Red Scarfed Girl

Red Scarf Girl is a story that deals with the courage of a girl and her family when they are struggling to survive during China’s Cultural Revolution in 1966. Ji Li Jiang, the author, tells her story about the hardships that herself, family and friends went through. Also the lessons that they learned.

Chairman Mao Ze-Dong, China’s leader launched the Cultural Revolution that was intended to “break with the old and establish the new.” This brought hardships to everyone. Many Chinese had to accustom to forgetting old ideas, old cultures, old habits, and anything that dealt with “old” China. The things that were referred to as old customs were called Four Olds. They had Red Guards to help rebel against the old system. They would search houses for any four olds. When they found something they would confiscate and destroy it.

Ji Li Jiang was born into a family who used to be wealthy landlords that the Party did not like. Landlords were said to be awful men because they exploited farmers. They were enemies and were considered