Part One Summary

The author, Anchee Min, says that she began learning the teachings of Mao from a very early age as well as the operas of Madam Mao. She became a devout member of the Little Red Guard, a school version of the Communist Party. Her parents work long hours as teachers and Min is responsible for her three younger siblings from the time she was five. She says it is the same with all the children and that the older children tie the younger siblings onto their backs with a strip of cloth so that they are free to play. Min is bullied on her way to school and fights are common. In the evenings, she fixes a meal though she often has trouble with the stove and leaves it several times to be summoned for a smoked-up house. She tries to...