Red Land Yellow River: A Story From The Cultural Revolution

When Mao’s Cultural Revolution took hold in China in 1966, Ange Zhang was 13 years old. He lived with his family in Beijing, he attended school and excelled in drawing, and his father was a famous writer whose “Yellow River Cantata” was widely considered to be the anthem of the revolution. Yet soon, Ange’s life — and his family’s — would change forever. Complementing this autobiographical narrative with evocative color illustrations, archival images, and some of his own black-and-white photos, Ange gives a moving account of difficult experiences: from his early longing to join his peers in the Red Guard, to witnessing his father being publicly humiliated, to his growing alienation and disillusionment. But he finds some good fortune, too: during his “reeducation” in the countryside, Ange discovers enough emotional space to develop his own ideas and to find that he, like his father, is an artist in his own right.