23 October 2015
“You cannot!” she exclaimed. “Your grandfather’s spirit lives there. Have you forgotten he saved your life? When you were ten years old, you nearly drowned!”“I have not forgotten!” Yao retorted. “But worshiping the dead threatens the revolution.”Yao fell silent. He could not find anything to say in response; however, his sense of duty to...
15 May 2015
It was not a good time to be around if you were a piece of antique furniture during China’s Cultural Revolution. You might have been burned to ashes or if you were lucky, thrown haphazardly into a large warehouse run by the Peoples Liberation Army. Such was the fate of a great deal of antique furniture during the ten years between 1966 and 1976. Many pieces were destroyed for being &l...
20 February 2015
Propaganda posters featuring Mao appeared as early as the 1950s but it was during the Chinese Cultural Revolution that they reached their peak. The ‘Little Red Book’ was so named because it was small enough to be carried around in everyone’s pockets – and carry it they did. If a Red Guard demanded to see your book and you failed to produce it from your pocket the pu...