“Long live Chairman Xi?
China’s Red Aristocracy” Dr. Rae Yang
Dickenson College
Thursday, April 12, 2018
8:10 p.m., Library 321

Rae Yang, Professor of Chinese Language and Literature at Dickinson College, is best known as the author of her memoir Spider Eaters (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1997), in which she detailed her life as a Red Guard during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-76). She is also featured in the award winning documentary “The Morning Sun.” Dr. Yang, unlike many memoir writers about the same period, ponders whether to view herself as a pure victim or as a perpetrator as well. This also made her one of the first voices to apologize and to call for reflection and apology by other red guards.

In her talk she will present the latest changes in China’s top leaders, especially Xi Jinping, the similarities between him and Mao, and the so-called Red Second Generation and address how these people remain affected by the Cultural Revolution. Her memoir (new edition 2013) is available at the campus book store and she will be happy to sign copies after the talk.

This event is sponsored by the Asian Studies Program and the Department of International Languages and Cultures.