Identity PortfolioCultural RevolutionMay it never happen again

!M

y Family Tree

Birth  of  a  child  during  the  Revolution“It’s  okay,  just  keep  calm,  it’s  gonna  be  alright,”  I  whispered  to  her.  The  

siren  on  the  ambulance  blared,  as  Bights  occurred  outside.  The  siren  was  

drowned  out  by  the  screaming  

crowds.  I  glanced  out  the  

window  and  saw  groups  of  

people  being  herded  together  

and  whipped  by  the  red  guards.  

I  saw  that  some  had  been  placed  

on  chairs  with  dunce  hats  and  

wore  demeaning  signs  as  their  

hope  drained  slowly  away.  The  day  had  started  out  as  a  normal  day  for  so  

many,  but  now  it  transformed  into  a  horriBic  situation.

I  was  in  HuaDong  hospital  along  with  my  wife.  She  was  going  to  give  

birth  to  our  daughter;  I  was  going  to  be  a  father!    We  walked  through  the  

hallway  as  doctors,  nurses  and  visitors  scurried  like  mice  to  their  destinations.  

I  heard  moans  of  pain  everywhere  as  we  were  escorted  into  our  rooms.  Fright  

overwhelmed  us  as  we  realized  the  Bight  was  just  outside  the  doors.

As  we  arrived,  our  roommate,  who  was  also  a  pregnant  woman,  was  

wheeled  in  to  the  operating  room.

In  the  midst  of  her  operation,  a  loudspeaker  screamed,  “Everyone  inside  

working,  come  out  and  Bight!”

Everyone  that  was  working  inside  dropped  his  or  her  equipment,  and  

responded  to  the  call  of  ‘duty’  to  join  into  the  conBlict  raging  outside.  We  

waited  as  the  shouts  and  the  sound  of  Bighting  grew  louder  and  louder  then  

slowly  quieted  down.  One  by  one,  the  workers  returned  to  their  jobs.    When  

the  doctors  and  nurses  Binally  went  back  to  the  operating  room,  I  saw  a  great  

amount  of  commotion.  I  heard  the  nurses  gasp,  and  saw  the  doctors  come  out  

of  the  room  with  frowns,  for  they  had  just  found  the  baby  dead.  

  “Get  me  out  of  here,  I’m  scared,”  she  cried  repeatedly.    I  could  see  fear  in  

her  eyes;  she  thought  that  the  same  situation  would  happen  again.

 

  “It’s  ok  let’s  just  stay  here  for  now.    Let  me  think  of  something”  I  tried  to  

comfort  her.    “Yes!  My  cousin  works  at  Zhongzhan  Hospital,  which  has  fewer  

conBlicts.    Let’s  ask  him  for  help.”

  I  rapidly  ran  to  a  telephone  and  called  my  cousin  who  agreed  to  arrange  

a  transfer  immediately.  We  waited  in  anticipation  as  time  ticked  by.    Finally  an  

ambulance  with  a  distinctive  Zhongshan  Hospital  sign  arrived  and  my  cousin  

and  two  paramedics  leaped  out  of  it.    

  “Here,  here,”  I  waved  to  them  excitedly  as  I  quickly  pushed  my  wife’s  

wheelchair  over  the  ramp  to  the  ambulance.        

  The  ambulance  lurched  forward  as  we  hit  a  speed  bump.    My  wife  

suddenly  started  screaming.  “I  can  feel  the  baby  coming,  are  we  almost  there?    

I  don’t  think  I  can  take  this  for  much  longer.”    My  face  drained  of  color  as  I  saw  

the  pain  and  panic  on  her  face.  

  Suddenly,  demonstrators  appeared  out  of  nowhere  and  surrounded  the  

vehicle.      They  then  started  circling  us  as  they  shouted  for  us  to  join  the  

demonstration.  I  stuck  my  head  out  of  the  window:  “Please  let  us  go  to  the  

hospital,  my  wife  is  going  to  give  birth  to  our  baby  soon!”  On  the  other  side  of  

the  ambulance,  a  persistent  demonstrator  knocked  on  the  window  until  we  

were  forced  to  lower  it  to  let  him  shove  in  a  red  book  of  Chairman  Mao’s  

sayings.    After  continuous  begging  they  Binally  decided  to  continue  their  

campaign  somewhere  else  and  leave  us  alone.  

  Time  seemed  to  stretch  out  as  my  heart  pounded  against  my  chest.  “Are  

we  really  going  to  make  it?  Is  there  anyway  we  can  make  it  in  time?  Are  we  

going  to  have  to  give  birth  on  the  ambulance?”  Sweat  dripped  down  my  face  as  

I  despaired.  I  glanced  outside  as  I  hoped  to  release  some  stress.    Dark  

glooming  Blags  with  a  red  star  in  the  middle  Blashed  past  us  as  the  Red  Guards  

humiliated  and  tortured  the  Conservatives.  I  looked  up,  but  there  was  blood  

everywhere.  I  was  hoping  to  wash  the  image  from  my  memory,  but  I  worried  

that  their  screams  would  echo  in  my  ears  forever.  Suddenly  a  familiar  red  

building  appeared.  It  was  the  same  building  we  had  always  passed  when  we  

visited  my  cousin!    Relief  washed  all  over  me  as  I  began  to  settle  down  in  my  

seat.    We  were  Binally  going  to  make  it  in  time.

  As  soon  as  we  arrived  

the  paramedics  rushed  my  wife  

inside  the  operating  room.  I  did  

not  know  when  the  door  of  

operating  room  opened  and  the  

doctor  came  out.    I  only  knew  I  

heard  the  best  thing  in  the  

world:

“Congratulations!  You  now  have  a  beautiful  daughter.    They  are  both  well  and  

you  can  see  them  soon.”

  Tears  started  rolling  down  my  cheeks  and  my  heart  was  Billed  with  

relief  and  jubilance  as  I  leaped  forward  to  my  new  daughter.  

  Now  looking  back  on  that  day,  I  see  that  I  was  one  of  the  lucky  ones.  On  

that  very  day  other  babies  had  died  from  the  Cultural  Revolution  while  we  

made  it.    As  I  look  back  I  can  still  remember  the  fear  from  long  ago.  

Epilogue:

He  now  lives  with  his  wife  and  his  other  daughter  in  Shanghai.  He  also  

has  a  granddaughter  and  3  cats  that  live  with  him.    Now  he  swims  in  the  local  pool  and  exercises  daily.  He  retired  from  being  a  university  party  secretary  10  years  ago.  Also  he  now  lives  a  peaceful  life  in  a  huge  house.  He  enjoys  telling  

tales  to  his  grandchildren  and  reading  history  and  political  books.  Everyday  he  tries  to  be  optimistic  and  positive,  even  though  he  experienced  unspeakable  horrors  during  the  Cultural  Revolution.  

Q&A

Which  side  did  you  Bight  for?He  was  on  the  side  of  the  Conservatives

How  old  were  you  and  where  did  you  work?

He  was  in  his  thirtyfour  when  it  happened  and  he  was  a  teacher  in  the  jiaotong  university.

Do  you  have  any  unforgettable  moments  from  then?Yes.  he  has  a  moment  about  when  my  wife  had  to  give  birth.

How  did  you  feel  during  that?He  felt  scared  and  excited  at  Birst.  He  then  felt  panic  and  fear  later.

What  Happened  to  you  during  it?There  was  a  person  that  died  during  it  and  we  got  scared  so  we  tried  to  transfer.

Describe  your  journey.I  called  my  cousin  and  asked  him  to  call  for  an  ambulance.  After  that  he  sent  one  and  we  were  escorted  inside.  They  drove  on  for  a  long  time(it  seemed  at  least).  Started  getting  worried  when  we  were  stopped  by  some  demonstrators.  after  a  while  they  let  us  go  and  we  just  made  it  to  the  hospital.

Can  you  tell  me  more  about  the  Ambulance  ride?We  had  been  on  it  for  about  20  minutes  when  suddenly  demonstrators  appeared  out  of  nowhere.  They  surrounded  the  ambulance  and  shouted  slogans  from  the  red  book.  Someone  managed  to  stick  their  hand  through  the  window  and  shove  a  Red  book  in.  After  a  while  they  let  us  go  but  then  I  was  really  worried  because  I  didn’t  know  where  we  were.  Then  I  saw  a  red  building  that  I  recognized  as  a  building  that  was  near  the  hospital.  After  that  we  arrived  in  a  few  minutes  and  she  was  immediately  taken  to  the  operation  room.

What  did  you  sense?  like  touch  smell  hear  see?I  saw  Red  guards  torturing  the  Conservatives  and  that  they  were  herded  up  all  together  and  sat  on  chairs.  They  also  wore  signs  and  coned  hats.  When  we  were  waiting  for  the  ambulance  I  smelled  blood  and  heard  screaming  and  the  machines.  During  the  ride  I  heard  the  machines,  the  paramedics  talking,  the  siren  and  the  screams  from  the  crowds.

ReBlection:I  think  that  this  project  has  helped  me  in  many  ways  to  learn  about  my  family  history.  This  also  helped  me  Bind  out  my  families  Identity.  I  think  that  doing  a  project  similar  to  this  is  helpful  because  you  will  be  able  to  learn  about  your  family  and  at  the  same  time  improve  your  writing  skills.    I  enjoyed  Binding  information  about  our  family  members  and  the  event.  That  part  was  enjoyable  because  I  discovered  information  about  my  family  and  the  event  that  I  was  never  aware  of.  Some  of  challenging  parts  was  that  there  were  times  when  I  thought  I  had  enough  information  but  when  I  realized  that  I  didn’t  I  have  enough  information.  Also  another  part  was  that  since,  it  happened  a  long  time  ago  they  couldn’t  really  remember  all  the  details  and  had  to  improvise  with  the  member’s  voice.  I  think  that  I  have  improved  as  a  writer  because  I  can  now  write  sentences  more  Bluently.  I  would  give  future  students  to  get  tons  and  tons  of  information  and    show  not  tell.