China's Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution [Turtleback]

Da Chen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2003

A candid memoir about growing up during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, adapted by the author from his Colors of the Mountain, published by Random House.

Da Chen was born in China in 1962. The grandson of a landlord, he and his family were treated as outcasts in Communist China. In school, Da was an excellent student until a teacher told him that, because of his “family’s crimes,” he could never be more than a poor farmer. Feeling his fate was hopeless, Da responded by dropping out and hanging around with a gang. However, after Mao’s death, Da realized that an education and college might be possible, but he had to make up for the time he’d wasted. He began to study–all day and into the night. His entire family rallied to help him succeed, working long hours in the rice fields and going into debt to ensure that Da would have an education. When the final exam results were posted, he had one of the highest scores in the region and had earned a place at the prestigious Beijing University. Now his family’s past would not harm their future.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Born in 1962 in southern China, Da Chen had monumental hurdles to overcome before he could even walk or talk. Mao Tse-tung's Cultural Revolution was in full swing, and the descendents of landlords, who were despised, were routinely stripped of their wealth, beaten, humiliated, and sent off to labor camps. Da Chen, the grandson of a landlord, lives several parallel lives: he excels in school but then gives up studying in the face of unbearable pressure and harassment from teachers, students, and administrators. He is a self-taught musician but also a member of a gang of toughs. His siblings, banned from school, work from before sunrise to sunset in the muddy, backbreaking rice fields. But eventually all the dichotomies in Da's life come together, and he makes a break for a new life, with higher education as his foundation for future success.

Da Chen's engrossing memoir, adapted for younger readers from his book Colors of the Mountain, paints a colorful, painful, sometimes humorous picture of life during the 1960s and '70s, when formerly privileged Chinese families were at the mercy of Chairman Mao and his ruthless Red Guard soldiers. The writing is at times jerky, other times poetic, and Da Chen's time frame can be confusing. However, this is a book young readers will not soon forget, especially if it's their first glimpse of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. (Ages 12 and older) --Emilie Coulter --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Adapted for young adults from Chen's memoir (Colors of the Mountain), this coming-of-age tale traces the author's boyhood in Maoist China. Born in 1962, Chen grows up in privation and humiliation as the grandson of former landlords. His family has been stripped of property and is cruelly treated by fellow villagers and politicos. Chen's siblings must quit school to become farmers, his father is fired from his teaching job and repeatedly hauled off to labor camp, and his grandfather is publicly beaten. Chen's only recourse is to excel at his studies ("I shone, despite their efforts to snuff me out"). The pacing here lurches a bit; what may have worked well for adult audiences could throw younger readers. However, humor and unflinching honesty inform the narrative, which is shot through with lyrical descriptions ("my fate stood undecided, wavering in the wind like a blade of grass along the Dong Jing River"). Some of the most involving scenes revolve around the boy's gradual inclusion in a Huck Finn-esque gang that cares little about his privileged background. Young adults interested in this area of history may wish to read Ji-li Jiang's recent Red Scarf Girl, which chronicles her adolescence at the time Mao was taking power. Chen's reminiscences add another intriguing perspective on this turbulent time. Ages 12-up.

Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Turtleback
• Publisher: Demco Media (August 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0606289860
• ISBN-13: 978-0606289863
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.8 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,755,946 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

21 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars China's Boy-Definately an engrossing read!, December 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: China's Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution (Hardcover)

As a 12 year old student, I was assigned to read China's Son as a class project. As usual, I took one look at the cover and felt discouraged. But as I worked my way through the book, I actually began to understand the meaning of Da Chen's words.
Growing up in China during the Cultural Revolution was difficult for poverty stricken Da Chen. The book shows how he deals with his hardships, going from top student to the child no one likes, just because of his social standing. Da even joins a gang of hoodlums in his neighborood, and slowly becomes disinterested in the school he once loved. After dealing with family issues, Da realizes that he wants more in life then to become an uneducated farmer. Determined to succeed, he studies to enter one of China's best collages. Da Chen leaves readers on edge, hoping and praying that Da will make it into collage.
Although the book started off slowly for me, I would most definately reccomend it to any jr. through high schooler. Reading about Da Chen's determination is inspirational!

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An inspirational, insightful autobiography, March 4, 2003

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: China's Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution (Paperback)

China's Sons is the intensely personal account of Da Chen, born in China in 1962, is reviewed here for its importance to many an adult reader as well. Chen and his family were outcasts in Communist China, and Da had to drop out of school as a result. When Mao died, Da faced a long struggle to regain his education and go to college  and his entire family helped him succeed. China's Son is an inspirational, insightful autobiography.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting child account of the Cultural Revolution, December 2, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: China's Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revolution (Hardcover)

As an adult interested in China and the Cultural Revolution and having traveled many times to China, I read this book not really expecting to glean much from it. It was well written though and appropriately rated. I found Da Chen a character I could relate with (even as an adult) and discovered his account to be full of emotion: frightened, bitter, angry, excited, happy etc.. I think most of the "facts" were presented in truth.