Almost every other day the front page of Reference, the newspaper which carded foreign press items, would feature some eulogy of Mao and the Cultural Revolution. To me, the ultimate proof of freedom in the West was that there seemed to be so many people there attacking the West and praising China. I was struck less by the West's technological developments and high living standards than by the absence of political witch-hunts, the lack of consuming suspicion, the dignity of the individual, and the incredible amount of liberty. “I was extremely curious about the alternatives to the kind of life I had been leading, and my friends and I exchanged rumors and scraps of information we dug from official publications. Now and then he would give special orders, all solemnly delivered in the name of Mao.” Then he would make an hour-long speech consisting of all the latest political jargon strung together in undigested and largely unintelligible hunks. The classes invariably started with Nana and me being asked by the production team leader to read out articles by Mao or other items from the People's Daily. However, as soon as the first 'class' began, I realized that this was no education.
The Cultural Revolution was trumpeted as having brought education to the peasants through 'evening classes." One day my production team announced it was starting evening classes and asked Nana and me to be the teachers. "They get married and belong to other people. As for girls, the peasants considered it a complete waste of time for them to go to school.
They would be out in the fields when they were barely in their teens. Children of school age would stay at home to help their families with their work or look after younger brothers and sisters. The virtual absence of any chance of a better future and the near total immobility for anyone born a peasant took the incentive out of the pursuit of knowledge.
Might as well start earning your work points right away." You don't get a grain of rice more for being able to read books.
"You pay fees and read for years, and in the end you are still a peasant, earning your food with your sweat.
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