WEBVTT
1
00:00:03.600 --> 00:00:04.560 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Hello.
2
00:00:04.570 --> 00:00:05.490 align:center line:-1
Hello.
3
00:00:05.500 --> 00:00:13.640 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Thank you for accepting our interview today.
Could you please tell me approximately when you were born?
4
00:00:13.650 --> 00:00:17.250 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: You don't need to say the exact year; just
"'90s" or "'80s" will do.
5
00:00:17.260 --> 00:00:18.390 align:center line:-1
'90s.
6
00:00:18.400 --> 00:00:29.140 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: 1990s. So of course, you were born after the
Cultural Revolution. So, where have you lived for the past 20 years?
7
00:00:29.150 --> 00:00:30.820 align:center line:-1
Chicago.
8
00:00:30.830 --> 00:00:34.760 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Oh, in America. At what age did you come to
the U.S.?
9
00:00:34.770 --> 00:00:37.670 align:center line:-1
At age four.
10
00:00:37.680 --> 00:00:46.250 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Could you think back to the first time you
heard of the Cultural Revolution, if you remember anything?
11
00:00:46.260 --> 00:00:49.390 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Have you heard of the Cultural Revolution?
Cultural Revolution [文化大革命]?
12
00:00:49.400 --> 00:00:51.190 align:center line:-1
Yes, I've heard of it.
13
00:00:51.200 --> 00:00:53.800 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Approximately when did you hear about it?
14
00:00:53.810 --> 00:00:56.830 align:center line:-1
It was in books at my school.
15
00:00:56.840 --> 00:00:57.070 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Oh.
16
00:00:57.080 --> 00:01:07.530 align:center line:-1
My school’s textbooks. Then, after I heard about it, I went
home to ask my parents about it, and they told me a story or two,
and that’s it.
17
00:01:07.540 --> 00:01:10.190 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: So, you're saying it’s in American English
language textbooks?
18
00:01:10.200 --> 00:01:11.180 align:center line:-1
Right.
19
00:01:11.190 --> 00:01:13.450 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: How did the textbooks tell about it? Do you
still remember?
20
00:01:13.460 --> 00:01:15.070 align:center line:-1
It was short, just one sentence.
21
00:01:15.080 --> 00:01:16.090 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: How short was it? What did it say?
22
00:01:16.100 --> 00:01:28.990 align:center line:-1
They said that in middle school, they'd start to tell a
more detailed [细节] account.
23
00:01:29.000 --> 00:01:46.590 align:center line:-1
When [the book] discussed China, it said that after World
War II, the United States was doing this thing, and Japan was doing this
thing, and China had a civil war [国共内战], right?
24
00:01:46.600 --> 00:01:53.310 align:center line:-1
The Socialists [社会主义者] and Communists
[共产党人] started fighting, and after that, there was the Cultural
Revolution [文革].
25
00:01:53.320 --> 00:01:58.820 align:center line:-1
They said it was one revolution [革命] among many in
that era, and that’s all.
26
00:01:58.830 --> 00:02:12.690 align:center line:-1
I’d also heard my parents mention it a little, but the
version [I heard in school] was different, so I went home to ask for more
details [细节].
27
00:02:12.700 --> 00:02:14.870 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Did your parents tell you about it?
28
00:02:14.880 --> 00:02:16.930 align:center line:-1
Only a little.
29
00:02:16.940 --> 00:02:34.490 align:center line:-1
For example, if we were watching a movie like
In the Heat of the Sun, my
mom might say, “Wow, this is just like my childhood. Though we had to go
to school, I never cared much about studying, and your dad didn’t,
either.”
30
00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:46.550 align:center line:-1
My dad was very unfortunate. He didn’t focus on his
studies in high school, but then all of a sudden [society] told him if he
wanted to go to college, he had to take the [entrance] exam, right?
31
00:02:46.560 --> 00:02:53.340 align:center line:-1
So he spent the last few years [before the exam]
frantically trying to catch up. But by then it was kind of too late.
32
00:02:53.350 --> 00:03:00.080 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Did they ever talk about their own parents’
experiences during the Cultural Revolution?
33
00:03:00.090 --> 00:03:16.630 align:center line:-1
Well, I know my dad’s side of the family used to be
affluent, was quite rich, but then when Mao Zedong came into power
[掌权], as far as I know their money was seized.
34
00:03:16.640 --> 00:03:30.320 align:center line:-1
So I don’t exactly know what my paternal grandfather’s
reaction was, but after that my paternal grandmother never really respected
the government’s words again -- now she doesn't believe any of it.
35
00:03:30.330 --> 00:03:46.990 align:center line:-1
She has also refused to drive, go traveling [旅行], or
take a vacation, because she’s afraid it will invite thieves, actually
the government, to sneak in and steal things.
36
00:03:47.000 --> 00:04:01.240 align:center line:-1
Or, if she sends me a necklace or something pretty, she'll
tell me to hide it deep in my pocket’s pocket’s pocket. She’s never
had any--
37
00:04:01.250 --> 00:04:02.870 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: --no sense of security!
38
00:04:02.880 --> 00:04:04.620 align:center line:-1
Yeah.
39
00:04:04.630 --> 00:04:11.820 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: So do you have any interest in the topic of
the Cultural Revolution yourself? Do you want to understand it more?
40
00:04:11.830 --> 00:04:19.450 align:center line:-1
I do want to understand it more. I used to think my
grandmother’s words were a crazy woman’s.
41
00:04:19.460 --> 00:04:32.390 align:center line:-1
I mean, how can you think the government is going to come
into your home and steal your stuff? But after learning more about it, I
can at least see how she began to think that way.
42
00:04:32.400 --> 00:04:39.990 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: According to the time of your
birth you mentioned earlier, you must still be a student. Do you mind
telling us what your major is?
43
00:04:40.000 --> 00:04:41.350 align:center line:-1
Pharmacy.
44
00:04:41.360 --> 00:04:52.340 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Pharmacy has no relation to the humanities,
to social sciences. Through what channel did you come to understand more
about the Cultural Revolution?
45
00:04:52.350 --> 00:05:02.590 align:center line:-1
[The University of] Pittsburgh has elective courses, so
you can take Pharmacy as a major [主修], and in the meantime study
something else for a minor [辅修].
46
00:05:02.600 --> 00:05:17.400 align:center line:-1
So I chose Chinese, saved some time by skipping the
language courses, and instead took some [Chinese] poetry classes, some
[Chinese] history, some [Chinese] art classes…
47
00:05:17.410 --> 00:05:20.220 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: So, there are plenty of opportunities to keep
in contact with –
48
00:05:20.230 --> 00:05:29.880 align:center line:-1
Also, the University of Pittsburgh sets up a lot of events
[students] can attend, so I try to attend them.
49
00:05:29.890 --> 00:05:45.930 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: So, among students with the same background
as you, who came to the U.S. when they were young, do you think there are
many who are concerned with China’s history like you are?
50
00:05:45.940 --> 00:05:56.920 align:center line:-1
A decent amount. I think the majority, like me, want to
understand more, but don't have the time to invest.
51
00:05:56.930 --> 00:06:03.630 align:center line:-1
Or, some others don’t much interest, but feel pressure
that it should be one of their interests.
52
00:06:03.640 --> 00:06:11.260 align:center line:-1
Then, there are some who really don’t want to think
about these topics -- they might say it’s boring.
53
00:06:11.270 --> 00:06:18.810 align:center line:-1
I've also noticed that of my friends, the ones who are
closer to their parents will be more interested.
54
00:06:18.820 --> 00:06:36.720 align:center line:-1
I have a friend who I invite every time the university has
a talk because I know she’s interested, and she’s not even Chinese,
she’s Taiwanese, and was born in the U.S., but because she is close to
her parents, she’s interested.
55
00:06:36.730 --> 00:06:40.290 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: You’ve probably encountered a lot of
international students from the mainland, right?
56
00:06:40.300 --> 00:06:43.340 align:center line:-1
Yes. My roommate is from the mainland.
57
00:06:43.350 --> 00:06:51.050 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Do you feel that they are concerned about
these topics? Do they know a lot [about the Cultural Revolution]?
58
00:06:51.060 --> 00:07:02.600 align:center line:-1
When they first come, I’m sure they’ve heard of these
topics from their parents. I don’t think the schools really teach much
about it.
59
00:07:02.610 --> 00:07:12.170 align:center line:-1
I know my roommate once told me… well, one [roommate] is
really not interested, but I've talked about it with another one, who
really got into the topic,
60
00:07:12.180 --> 00:07:19.890 align:center line:-1
and she said, "When I came here, I believed China had a
few problems, and I thought America just really hated China for some
reason...
61
00:07:19.900 --> 00:07:29.180 align:center line:-1
"...But after I came, I learned about all these other
problems China has, and want to discuss them with everyone, these problems
that we in China have never even heard about."
62
00:07:29.190 --> 00:07:33.890 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: So, meaning topics like the Cultural
Revolution, which aren't brought up very often in China, right?
63
00:07:33.900 --> 00:07:42.170 align:center line:-1
Yes, right. So she only heard about them after arriving in
the U.S., and that’s where some interest came from.
64
00:07:42.180 --> 00:07:49.890 align:center line:-1
Interviewer: Thank you very much for sharing your
experiences and thoughts.
65
00:07:49.900 --> 00:07:51.600 align:center line:-1
Thank you.
Reddit
Twitter
Facebook