One Man's China

"Enemy of the people"

The hardest part was having to suddenly see familiar people and faces cast in a different light, not as teachers or neighbors, but as enemies.

24th August 2007 - Yinong Zhao - One Man's China

Scenes from a primary school life

During the Cultural Revolution, the old way of teaching has been quite destroyed. No one seemed to know what the "new way" was. It was just a vague ideological notion then.

27th April 2007 - Yinong Zhao - One Man's China

Life lessons in the midst of the Cultural Revolution

There were many things that happened during the Cultural Revolution which were hard for a six-year old to understand, or even to make the simplest sense of. It was a time of confusion when I witnessed events both horrifying and great.

29th December 2006 - Yinong Zhao - One Man's China

A brave little Red Guard

The Cultural Revolution sought to give the ruling power back to the gong nong ping, the representatives of the working class. Power was to reside within factory workers, peasants and soldiers because they were the majority. All other people --- artists, teachers, doctors --- were considered "little" bourgeois.

30th October 2006 - Yinong Zhao - One Man's China

Revealing China through my life

The economic boom in China has greatly improved the lives of the Chinese people. But, I still remember times when we did not have enough food to eat. While the rapid pace of development may have made it easier to forget those times, the memory is still recent and vivid to me.

7th July 2006 - Yinong Zhao - One Man's China

Why One Man's China?

The world has over 6.6 billion people. One-fifth of them live in China, where I grew up and became the person I am now.

22nd February 2006 - Yinong Zhao - One Man's China