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Beginning of the Cultural Revolution
The beginning of the Cultural Revolution was a bookmark that marked the last chapter of the Mao era. It was not only an influential event in China's history but also the people of the time, in such a negative way that it broke families apart, ruined lives (ended some) and placed a thick stone wall around the nation that kept western influence out and Chinese rule in. -
My Mother's Birthday
Haiyan (Liuba) Min was born on this day. She was rushed to the hospital on the back of a farmer's cart because her mother's water broke at home and there was nobody with her at the time. Hopeless, she ran onto the streets and pleaded people to help her and at last, one kind farmer did. He then brought her to the hospital and asked for nothing in return. Haiyan's mother, Vera, had never forgotten the man. -
Extreme Tensions Between Russia and China
Border conflicts arise between Russia and China, whose alliance had gotten very rocky from the 1960s. On this day was a skirmish at the Ussuri river. This affected my mother's life in such a way that Russians were looked at with more scorn. -
My Mother Enters Primary School
Although my mother doesn't quite remember her first day of school, my grandmother did know a lot. She remembered that during my mother's first year of school, she was very playful and mischievous. A typical child, as one might say. But as she grew older, she started to study better and excell in sports (more so than in academics, as my mother had admitted herself.) -
Tiananmen Incident
The incident occurred on the day the Qingming Festival, also known as the day of mourning, after the Nanjing Incident, and was triggered by the death of Premier Zhou Enlai earlier that year. Some people very strongly disapproved of the removal of the displays of mourning, beginning to gather at the Square to protest against the authorities. -
Mao Zedong Dies
Grief ensued. Many people mourned Chairman Mao, crying over his death. His image remained in China for many, many years even after his death and his life as well as the era he'd established was one of the most influential in all of China's history. -
The Cultural Revolution Ends
My mother was at age nine when the Cultural Revolution ended. Though the age of Mao truly ended here, the effects of the revolution and the Mao era remained very prominent for a very, very long time.
