My grandpa was born in 1936 according to the lunar calendar, but due to a discrepancy between converting his birthday on the lunar calendar to the calendar we use now, no one really knows his real birthday. He lived in a small village with his entire family; including his parents, siblings, grandparents, and cousins, it added up to about 50 people total. Though they lived in a small village, my grandpa's family was comparatively rich because his ancestors were all famous doctors, and still owned a small medicine store when my grandpa was a child. As the oldest son in the family, he would receive inheritance of the store, and therefore often worked alongside his parents. As a result, he learned a lot about medicine as a child, and wanted to be a doctor when he grew up.
During this time, the Chinese Civil War between the nationalists and communists were going on, and my grandpa vaguely remembers these memories for he was barely 10 years old. He explained that many of the Chinese favored the communists not always because of their political campaign, but more of because the soldiers fighting for that side were nicer to the citizens. He remembers stories of about the nationalist army stealing food from citizens when they were hungry, and as a result the communists gained more and more support. 1949 marked the year of Chinese Independence, and everyone was happy because the nicer soldiers won the war. (I'm sure some people did also favor the communists for their political party, but this was the perspective of a 10 year old.)
Eventually my grandpa moved to the suburbs for middle school and high school, where he developed a passion for history. However, he was bad at literature, and ultimately decided humanities would not be a good career path. He decided he was better at math and science anyway. In high school, my grandpa joined the basketball team, which was apparently one of the best in their area. Later, my grandpa met my grandma because of the teacher's assigned seating, and my grandma was better at literature than he was. She also knew of him from watching basketball games, so they became friends quickly. When it came time to choose majors and colleges, my grandma wanted to do architecture whereas my grandpa wanted to pursue his dream of going to medical school. However, because he wanted to stay closer to my grandma, he switched majors to study mechanics instead.
My grandparents' colleges were close for the first two years, until my grandma's entire department was relocated to another province. As a result, my grandparents were separated.
*note: Starting from here I will be retelling many details of Chinese history because it greatly affected my grandpa's lifestyle. This is already a concise version. Story time lasted approx. 2 hours because there was so many horrific details.
*note: Starting from here I will be retelling many details of Chinese history because it greatly affected my grandpa's lifestyle. This is already a concise version. Story time lasted approx. 2 hours because there was so many horrific details.
Starting from 1957, the entire country entered a state of turmoil, chaos, and fear. The communist party was led by a man named Mao Zedong (or Mao Tse-Tung depending on which spelling). He wanted the citizens to give the government feedback on what improvements they should make, and the citizens obliged, excitedly sending in requests and suggestions. These suggestions became too overwhelming to a point where Mao decided to arrest anyone who wrote a criticism towards the government, calling them unpatriotic and traitors. Luckily, my grandpa stayed out of this trouble, but the fear began to build up. (to the right is Chairman Mao)
In 1958, Mao came up with yet another brilliant idea to improve China's economy, claiming that if everyone knew how to make steel, the economy would be better. My grandpa was kicked out of school for a period of time to learn how to make steel. The government started taking any type of metal they could find, including the farmers' shovels, rakes, and even pots in the kitchen. Eventually not enough people were working in agriculture, and the country began to enter a stage of starvation. What made situations worse was when the farmers started lying about the amount of grains they produced to seem superior to one another. As a result, the government thought the farmers were in perfectly fine condition and didn't help the farmers at all.
Not until 1959 did the government finally realize the farmers were starving. There was a series of natural disasters that destroyed the fields including droughts and floods. My grandpa was one of the luckier people in the city to receive food rations for grains only. There was a shortage of meat, anything with oil, and fruits/vegetables. These would only be provided maybe once a month, and many starved to death. Because my grandpa was considered a good student in college, and his department of mechanics was valued by the country, he was able to attend graduate school (after getting kicked out to make steel) and continue his education. This time, he went to Beijing, the current capital of China. The group of students invited back to school were supposed to be training for aerospace, as China attempted to join the Space Race against the Russians as well.
Eventually, my grandpa was offered a job as a professor at Peking University, and he believed being a professor would provide him with a more stable income and job than an engineer at aerospace. He began teaching mechanics as well as experimenting in the lab. Because of his position, he was also able to bring my grandma into Beijing after negotiations with different departments. (My mom explained that at the time, no one was allowed to switch jobs randomly and my grandpa had to go through a lot of negotiations in order for my grandma's company to let her switch jobs.) After, they got married and my mother was born. My grandpa stayed at the lab often, though, and was rarely home.
(to the right is a picture of the doorway at Peking University)
In 1966, the Cultural Revolution began, and every single person was given a new identity based on their wealth. Because the government was still communist, all rich people were deemed evil, and Mao favored the poor. Technically, my grandpa was born in a rich family, but because his ancestors were all doctors, the government decided doctors were not evil, and gave my grandpa the title of "middle class." It got so ridiculous to the point that even restaurants would ask for a person's identity before serving food, and if a person was identified as "wealthy," he/she would be kicked out.
Later, the Chinese were required to memorize the Little Red Book full of Mao's quotes, and they would recite a passage out of it every day before the work day began and after the work day ended. They treated Mao as a god, except there was no freedom of religion. If a person didn't know certain passages from the book, businesses would refuse service (similar to being classified as "wealthy.")
Not only did this strike fears into every citizen's hearts, the country began to divide into sub-campaigns who all believed they were the most loyal to Mao. Every citizen was forced to choose a side, and their choice would be indicated with a red arm band. This arm band allowed them to participate in parades and social activities. In addition, the country developed a dress code. No one was allowed to wear anything except dark blue, army green, and white. The pants had to be loose (no skinny jeans... or jeans for that matter). Girls were required to have short hair, and guys were required to shave. Those who didn't follow the rules would be considered "anti-revolution" or a traitor, and they could be arrest for potentially nothing major.
The Cultural Revolution not only enforced stricter rules on the citizens, but there was no school (AGAIN). Everyone was out on the streets parading, and high school students were sent to rural villages in order to experience the life of a farmer. (Farmers were valued highly during this era because they were in charge of the food.) In 1969, the Chinese became fearful that the Soviets would attack, and everyone related to the army, including my grandpa's department of mechanics, was moved into the mountains to be protected. As a result, my grandparents and my mom all moved into a valley in Shan Xi, and eventually my grandpa was transferred to Si Chuan where he stayed for 8 years. The food conditions were bad, but my grandpa was able to build a tiny house before he left for Si Chuan to raise chickens. He visited Shan Xi at least once a year, and always made something new before he left, whether it was furniture or newer fences. He always had a passion for woodshop that he did on the side. His normal job at this time, however, was to calculate and experiment with the structure of tall buildings, and how wind at higher altitudes affected the stability of the building.
In 1976, Mao died and the Cultural Revolution died with him. Life finally became, at least by our standards, normal. My grandpa reunited with the family in 1978, and they moved back to Beijing where he resumed his job as a professor. He became the head of the mechanics department for several years until he was relocated to Japan for half a year. He became famous among his friends for cooking while in Japan because all his Chinese friends would go to his house when they missed eating Chinese food. (I can confirm that his cooking is really good.) This normal life continued until he retired in 1998, when he was able to come to America and take care of me.
The grandpa I came to know was one that was exceptional at cooking, great with crash course history lessons about China (like this extensive one), and a person I could go to whenever I broke something (he also made a horse figure out of straw... it was pretty impressive). It's hard to imagine that he grew up living in a state of chaos considering how calm he is now. He always loves going to buffets, which now I can imagine must be because of all the times he starved as a child. Over his life time he saw the transition between no food to too much food. Life is so different now, and from what I know my grandpa is thoroughly enjoying himself. The times I did visit China, there was almost no trace of the events that my grandpa told me, and I'm glad the conditions have gotten so much better.
Not until 1959 did the government finally realize the farmers were starving. There was a series of natural disasters that destroyed the fields including droughts and floods. My grandpa was one of the luckier people in the city to receive food rations for grains only. There was a shortage of meat, anything with oil, and fruits/vegetables. These would only be provided maybe once a month, and many starved to death. Because my grandpa was considered a good student in college, and his department of mechanics was valued by the country, he was able to attend graduate school (after getting kicked out to make steel) and continue his education. This time, he went to Beijing, the current capital of China. The group of students invited back to school were supposed to be training for aerospace, as China attempted to join the Space Race against the Russians as well.
Eventually, my grandpa was offered a job as a professor at Peking University, and he believed being a professor would provide him with a more stable income and job than an engineer at aerospace. He began teaching mechanics as well as experimenting in the lab. Because of his position, he was also able to bring my grandma into Beijing after negotiations with different departments. (My mom explained that at the time, no one was allowed to switch jobs randomly and my grandpa had to go through a lot of negotiations in order for my grandma's company to let her switch jobs.) After, they got married and my mother was born. My grandpa stayed at the lab often, though, and was rarely home.(to the right is a picture of the doorway at Peking University)
In 1966, the Cultural Revolution began, and every single person was given a new identity based on their wealth. Because the government was still communist, all rich people were deemed evil, and Mao favored the poor. Technically, my grandpa was born in a rich family, but because his ancestors were all doctors, the government decided doctors were not evil, and gave my grandpa the title of "middle class." It got so ridiculous to the point that even restaurants would ask for a person's identity before serving food, and if a person was identified as "wealthy," he/she would be kicked out.
Later, the Chinese were required to memorize the Little Red Book full of Mao's quotes, and they would recite a passage out of it every day before the work day began and after the work day ended. They treated Mao as a god, except there was no freedom of religion. If a person didn't know certain passages from the book, businesses would refuse service (similar to being classified as "wealthy.")
The Cultural Revolution not only enforced stricter rules on the citizens, but there was no school (AGAIN). Everyone was out on the streets parading, and high school students were sent to rural villages in order to experience the life of a farmer. (Farmers were valued highly during this era because they were in charge of the food.) In 1969, the Chinese became fearful that the Soviets would attack, and everyone related to the army, including my grandpa's department of mechanics, was moved into the mountains to be protected. As a result, my grandparents and my mom all moved into a valley in Shan Xi, and eventually my grandpa was transferred to Si Chuan where he stayed for 8 years. The food conditions were bad, but my grandpa was able to build a tiny house before he left for Si Chuan to raise chickens. He visited Shan Xi at least once a year, and always made something new before he left, whether it was furniture or newer fences. He always had a passion for woodshop that he did on the side. His normal job at this time, however, was to calculate and experiment with the structure of tall buildings, and how wind at higher altitudes affected the stability of the building.
In 1976, Mao died and the Cultural Revolution died with him. Life finally became, at least by our standards, normal. My grandpa reunited with the family in 1978, and they moved back to Beijing where he resumed his job as a professor. He became the head of the mechanics department for several years until he was relocated to Japan for half a year. He became famous among his friends for cooking while in Japan because all his Chinese friends would go to his house when they missed eating Chinese food. (I can confirm that his cooking is really good.) This normal life continued until he retired in 1998, when he was able to come to America and take care of me.
The grandpa I came to know was one that was exceptional at cooking, great with crash course history lessons about China (like this extensive one), and a person I could go to whenever I broke something (he also made a horse figure out of straw... it was pretty impressive). It's hard to imagine that he grew up living in a state of chaos considering how calm he is now. He always loves going to buffets, which now I can imagine must be because of all the times he starved as a child. Over his life time he saw the transition between no food to too much food. Life is so different now, and from what I know my grandpa is thoroughly enjoying himself. The times I did visit China, there was almost no trace of the events that my grandpa told me, and I'm glad the conditions have gotten so much better.
Pictures of my grandpa when he visited for Christmas in 2013.
...and also a picture of grandparents together.
Wow, what a great biography. Thank you for sharing. I think it gives a lot of perspective for us today and what we have. Have you spoken with people from Villa Fatima with similar experiences? It would be neat for you to compare and contrast different perspectives and experiences during the cultural revolution.
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