Historical Artifacts Activity
Red Scarf Girl
English 6
The Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution began in 1966 and
was created by Chairman Mao in an attempt
to rid China of the “four olds.” These were old
ideas, old customs, old culture, and old habits.
Bound Feet
Bound Feet
• This is a picture of a woman’s bound feet. A
young girl’s feet were bound to keep them
from growing larger, so they could fit into
these small, delicate shoes. This was
considered to be a symbol of status and
beauty up until the 1800’s in China. Some
older women (grandmas) in the RED SCARF
GIRL have bound feet.
Red Lacquer Gold Leaf Trunks
Red Lacquer Gold Leaf Trunks
• This type of ornate furniture was often given
as a wedding present, due to its expensive
nature. These chests are lacquered with red
paint and then detailed with intricate golden
leaf patterns.
• Why would this make such a nice wedding
present?
Mao Ze-dong’s Red Book
Mao Ze-dong’s Red Book
• This little red book was a common handout
explaining Chairman Mao Ze-dong’s ideology
about the Cultural Revolution to the people. It
featured his quotes and beliefs and people
were required to carry the book around at all
times, in order to praise Chairman Mao.
The Red Guard
The Red Guard
• The Red Guard was an appointed group of
school-age children who enforced Chairman
Mao’s rules during the Cultural Revolution.
• For example, these children helped raid people’s
houses and write da-zi-baos
– DA-ZI-BAO ->
big character
posters that publicly
displayed people’s
crimes against
the Cultural Revolution
“Four Old” Sign Burning
“Four Old” Sign Burning
• This is an example of a business sign burning
that was considered to have a “four old” name
or affiliation. Red Guards would take anything
that was against the Revolution and destroy it
in public
• Book burnings were also very common during
this time period; anything that could be
connected to the “four olds” was seen as a
threat to the Cultural Revolution.
Cultural Revolution Propaganda
Poster
Cultural Revolution Propaganda Poster
• A propaganda poster is an advertisement
encouraging people to believe or do something.
This poster shows a young Cultural Revolutionary
working hard to crush the traditional symbols of
the “four olds.”
• Propaganda posters played a major role in
supporting the many campaigns that were
designed to mobilize the people. Most of them
showed people displaying model behavior.
Mao Ze-dong
Mao Ze-dong was the Chinese
military and political leader
who led the Chinese
communists to victory in the
country’s civil war. He died in
September of 1976. Some
suggest that violent attacks on
Chinese citizens had the
official blessings of Mao.
The Cultural Revolution
During the Cultural Revolution,
schools were greatly affected.
The brightest students were
sent to the lowest
standardized school if their
background was unclear.
During this period of time,
students were treated
unequally and were not given
much choice in their future.
Ji-Li Jiang
• Red Scarf Girl is about a girl living
through the Cultural Revolution in
China (1966-1976). She has to make
many hard decisions and has to
choose between supporting her family
or promising allegiance to Chairman
Mao (the leader of Communist China)
and the good of Communist China.
• Ji-Li Jiang has written many books,
Red Scarf Girl being the first. Ji-Li has
many childhood memories of the
Cultural Revolution and she brings
them to life in her books. She also talks
at schools and conferences about her
past experiences.
Ji-Li Jiang
At age twelve, Ji-li Jiang had everything to look forward to especially continued success in junior high school.
She and her parents believed that a girl in Chairman Mao Zedong's New China could go far with so much intelligence and
talent.
However, in 1966, the start of the Cultural Revolution changed
all that.
Ji-Li Jiang continued…
Ji-li Jiang and her family were persecuted
and humiliated when the old ways and
ideas were suddenly deemed undesirable,
Anyone with ties with the Jiang family
became suspect.
Because Ji-li Jiang's grandfather had been a
landlord, her entire family was seen as
being opposed to the new values of the
Communist Party.
Ji-li Jiang is forced to choose between her
family and her future in Communist China.