Two Writers and the Cultural Revolution: Lao Shê and Ch'en Jo-hsi
Edited by George Kao
1980
213 pages
ISBN 962-201-202-7
The Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) wrecked the lives of millions of Chinese people; writers and intellectuals were particularly vulnerable. The two writers whose works are represented here both had their lives changed irrevocably in the course of this violent period.
Lao Shê (1899–1966), an established novelist well known for his criticisms of the ills of traditional Chinese society, was persecuted to death at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. Chen Jo-hsi (1938– ), a young writer at the time, was born in Taiwan but went to live in the PRC during the first seven years of the Cultural Revolution. Her experience there resulted in the novel The Execution of Mayor Yin (1976), the first book to give readers a realistic glimpse of life during the Cultural Revolution.
George Kao was founding editor of Renditions.