Colors of the Mountain: A Memoir

Born in rural Fujian in 1962, Da Chen grows up in a family condemned for its pre-revolutionary landlord status. During the Cultural Revolution, his father and grandfather face denunciation and forced labour, his older siblings are driven from education into farm work, and Da encounters hostility from teachers and officials. Mischief, music, books and a gang of village boys offer temporary escape from hunger, humiliation and the narrow future assigned to him.

After Mao Zedong’s death, the restoration of competitive education gives Da a route beyond the village. He and his brother Jin study with relentless discipline while the whole family sacrifices to support them, culminating in Da’s exceptional examination result and admission to a leading language institute in Beijing in 1978. The memoir combines a child’s view of family loyalty and local prejudice with an account of how national political campaigns shaped education, work and social status in Maoist China.