Family Structure in Revolutionary China

Family Structure in Revolutionary China

Political turmoil, loyalty to the party, reforms, and the escape from political scorn, tore the many Chinese families apart in the time of the Cultural Revolution; especially once the Great Leap Forward was enacted in 1957. As expresses in Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro's Son of the Revolution (1958-1981) the at home family life was not only difficult, but often didn't exist. The fact that ones actions could be accepted by society one day and could be criticized by it the next often lead to an untrusting nature that permeated the most sacred of societal relationships, including the home-front. The lack of structure in Liang's family was alluded to throughout the book, more specifically in the absence of family members; thus showing that family could make or break ones societal position.

After being urged and basically forced to express productive criticisms about her job, Heng's mother was sent away to be re-educated when the political part...