“Socialism Is Great!” Reader’s Guide
By Lijia Zhang
READERS GUIDE
“A sharply observant and admirably crafted memoir. . . . A truly original contribution to our understanding of modern China.”—Jonathan D. Spence
The introduction, questions, and suggestions for further reading that follow are designed to enliven your group’s discussion of Lijia Zhang’s extraordinary personal journey in “Socialism Is Great!”: A Worker’s Memoir of the New China.
Introduction
One of the very few memoirs to explore life in China during the turbulent 1980s, a fascinating era in China when it began to change and become what it is today, “Socialism Is Great!” tells the story of one woman’s struggle for freedom and self-expression, a struggle that parallels and embodies China’s own efforts to loosen itself from the grip of Mao’s Cultural Revolution.Lijia Zhang’s memoir traces a remarkably intertwined personal and historical unfolding. Growing up under the watchful and restrictive eye of her mother (her father has been forced to work in another city and is rarely at home) and the rigid social conformity of Mao’s China, Lijia harbors dreams of getting an education, going to university, and finding a satisfying profession. But when her mother sees an opportunity to retire early and pass her factory job onto her daughter, Lijia’s ambitions are thwarted. “Getting into university,” her mother tells her, “is harder than climbing to heaven!” [p. 8]. Instead, she must endure the factory routine of drudgery and despair, mindless work and endless meetings. Chafing against her fate, Lijia searches for ways to improve her education and her chances of creating a more fulfilling life. The country as a whole is undergoing a similar struggle, as students begin demanding democratic reforms and a real voice in the political and cultural direction of China. Economic reforms are also afoot, as more and more small, independent businesses spring up, a remarkable development in a country where a planned, state-run economy had seemed indomitable. Lijia’s mother takes a job working for one of these small businesses. But the pace of change is slow and Lijia is an impatient, willful, highly ambitious young woman. She experiences one frustration after another, as the political leader of her work unit, Wang, thwarts her attempts to better herself because he sees her as insufficiently loyal to the communist party.
Lijia is at the same time rebelling against traditional Chinese notions of sexual relations, as she falls in love and explores her sexual desires with several men, outside the state-approved confines of marriage. Here she experiences a painful mixture of romantic ecstasy and betrayal, professional encouragement and sexist dismissal of her professional goals. Indeed, Lijia is seen by many as “a toad that dreams of swan meat.” Her mother warns her against getting her hopes up and of the crushing disappointment that will surely follow. Nevertheless, Lijia is undeterred, earning a degree at TV University, teaching herself English, (she devours English novels and has a particular fondness, understandably, for Jane Eyre), working as a translator, and hoping to become a journalist. Zhang’s personal ambitions ultimately intersect with China’s political ferment when she spontaneously organizes a protest march in support of the widespread student demonstrations that would end in tragedy in Tiananmen Square.
“Socialism Is Great!” is an eye-opening book, taking readers inside the factory system in China (a missile factory that later produces the largest bronze Buddha in China), inside Chinese family life, and inside the mind and heart of an exceptionally talented, driven, and determined young woman. It is a world that has rarely been rendered for Western readers with such intimacy and honesty.
Questions and Topics for Discussion
1. What are the major insights “Socialism Is Great!” offers about life in China in the period leading up to the Tiananmen Square protests? What are the values and social norms that seem to have most influence over the Chinese people during this time?
2. What is the appeal of memoirs that explore the struggle for personal freedom against institutional oppression? Why are such stories so inspiring? What makes “Socialism Is Great!” an important addition to this genre?
3. In what ways does Zhang’s personal life embody the larger cultural and political changes that are occurring in China? What does seeing history through this intensely personal lens reveal that a more objective historical perspective cannot?
4. What special challenges does Lijia face as a woman in Chinese society? How are her ambitions regarded by her mother and by the men with whom she is romantically involved? What roles are available to her?
5. After her desire to learn English is revealed, Lijia is regarded as “a toad that dreams of swan meat” [p. 195]. What is the meaning of this idiomatic expression? What other sayings and proverbs appear in the novel? What do they suggest about the role of folk wisdom in judging human behavior in China?
6. How does learning English change Lijia’s perspective on herself and her possibilities? In what sense is learning English literally a life-changing experience for her?
7. What effect does reading have on Zhang? Why does she respond so powerfully to Jane Eyre?
8. “I wondered,” Zhang writes, “if there was an innate Chinese tendency toward conformity that made it easier for us to accept a dictatorial state-the People’s Democratic Dictatorship, as our political system was formally called-or did dictatorship itself instill our complacency?” [p. 195-196]. Does “Socialism Is Great!” suggest an answer to this question?
9. During their tearful, final lunch, Red Rock and Lijia observe a blindfolded donkey grinding soy beans. When Lijia asks why it’s blindfolded, Red Rock replies that “it will refuse to move forward if it knows he is only going in circles” [p. 133]. In what ways is this a metaphor for the constricted lives of Lijia and other Chinese workers? In what ways does the ruling Communist party try to “blindfold” its citizens?
10. What are the key moments in Zhang’s disillusionment with Communist China’s “Glorious Cause”? What experiences whet her desire for freedom?
11. What aspects of Zhang’s own character and temperament lead her to rebel against the strictures of the Communist Party? In what ways is Zhang typical of Chinese youth of her generation? In what ways is she unusual?
12. Liang’s brother, the film director, tells Zhang that, “The worst impact of the Cultural Revolution was that it destroyed Chinese People’s integrity and honesty” [p. 316]. Why would Mao’s Cultural Revolution have this effect? What instances of this lack of integrity and honesty appear in the book?
13. How do Zhang’s romantic relationships with men both limit and expand her possibilities? On balance, are these relationships more helpful or harmful to her?
14. Why does Zhang end her story-which reaches a climax with the dramatic protest she organized and her subsequent police interrogation-by saying: “I handed Policeman Zhou his notebook back, held my head up, and my back straight and erect. Just like my mother”? [p. 357]. Why does she signal this solidarity with her mother, even though she has spent much of her early life rebelling against her mother’s limited vision of what is possible for her?
15. How does “Socialism Is Great!” which ends in 1989, illuminate what is happening in China today?
About this Author
Lijia Zhang was born and raised in Nanjing. Her articles have appeared in many international publications, including South China Morning Post, Japan Times, the Independent (London), The Washington Times, and Newsweek. She is a regular speaker on BBC Radio and NPR. She now lives in Beijing with her two daughters.www.lijiazhang.com
