Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution

Names: Kierah Hanna and Matt Martocci
School: Upper St. Clair High School
Course/Grade Level Taught: Honors/MYP World History – 10th Grade
Book: Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution by Ji Li Jiang (1997)
Suitable Grade Levels: Grades 7-12 (potentially younger – grades 5 or 6). The reading level of the text is appropriate for younger grade levels (7th – 9th grade). It could be used in an upper level high school class, supplementing higher level reading/content on the Chinese Cultural Revolution. However, due to the accessibility of the vocabulary and plot, the text could be utilized in younger grade levels (note: we did see on various websites the suggested age level to be between 5th – 6th grades). Depending on the approach, the text could be presented in multiple subject areas including history, language arts or as a part of a middle level character education / advisor time.
Book Overview:
In 1966, Ji Li Jiang was twelve years old. As a bright, intelligent, hard working student, her teachers and peers admired Ji Li. Like most typical twelve year olds, Ji Li enjoyed school, spending time with her friends and dearly loved her family. Growing up in Communist China, Ji Li learned to revere Chairman Mao Zedong and the Communist Party dominated government. As symbolized by her proudly worn red scarf, Ji Li and her family were dedicated to the Mao Zedong’s Communist government. Because Ji Li and her family had always done what the government expected of them, they found themselves in good standing with Communist Party officials. She was so proud of the red scarf and her country. Yet it was all ruined for her.
With the onset of the Cultural Revolution, everything changed for Ji Li and her family. Ji Li's character and strength are tested. She is forced to question everything about herself, her family, her country and her beliefs. It is hard because she is young and idealistic. Her life had been smooth until the Cultural Revolution. As the government and Red Guards purged out all the old Chinese traditions, or Four Olds, Ji Li’s family is tested. Because her grandfather had been a landlord, local officials attacked Ji Li’s family. Ji Li was one of the smartest girls in her school. Now she is ostracized by others jealousy and greed. Being perceived as against the communist party, the family were publically humiliated and blacklisted. The family’s apartment is ransacked by the Red Guards. Her father was beaten and imprisoned because he had been a professor. When her father is taken into custody, Ji Li is asked to publicly testify against her father. She is faced with a choice to denounce her family or to risk a future in her beloved country.
Ji Li has to face some very scary adult situations and decisions. For someone so young, she had to grow up quickly and really examine what she believed in and what was most important to her. Ji LI survives the Cultural Revolution, is educated, but leaves China. As an adult, she wants to re-examine her ideology and the China of her youth. The book just covers a short period of time. It ends without many resolutions. Further information on the family and her own fate must be researched. Because she is so bright and determined, the reader can feel somewhat hopeful.
The text provides an invaluable first hand account of what faced millions of Chinese during the Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1969. The text could be used in its entirety or segments (though, it would be difficult to pick just a few excerpts), supplementing historical content on the Chinese Cultural Revolution. Beyond the facts and historical information on the Cultural Revolution, the memoir illustrates a personal struggle, allowing students the opportunity to relate to Ji Li and her story.
It is this element of the personal struggle of Ji Li that stands out to history teachers. As emotion helps create lasting memories. It would be wise to use this personal account of the Cultural Revolution through the eyes of this 12 year old girl. This would generate greater interest and understanding of the Cultural Revolution for adolescents. One could use this concept of balancing the historical event with a concrete and emotional human experience.
Teachers could use this as a springboard to increase student knowledge, understanding and appreciation of revolutionary movements outside of Asia as well. One could compare Red Scarf Girl to Persepolis a similar experience of a young girl who experiences the political and emotional turmoil of the 1979 revolution in Iran. Teachers could then direct their lessons toward the concept of similarities in the human experience despite time and space.

This novel is about a 12 year old girl living in Shanghai during the Cultural Revolution in China. Ji-li is at the top of her class and admires those out to destroy the Four Olds, as well as the young people who become Red Guards. As the novel progresses, Ji-li sees the negative effects of the Cultural Revolution on her family, friends and neighbors and questions her place in its future. This novel could be used in grades 7-12 to illustrate the changes and grief the people of China endured during Mao's revolution.

I have utilized the following novel in my advanced levels as well as in my elective East Asian course. Students relate well to the main character and her trials and tribulations of the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). For teachers who are pressed for time, it could easily be adapted to be read over the course of a few days. If your desire is for your Upper Elementary to Lower High School levels to have an authentic depiction of the Cultural Revolution experience this novel will work perfectly. Study guides of the novel are available by book publishing companies if you are looking for a way to "teach" about the Cultural Revolution with a literature /language arts emphasis.