Rebirth

            Approximately one million people have died, and most of them were educators and landlords. More than fifty years ago, peasants were the largest population in China. Soon after, the founder father of People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong, advocated social equality. He thought that people should own equal lands regardless of the amount of their possession, and work as manual laborers in groups for the government regardless of their education level. Therefore, a large number of peasants took over lands from landlords in their towns and forced intellectuals to do manual labor. Additionally, many of the landlords and intellectuals were tortured to death. This movement, known as the Cultural Revolution, was one of the bloodiest eras in history. I used to think that my family was not involved in this part of China’s disastrous past. Nevertheless, I was wrong. In 1966, My grandmother’s first husband was killed by a large group of peasants and government officials during the Cultural Revolution because he was a wealthy landlord in the town. When I was a teen, my grandmother told me this story. Since then, the destruction of my grandmother’s first home has deeply affected my grandmother, my oldest uncle, and me.

The loss of my grandmother’s home forced her to change her life. While my grandmother struggled in pain of losing her first husband and home, she had to find a way to escape the town to survive. Otherwise, the peasants would destroy her house and try to kill her and her son. The house she lived in was not safe and she was not strong enough to fight back, so she had to run away from the town and look for a new place which is far away from the mobs for survival. Therefore, she carried her son and walked for one day to another town. Finally, she met a man, who later became her second husband and my grandfather, and took care of her and her son and allowed her to live in his house as long as she wanted. Besides my grandfather, she could not tell anyone about her identity because there were mobs in my grandfather’s town as well. For security, she had to change her name and made up a fake background. Later, she married my grandfather and started a new life.

My uncle, who is the son of my grandmother and her first husband, lost his home and had a childhood trauma. He was born in a rich family and was supposed to live well and have a lighthearted childhood. Within one day, he was told that his father was killed and had to flee from his hometown for good. He was shocked and scared by the massive change of his life. Therefore, he had a childhood trauma. My grandmother instructed him not to tell anyone about his past, and this caused him to refuse to communicate with others for a long period of time. When his friends were talking about their families’ stories, he became quiet and humble. In addition, he hides his sadness after he grew up. As he told me that his childhood experience has made him feel insecure all the time. Later, he told his children and me that he had gradually accepted his past. Additionally, he realized that having a strong mind and being positive can lead him to walk out from his childhood trauma.

Although my grandmother’s and my oldest uncle’s family history seem to not affect my life directly, their life experiences inspire me to become a stronger person. Even when I moved to the United States, my grandmother worried about my safety. In addition, she suggested that I should prepare for the worst regardless of the severity of a situation. The reason of her suggestion was that she thought that no one knows whether disaster or luck would come first. Her story also inspired me to be a brave and independent person. On the other hand, my oldest uncle’s story inspired me not to be afraid of the changes in my life environment when I first came to the United States. In addition, he taught me to be positive especially when I am in difficult situations.

In today’s China, the Cultural Revolution is considered as craziness, fallacy and disaster. It is a humiliation in Chinese history, and the history did not just affect the people who lived in the time of the Cultural Revolution, but also affected their descendants. More than fifty years has been passed since the time of the Cultural Revolution, my grandmother has passed away and my uncle has become a senior. However, the effect of the destruction of my grandmother’s first home, as though a rebirth, gave my grandmother and uncle new lives, and provided guidance that helps build a better me. On the other hand, I wonder the consequence of my family and the country if the Cultural Revolution had never happened. Would my grandmother and my oldest uncle have a stable and wealthy life? What would today’s China look like?