101 00:12:08.000 --> 00:12:18.240 align:center line:-1 At least I have good memories from the experience of being an Educated Youth in the Corps. 102 00:12:18.250 --> 00:12:19.780 align:center line:-1 I think that’s all I want to say. 103 00:12:19.790 --> 00:12:22.370 align:center line:-1 Interviewer: Very good. Very good. Thank you for this interview! 104 00:12:22.380 --> 00:12:25.317 align:center line:-1 Thank you for giving me the chance to talk about these things.
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