TelePhone Interview of Cassie Shao's Grandfather Rui Shao
Cassie's Grandfather, born 1947, experienced the Cultural Revolution himself. The interview was conducted in Mandarin. Transcript translated by Cassie Shao
Q: During the Cultural Revolution, what did you do?
A: I was a middle school teacher during the Cultural Revolution, and I remember personally being scared of going to work or even go out when issues became severe. It was a particularly hard job during that period of time, especially during the beginning of the revolution when all schools were shut down, and many good students I had who always followed instructions became wild. I as well as numerous other Chinese people were forced to follow Chairman Mao. I just went with the flow and Mao was a good leader after all.
Q: Why do you think many people followed Chairman Mao?
A: The propagandas posters about Mao and his visions were everywhere around China, and I think they were the biggest influence, since that was one of the only few possibles way to learn about the government. The propagandas made Mao and his visions sounded perfectly, which gave people the impression that Mao had wonderful plans for China’s future.
Q: Have you ever seen Red Guards persecuting teachers?
A: Yes, and in fact persecutions conducted by the Red Guards were everywhere during the beginning of the Revolution. It was truly painful to see innocent teachers being beaten unreasonably to death. The Red Guards seemed to have a force that made their violence uncontrollable.
Q: Have you ever been persecuted? Why?
A: Yes, I was closed in a cowshed. I was absolutely innocent, but since the entire country split off into different parties, supporting different visions at that time period, people just accused random people who had a different view than them. My persecution had no apparent reason.
Q: What were you thinking or feeling when the Red Guards were persecuting you?
A: It was definitely terrifying to be persecuted, but I knew nothing could be done, so I stayed silent. If I had spoke even one sentence, the persecution would have gone worse. During the persecution, it was not about you own thoughts and feels anymore. Your fate are in the palms of the Red Guards and they never cared about your reactions. I just went with the flow, and all was over at last.
Q: Looking back at that chaos revolutionary period, what are your thoughts about it now?
A: The Cultural Revolution was a period of confusion. Now that I look back at it, two words always come up to my mind: violence, and Mao. It was a turning point in China's history and it was indeed a very dramatic turn.
A: I was a middle school teacher during the Cultural Revolution, and I remember personally being scared of going to work or even go out when issues became severe. It was a particularly hard job during that period of time, especially during the beginning of the revolution when all schools were shut down, and many good students I had who always followed instructions became wild. I as well as numerous other Chinese people were forced to follow Chairman Mao. I just went with the flow and Mao was a good leader after all.
Q: Why do you think many people followed Chairman Mao?
A: The propagandas posters about Mao and his visions were everywhere around China, and I think they were the biggest influence, since that was one of the only few possibles way to learn about the government. The propagandas made Mao and his visions sounded perfectly, which gave people the impression that Mao had wonderful plans for China’s future.
Q: Have you ever seen Red Guards persecuting teachers?
A: Yes, and in fact persecutions conducted by the Red Guards were everywhere during the beginning of the Revolution. It was truly painful to see innocent teachers being beaten unreasonably to death. The Red Guards seemed to have a force that made their violence uncontrollable.
Q: Have you ever been persecuted? Why?
A: Yes, I was closed in a cowshed. I was absolutely innocent, but since the entire country split off into different parties, supporting different visions at that time period, people just accused random people who had a different view than them. My persecution had no apparent reason.
Q: What were you thinking or feeling when the Red Guards were persecuting you?
A: It was definitely terrifying to be persecuted, but I knew nothing could be done, so I stayed silent. If I had spoke even one sentence, the persecution would have gone worse. During the persecution, it was not about you own thoughts and feels anymore. Your fate are in the palms of the Red Guards and they never cared about your reactions. I just went with the flow, and all was over at last.
Q: Looking back at that chaos revolutionary period, what are your thoughts about it now?
A: The Cultural Revolution was a period of confusion. Now that I look back at it, two words always come up to my mind: violence, and Mao. It was a turning point in China's history and it was indeed a very dramatic turn.