Chinese Women History and Chinese Culture Revolution

Spider Eaters

Rae Yang's Outlook on the Chinese Revolution

Living under a Communist ruler is not a lifestyle that many in the western world are accustomed. Life is much different from the freedoms many in the western world are used to living with. Imagine a friend or family member accustomed to in a life of oppression. In the 1960s Americans were living in a prosperous time. That time period is when many families bought homes and started having families, which is often called the time of the "Baby Boomers." During the 1960s in China, things were remarkably different; China had become a Communist (Socialist) country under the Maoist revolution and later became a close ally of the Soviet Union.

The Peoples Republic of China underwent dramatic changes in 1966 that lasted until 1976. Historically the period is referred to as The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Mao Zedong (Mao) was the chairmen of the Communist Party of China and wanted to advance socialism, thus removing any and all capitalist elements from their society. During this period, Mao imposed his will and beliefs on the Chinese society. This turbulent period resulted in many violent struggles often resulting in persecution and death.

Living in China during this time would have been very difficult. Author Rae Yang wrote a book entitled "Spider Eaters" that documents her life and experiences in China from 1950-1980. An analysis of Rae Yang's "Spider Eaters" will explore the motivation for the Chinese Revolution; it delves into her ideals and the struggles and frustrations with existing as a female in Communist China, and the successes and limitations in elevating the women's status under the rules of the Communist Party.

Motivation for Chinese Revolution

Yang's father, second uncle, and third aunt were educated at the University in Beijing (Yang, 1997). In 1942, Yang's father had made a major decision in his life leaving Beijing and joining the communist party (Yang, 1997). This decision was baffling to Yang as she has been told a variety of reasons for her father making this decision. One reason was that he wanted to help create a new society in which people could be free, equal, and happy.

The genuine reason Yang' father went to Jinchaji was to provide medicine to the many people there who had undergone sickness and were dying (Yang, 1997). Yang's father almost became a martyr for the cause; soon after delivering the medicine to save lives he acquired Typhoid Fever that nearly killed him (Yang, 1997). In 1957, Yang's father later joined the Chinese CIA and began telling his daughter about secrets that she could not tell anyone. This life was exciting and was a time in which she was very proud of her parents. Her father was a mysterious person to her but someone she had a great deal of respect for. Yang's mother and father raised her to believe in the principle of Mao and to be supportive if the Maoist Revolution.

With her father, mother, and grandmothers influence Yang was attracted to the Cultural Revolution. During the 1960s Yang became a member of the Red Guard; a group that was affiliated with the revolutionary movement. As a part of the Red Guard, Yang traveled the country in an attempt to promote the revolution to the citizens of China. In her first seven months as a member of the Red Guard, she denounced teachers at her school and joined in on the beating of a classmate.

Yang's enthusiasm for the Cultural Revolution led to her spreading propaganda, raiding homes, denouncing any adult who was counterrevolutionary, and participation in the beating of people that had been politically disloyal (Yang, 1997). When Yang was in the Red Guard she stated that "rationally I believe that violence was both inevitable and necessary to make a great revolution (Yang, 1997). Yang later stated that "I would say that those seven months of my life were the most terrible in my life" and in confliction with herself "I had never felt so good about myself before, nor have I ever since (Yang, 1997)."

Yao's Ideals, Struggles and Frustrations with being a female in Communist China

Yao was a person who lived a life of many conflictions. At one time she was supportive of the Maoist Revolution, later in life while working on a pig farm coming to the revelation that this line of thought was incorrect. This is an interesting change in life much similar to that of Malcolm X who turned from one extreme to another, radical racist to a person promoting peace and prosperity.

Yang' early years she was a daughter of Chinese diplomats and went to elite school and lived a comfortable life. When Yang volunteered to go work on a pig farm, the life she was accustomed to living over as she had become a peasant worker. She experiences the ups of living a charmed life and the struggles of becoming a peasant and coming to grips with being a woman in Communist China. Women in China were often treated as 2nd class citizens often physically and mentally dominated by their male counterparts. This would be similar to an aristocrat giving up a wealthy lifestyle to go work on a farm for little monetary value.

In 1968 Yang volunteered to go life live on a pig farm in the northern wilderness. After taking time to reflect upon her life, Yang became firmly against the Maoist movement. At the pig farm she developed remorse and full of frustration, eventually undergoing a great deal of despair that almost led her to suicide. During this period of reflection, Yang also realized that being a female in Communist China was not advantageous to a life of great happiness.

Successes and Limitations in elevating the women's status under the rules of the Communist Party

Historically speaking China has been a male-dominated culture. Chinese women were believed to be the lowest form of society. Women were considered property of her parents until becoming married and becoming the possession of their spouse. Chinese women were typically told to be good daughters, become a good wife, and to know their role in society. Women were dominated in Chinese society by men, and it was in both physical and mental capacities.

Yang had diplomatic parents and often lived a life of comfort. As she went out and became a peasant working on a pig farm the life of a Chinese woman shed a light on her. The Revolution promised equality and a better life for everyone, but Yang's experience on the pig farm demonstrated the difficulty in life for a woman. The women of the Red Guard may have been treated better, but in the peasant life women were still considered 2nd class citizens.