Part I: Chapter 4, House Arrest Summary and Analysis

Cheng wakes up the morning after the Red Guards have destroyed her home to total chaos. She cannot do anything, including clean, for fear that the Red Guards will inevitably return and accuse her of trying to hide something. The newspaper that morning warns that capitalists are evil and have been found hiding diamonds and gold bars in various rooms of their homes. Meiping comes home for just a little while to check on her mother before she has to run to the studio again. A few days later, the Red Guards return, demanding the gold bars that Cheng has hidden in her home. Of course, Cheng does not have such valuables lying around or hidden anywhere and the Red Guards leave.

However, the Red Guards return the next day and continue to...