Interviewer: Thank you for accepting my interview. Could you tell me when you were born? You don’t have to be too specific; just “1950s,” “1960s,” “1970s,” etc. will do.
I was born in the 1960s.
Interviewer: Where did you live in China from 1966 to 1976?
I mainly lived in two northern cities in Hebei Province -- Changli and Tangshan.
Interviewer: You must have many memories of that decade to talk about.
Interviewer: But, if we only give you ten minutes -- in other words, during the first ten minutes of the interview, what memories directly come to mind?
Interviewer: What do you most want to share with us?
Based on my own experiences, I think it was a relatively happy time. I mean, compared with today’s kids of the same age, I feel that I was very happy at that time.
Interviewer: [Is it] because there was no homework, no pressure, and no exam-oriented education [at that time]?
We still had homework, but not that much. Also, it seemed like it was pretty easy to finish.
I had a lot of time to play with my friends, although I also did my homework after school.
After I started elementary school, I spent most of my time with my paternal grandparents in Tangshan.
I remember that my family’s living conditions were not so good, because my grandparents were greatly impacted by the Cultural Revolution,
so they were thrown out of a relatively large house and only given one small room.
There was almost no furniture in the room. We had a big stool, and a small stool, and I sat on the smaller stool and used the larger one as a desk to do my homework.
After I finished doing homework, I went out to play with my friends, jumping rope and playing hopscotch. I felt happy back then.
Interviewer: I see. So, you don’t have many miserable memories of that period, right? Your childhood was happy.
Yes, I felt childhood was happy.
Interviewer: Do you feel that your experiences during the Cultural Revolution impacted your life after you grew up?
Interviewer: Did that period of time have a particular influence on your personal life, and if so, what was it?
It’s hard to say. If the Cultural Revolution had not happened, my family environment might have been very different.
Right now, I can recall some memories [of that period] that my parents told me about.
For example, why did I end up living with my grandparents?
It was because my parents worked at a fruit tree research institute, and my mother often needed to go to work in the chestnut groves, such as in Zunhua,
to gain firsthand experience by working with a grassroots unit, and carry out the idea of “combining theory and practice.”
In addition, my father was “beaten down” and lived in the “cow shed,” so they sent me to my grandparents’ home.
Interviewer: So, you spent more time living with your grandparents than with your parents.
Yes. If not for the Cultural Revolution, I would have spent a relatively longer time with my parents.
Sometimes I think this might be a big influence that the Cultural Revolution had on me.
Within my childhood memories, I don’t have that many memories of my parents.
Interviewer: I see. I think your situation was quite common at that time. Many children grew up with their grandparents.
Interviewer: From today’s perspective, spending so little time with one’s parents as a child might have a somewhat [negative] impact on one’s growth.
Yes, I agree, it might. Now that I have children of my own, and my parents come to live with me half of every year, they can see how I interact with my kids.
My parents also care about the growth of my children very much; every time they come across books on childhood education, they buy them for me.
One time they told me that they have always felt regret about [the lack of] my own childhood education.
Interviewer: Maybe they even feel guilty about spending too little time with you and not giving you a good childhood, right?
Interviewer: I absolutely understand such feelings. It’s really interesting.
Interviewer: I feel like among the many people I have interviewed, you are the first one who pointed this out, which was quite a true experience [during that time].
Interviewer: Also, generally speaking, for little children, spending little time with parents during a special period of growth must have an underlying impact on their lives.
Yes. But relatively speaking, because I spent more time with my grandparents, I think I have inherited more from them than from my parents.
Interviewer: For sure. Did your grandparents pass away?
Yes, they died in the Tangshan Earthquake [1976].
Interviewer: Oh! They both died during the Tangshan Earthquake?
Yes. The situation at that time was this: my paternal grandparents, my younger sister, and I all lived in Tangshan at that time.
My little sister moved from Changli to Tangshan when she was five, exactly as I had, and we happened to be there during the Tangshan Earthquake.
Interviewer: So, you were the only survivor out of these four?
Yes.
Interviewer: Wow. So you lived with your parents after that?
Yes. After the Tangshan Earthquake, I went back to Changli. That was 1976. The earthquake happened in 1976, and then I went back to Changli.
Interviewer: That is tragic.
Yes. Actually, there were a lot of families like us. The official death toll of the Tangshan Earthquake was 250,000, but I think the actual number is much bigger than it.
Interviewer: I didn't imagine that my interview would [touch on this event].
Interviewer: Of course, the Tangshan Earthquake was a huge event that [everyone in China] knew about, but you are the only person I know who actually experienced it,
Interviewer:
...and furthermore, you had three family members die during that time. [Sigh…] OK. Thank you very much for accepting my interview.
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