WEBVTT
1
00:00:01.610 --> 00:00:06.750 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Could you tell me if you were born during the
1980s or 1990s?
2
00:00:06.760 --> 00:00:08.640 align:center line:-1
[I was born at] the end of the 1980s.
3
00:00:08.650 --> 00:00:18.630 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: I see. Could you tell me the first time you
heard about the Cultural Revolution?
4
00:00:18.640 --> 00:00:21.300 align:center line:-1
[I heard about the Cultural Revolution] when I was in the
third grade.
5
00:00:21.310 --> 00:00:29.970 align:center line:-1
I had a classmate who was very naughty, and my class
monitor said his parents were typical "little red demons"
[= Red Guards],
6
00:00:29.980 --> 00:00:32.990 align:center line:-1
those who had not received a good education [during the
Cultural Revolution].
7
00:00:33.000 --> 00:00:36.290 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: [The class monitor used] a derogatory word,
right? [Saying "little red demons" instead of the proper name, Red
Guards.]
8
00:00:36.300 --> 00:00:37.990 align:center line:-1
Yes, it was a derogatory word.
9
00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:41.690 align:center line:-1
Only after that did I know there was something called the
Cultural Revolution.
10
00:00:41.700 --> 00:00:42.790 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: And after that?
11
00:00:42.800 --> 00:00:50.010 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Were there other ways you deepened your
understanding of the Cultural Revolution?
12
00:00:50.020 --> 00:00:57.180 align:center line:-1
When I was in high school, I had a classmate whose
grandfather was a Rightist and was tortured during the Cultural
Revolution.
13
00:00:57.190 --> 00:01:02.090 align:center line:-1
You know, high school students were rebellious.
14
00:01:02.100 --> 00:01:05.700 align:center line:-1
We talked a lot about the Cultural Revolution; I also went
back home to read books.
15
00:01:05.710 --> 00:01:12.870 align:center line:-1
I read many books on Chinese history, especially modern
Chinese history, and finally understood what happened.
16
00:01:12.880 --> 00:01:16.650 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: You had the motivation to know more about
[the Cultural Revolution], right?
17
00:01:16.660 --> 00:01:18.040 align:center line:-1
Yes.
18
00:01:18.050 --> 00:01:25.530 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Do you have many peers
like you?
19
00:01:25.540 --> 00:01:28.550 align:center line:-1
I think there are a lot.
20
00:01:28.560 --> 00:01:31.330 align:center line:-1
Many [young] people are still interested in history,
especially modern history.
21
00:01:31.340 --> 00:01:34.780 align:center line:-1
[The Cultural Revolution] is unavoidable [when learning
about modern history].
22
00:01:34.790 --> 00:01:42.580 align:center line:-1
But they do not have many avenues or resources to
understand history comprehensively.
23
00:01:42.590 --> 00:01:50.180 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: From your point of view, what kind of event
was the Cultural Revolution?
24
00:01:50.190 --> 00:01:56.550 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: How much of a relationship does it have to
your personal interests?
25
00:01:56.560 --> 00:01:59.080 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Some people think [the Cultural Revolution]
has nothing to do with them,
26
00:01:59.090 --> 00:02:05.820 align:center line:-1
Interviewer:...while some people are very interested and
want to know more about it--which of these types of people are you?
27
00:02:05.830 --> 00:02:09.170 align:center line:-1
My personal interest is in sociology.
28
00:02:09.180 --> 00:02:19.250 align:center line:-1
To me, the significance of the Cultural Revolution lies in
its attempt to take an idealized experiment in Communism and forcibly carry
it out in human society.
29
00:02:19.260 --> 00:02:23.750 align:center line:-1
I think the Cultural Revolution exposed a lot of conflicts
between idealism and realism.
30
00:02:23.760 --> 00:02:28.950 align:center line:-1
Even today, it is hard to clarify the motivation of the
Cultural Revolution with one sentence.
31
00:02:28.960 --> 00:02:33.690 align:center line:-1
It contained struggles between individuals' political
aspirations and political factions,
32
00:02:33.700 --> 00:02:41.990 align:center line:-1
as well as a nation trying to take a "great leap," with
the dream of realizing Communism.
33
00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:47.040 align:center line:-1
So I think that at least today,
it is still difficult to define the event.
34
00:02:47.050 --> 00:02:53.030 align:center line:-1
However, I feel that if we
exclude talking about the unlucky victims,
35
00:02:53.040 --> 00:02:56.840 align:center line:-1
the Cultural Revolution is a very interesting
social phenomenon.
36
00:02:56.850 --> 00:03:04.760 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Did your perception of the Cultural
Revolution come from your family?
37
00:03:04.770 --> 00:03:06.770 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: A little bit,
or not at all?
38
00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:09.460 align:center line:-1
A little bit, but not much.
39
00:03:09.470 --> 00:03:14.450 align:center line:-1
My mother came from an ordinary family, so they did not
feel much impact [of the Cultural Revolution].
40
00:03:14.460 --> 00:03:22.990 align:center line:-1
During the Cultural Revolution,
my paternal grandfather was a political activist
and was confined to jail for
not quite a year.
41
00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:30.540 align:center line:-1
But my grandfather did not treat this matter as something
good to talk about; I only heard about it from my father.
42
00:03:30.550 --> 00:03:35.500 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: [You were born at] the end of the 1980s,
right?
43
00:03:35.510 --> 00:03:39.890 align:center line:-1
Yes, the end of the 1980s, the same year [Chinese poet]
Haizi passed away [1989].
44
00:03:39.900 --> 00:03:44.470 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: The year Haizi passed away. I see.
You like poetry, then?
45
00:03:44.480 --> 00:03:50.870 align:center line:-1
I think, if we talk about the Cultural Revolution, then we
must talk about the turbulence of 1989.
46
00:03:50.880 --> 00:03:54.480 align:center line:-1
I think these two incidents [the Cultural Revolution and
the 1989 Tiananmen Square Protests] are interrelated.
47
00:03:54.490 --> 00:03:59.860 align:center line:-1
In studying modern history, you have to study a series of
events systematically.
48
00:03:59.870 --> 00:04:01.620 align:center line:-1
You can't just focus on an isolated incident.
49
00:04:01.630 --> 00:04:03.320 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: What is your major?
50
00:04:03.330 --> 00:04:05.210 align:center line:-1
I study information engineering.
51
00:04:05.220 --> 00:04:09.000 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Oh, so it's not related to social sciences...
52
00:04:09.010 --> 00:04:10.120 align:center line:-1
No, it's not.
53
00:04:10.130 --> 00:04:11.210 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: ...[Social sciences] are just your personal
interest.
54
00:04:11.220 --> 00:04:13.420 align:center line:-1
Right, just my personal interest.
55
00:04:13.430 --> 00:04:21.770 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: I am curious whether there are many people in
your major who are also interested in social sciences, such as Chinese
history?
56
00:04:21.780 --> 00:04:23.950 align:center line:-1
Actually, there are many.
57
00:04:23.960 --> 00:04:31.950 align:center line:-1
In my generation, many people have chosen to study science
because they are outstanding [students].
58
00:04:31.960 --> 00:04:39.560 align:center line:-1
From my mom's generation's point of view, it's equivalent
to -- well, several general secretaries [of the Communist Party of China]
studied engineering.
59
00:04:39.570 --> 00:04:45.200 align:center line:-1
Actually, from the point of view of the nation, it is
important for people to study the sciences and engineering to maintain the
country's strength.
60
00:04:45.210 --> 00:04:48.360 align:center line:-1
It's a viewpoint that sciences and engineering are more
important than humanities.
61
00:04:48.370 --> 00:04:54.830 align:center line:-1
So, in my generation, many knowledgeable people have
chosen science or engineering [as their majors].
62
00:04:54.840 --> 00:05:00.510 align:center line:-1
Also, these fields are better paid, with better chances to
apply one's knowledge.
63
00:05:00.520 --> 00:05:06.720 align:center line:-1
This is also in line with the viewpoint that science and
engineering strengthen the nation.
64
00:05:06.730 --> 00:05:08.900 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Good.
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook