translation excerpt, revolutionary networking, memoir-novel of the summer of '66, lovelorn red guard sets out on a train to shanxi
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▣ I have started reading Revolutionary Networking 大串联 by Xue Bing 雪屏, a novel published in 2012. It takes place during the period between 1966 and 1967 in which Red Guards began traveling around the country. At first, these were mostly pilgrimages to Beijing, where the young rebels were received by Chairman Mao. Later, Red Guards began traveling to major cities, countryside rallies, and sites of revolutionary history. This is an event that I first learned about from an older man, then in his fifties and is now in his seventies, who had gone to Beijing in 1966, as well as traveling as far west as Xinjiang. His daughter was ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■. He remembered the period of free train-travel around China with nostalgia. He was envious of his friends that had made connections or put down roots in other cities. Most of the characters in this book are part of Red Guard factions, but he was not, as far as I know (he never admitted it to me, but ■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■, so there was nothing to hide). Although it does not present a wholly rosy picture of the 1960s in China, this book helps me understand why somebody might be nostalgic for a time remembered officially as ten years of chaos. Maybe there are political methods to learn from this episode, about how to unleash desires and libidinal drives. Maybe it can humanize people that are remembered as a faceless, shouting mass. A brief excerpt is below. As always, I advise that this translation is done without permission. No editor has seen it. It is only for you. As always, I will promise to translate more. I wouldn’t count on it. ▣
translation excerpt, revolutionary networking, memoir-novel of the summer of '66, lovelorn red guard sets out on a train to shanxi
translation excerpt, revolutionary…
translation excerpt, revolutionary networking, memoir-novel of the summer of '66, lovelorn red guard sets out on a train to shanxi
▣ I have started reading Revolutionary Networking 大串联 by Xue Bing 雪屏, a novel published in 2012. It takes place during the period between 1966 and 1967 in which Red Guards began traveling around the country. At first, these were mostly pilgrimages to Beijing, where the young rebels were received by Chairman Mao. Later, Red Guards began traveling to major cities, countryside rallies, and sites of revolutionary history. This is an event that I first learned about from an older man, then in his fifties and is now in his seventies, who had gone to Beijing in 1966, as well as traveling as far west as Xinjiang. His daughter was ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■. He remembered the period of free train-travel around China with nostalgia. He was envious of his friends that had made connections or put down roots in other cities. Most of the characters in this book are part of Red Guard factions, but he was not, as far as I know (he never admitted it to me, but ■ ■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■ ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■■ ■■■■■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■ ■■■■, so there was nothing to hide). Although it does not present a wholly rosy picture of the 1960s in China, this book helps me understand why somebody might be nostalgic for a time remembered officially as ten years of chaos. Maybe there are political methods to learn from this episode, about how to unleash desires and libidinal drives. Maybe it can humanize people that are remembered as a faceless, shouting mass. A brief excerpt is below. As always, I advise that this translation is done without permission. No editor has seen it. It is only for you. As always, I will promise to translate more. I wouldn’t count on it. ▣