2023-10-06

Ten Years of Madness: Oral Histories of China's Cultural Revolution: Fens Jicai: 9780835125840: Amazon.com: Books

Ten Years of Madness: Oral Histories of China's Cultural Revolution: Fens Jicai: 9780835125840: Amazon.com: Books

https://archive.org/details/tenyearsofmadnes00feng

Ten Years of Madness: Oral Histories of China's Cultural Revolution  2007
by Fens Jicai (Author)
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
4.3 on Goodreads
104 ratings


Ten Years of Madness is a groundbreaking book that draws some parallels to Studs Terkel's "Working" in that it portrays a wide cross section of the Chinese people, but with a harrowing twist: how they survived the disastrous Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976. Families were destroyed; an entire generation of artists and intellectuals was lost. These oral histories, expertly conducted and arranged by noted writer and cultural critic Feng Jicai, are essential in preserving the memory of those who survived and those who did not survive China's most calamitous period in its modern history.
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290 pages


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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
To commemorate the 20th anniversary of the end of the Cultural Revolution and the 30th of its beginning, Feng conducted extensive interviews with 100 people who lived through that harrowing decade. In 1986, when he placed ads in Chinese newspapers calling for people's experiences, he received over 4000 responses. Those he has selected are disturbing, utterly compelling, seamlessly told and, together, constitute a many-layered and intimate picture. The interviews, which read like monologues, are prefaced by the person's age and occupation in 1966. One man, who was a 16-year-old student at the time, enjoyed destroying churches with the Red Guard, but when a classmate and an elderly man were beaten, he became a "non-participant." "I found that if you want to be a non-participant, the best thing to do is go fishing." A middle-aged housewife was not so lucky. When her husband was falsely charged with counterrevolutionary activity, they were both sentenced to No. 63, a prison camp where inmates were routinely tortured to death. She describes not just the cruelties she miraculously survived but the incidentals like the opera record, The Red Lantern, that the guards played to mask screams. Another woman, a gifted young dancer in 1966, was brainwashed into believing that her father was a "rightist." He died before she recognized the lie, and she now lives with terrible guilt. Feng includes four appendices: a chronology; key figures; an interview with the author; and several dozen short interviews to sample the widely varying attitudes towards the Cultural Revolution of those born after 1976. "What I fear most," says Feng, "is that later generations will adopt a sensationalist attitude towards the suffering of an earlier one."
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Originally published in China in 1991 and brought out in a different form here (Voice from the Whirlwind, Pantheon, 1991), this work by the noted Chinese author Feng (The Three Inch Golden Lotus, LJ 3/15/94) gathers the voices of 19 people from various walks of life who narrate candidly their personal experiences during the calamities of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-76). With a preface translated by famous China expert Howard Goldblatt, Feng has faithfully recorded the interviewees' reminiscences, and it becomes apparent that their hearts and souls have been affected by their painful encounters. Appendixes include an interview with the author, a view of the Cultural Revolution in the eyes of the new generation left intact after the disasters, a chronology of events (1949-79), and the key figures of the revolution. The last two are valued resources for studying the history of modern China. Highly recommended for larger public libraries and the East Asia collection of academic libraries.?Steven Lin, Dallas P.L., Tex.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product details
Publisher ‏ : ‎ China Books; First Edition (February 13, 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 290 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 083512584X
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0835125840
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12.8 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.25 x 0.66 x 8.5 inchesBest Sellers Rank: #298,770 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)#319 in Chinese History (Books)Customer Reviews:
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 21 ratings








H. Cross
4.0 out of 5 stars rich, varied content if you can put aside the author's toneReviewed in the United States on August 23, 1998
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The narratives in this collection of oral histories about the Cultural Revolution are varied , well-ordered, and of a good length. Feng includes victims, perpetrators, "non-participants." Particularly fascinating/ horrifying is the chapter about the infamous #63 torture block. The author also includes some striking, though possibly one-sided, interviews with people born post-1976. Feng himself seems to have a bit of a saviour complex, and his commentary struck me as overdone and interfering - particularly the trite maxims he insists on including after each narrative. He is most interesting in the interview at the end of the book, during which he discusses his methodology and "Documentary Literature".
Chihua Wen's oral histories of children during the Cultural Revolution (The Red Mirror) is less varied, but has a lighter touch, and therefore comes off as more richly poetic. Cheng Jung's Wild Swans is a good companion to these oral history style books, as it offers a detailed and incisive analysis along with its personal story. Ten Years of Madness is a good collection of narratives, but I wish Feng's commentary had been more analytical and less Holy.

16 people found this helpful


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Great Pyr
4.0 out of 5 stars Rank & File RealityReviewed in the United States on December 21, 2014
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An interesting anthology of various Chinese in different positions during the Cultural Revolution. They range from relatives of those killed to a couple who managed to dodge the misery. They are all well written & part of a Sociology study that spans many of the millions of CR victims. There are good histories of the era & biographies of the major players but these stories add to the understanding of what life was like by run of the mill people living in China during that time.

3 people found this helpful


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M.B.
4.0 out of 5 stars Good AnecdotesReviewed in the United States on August 17, 2010
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"Ten Years of Madness" is a collection of good anecdotes by various people who witnessed the Cultural Revolution. Most are stories about people and families who have been wronged, although there are a few stories about active participants in the Cultural Revolution. "The Story of a Smile" was particularly interesting. It is a tragedy that caused me to chuckle. The author's commentaries at the ends of each anecdote are trivial and unnecessary. Nevertheless, this is a good read.

2 people found this helpful


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Pei Laoshi
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent stories from the Cultural RevolutionReviewed in the United States on June 21, 2013
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This book has a number of insightful Cultural Revolution stories. The stories usually focus on one particular event, and often include what lead up to it as well as the aftermath. If you want someone's story covering a number of years, I recommend Blood Red Sunset or Mr. China's Son: A Villager's Life.



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N. Brown
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read for TodayReviewed in the United States on November 14, 2011
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This book will educate the reader about how easily people are manipulated.
It's both sickening, and informative, about Mao's cultural revolution, and
how people were convinced that the tortures, beatings, and cruelties they
inflicted on the opposition to Mao, was a good thing.
Read it, and learn. Learn what NOT to become.

3 people found this helpful


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Jeff M
5.0 out of 5 stars Good book.Reviewed in the United States on July 15, 2017
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Good book.

5 people found this helpful


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J. L.
5.0 out of 5 stars Five StarsReviewed in the United States on June 15, 2016
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excellent.



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Mary Levenson
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book about the Cultural Revolution.Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2009
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The stories in this book are truly exceptional. I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. So much to learn -- so much has been hidden.

2 people found this helpful


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