“Revolution is Not a Dinner Party” by Ying Chang Compestine.
Henry Holt and Company, New York, 2007, 249 pages, grades 5-7.
Revolutions occur when troubling problems long submerged in a society erupt. In the United States, this happened when the colonists grew tired and angry with the British over lordship. In countries such as China, problems have simmered for centuries. When the issues finally come to the surface, violence frequently happens.
In China, Mao Ze-Dong led the revolution. Writing that revolution is not a dinner party, Mao had no problem with annihilating millions of Chinese not supporting his idea of a worker’s paradise. Espousing violence, the Red Chinese government brutally attacked anyone they felt were enemies of the state. About 1965, Mao concluded that the Chinese were veering from the communist path of perfection and started the Red Guards in China, who were given license to wreak havoc on all deemed to be “bourgeoisie.”
Ying Chang Compestine lived through these horrible times. “Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party” is her autobiographical account of the chilling effects of the Chinese Cultural Revolution on her family and the lives of normal Chinese citizens.
As a young child, Ying Chang lives in a comfortable apartment with her western-educated father and mother. A physician, Dr. Chang is a generous and talented man. Mrs. Chang is also a doctor, but practices traditional Chinese medical practices, using herbs and other natural products. They live in a pleasant world of ideas, music and friendship.
But Mao Ze-Dong has decided that the Chinese have betrayed the ideas of Marxism and need to be corrected through all the means necessary to return to Communistic perfection. He organizes the Red Guard, to train young students from the ages of 13-25, to reteach the Chinese the glories of Maoist thought. Immediately, anyone with a western education is considered suspect. People with radios or sewing machines are seen as western accomplices trying to overthrow Mao. The Red Guard begin arresting these “subversives.”
Dr. Chang is taken away as an enemy of the people. Ying and her mother are now in a terrible situation. The Red Guard can persecute them because of Dr. Chang’s supposed allegiance to the West. Mrs. Chang is forced to work the night shift at a local hospital and their apartment is ransacked by the Red Guard. Ying is taunted at school because of her father’s arrest. Her friends begin abandoning her because they fear the Red Guard will attack them. Despair begins gripping China as Mao imposes his evil intent on the country. Then just as things are at their lowest point, the situation is suddenly altered. What has happened and why does it change Ying’s life?
This is a book filled with both pain and triumph. Readers will see what happens to a country that has a leader surrounded by a cult of personality rather than a set of values based on positive religious values. Since Mao is an atheist, the Chinese citizens have no value except for their utility in imposing his godless, socialistic society. People do not have inherent dignity for Mao or the Red Guard. Because of this, the Red Guard with Mao’s approval brutalizes the entire nation. The author demonstrates that the Communistic dictatorship is a false and failed conception. Readers will understand this by the end of the book and Chang underscores the power of family and love in the story.
This book ends on a high note, but the author does not shy away from the terrible events in China. “Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party” is well written and this period of Chinese history is important for us to understand. When a leader puts himself above the citizens and concerns of a nation, horrible things will likely happen. Highly recommended.
