Blood Red Sunset: A Memoir of the Chinese Cultural Revolution

This book is out of this world. Ma Bo's clear recount of his life in the inner Mongolian steppes is astonishing. From an impassioned red guard, to being labelled a counter-revolutionary, Ma Bo's story is concise, beautifully-written, and jaw-dropping. There are nuggets scattered around Ma Bo's writing of not only historical and personal truths, but of life truths. This book was a roller coaster of emotions, and is a perfect caricature of Communism - the more inept and spineless you are, the quicker you rise; it's all a charade fuelled by greed and lust for power. Death is glorified, merit and hard-work is praised in speech but belittled in action. What scares and surprises me is that Ma Bo is one of only few skilled and brave enough to have written such a detailed and personal account on a time period that has robbed millions of their lives, and even more of their childhood, education, and future. To think that this, at any moment, can happen again in China (or gradually, as we are beginning to see in the West) is just frightening. I know now more than ever why the people of Hong Kong are rising up, and why CCP-sympathisers have been silent on the Cultural Revolution for so long. The CCP have a lot to answer for, and as long as brave men such as Ma Bo tell their tale, they will never rewrite history and squelch the human spirit.

This book relates the experience a person lives under communism and the terror it brings to every day life. How Chinese communists treat people who are the least bit skeptical or independent thinkers is explained by a man who experienced it. The citizens of China have lived under the brutality, persecution, poverty and misery since the communists took over. Non party members are treated like cattle. You’re a number not a human being. Your every waking moment is directed towards the benefit of the state not you or your family. You have to work in horrendous conditions benefiting no one other than the communist party. You don’t own anything you’re just allowed to live there. If you make any money it goes to the central government. You’re lucky to get anything to eat even after working all day long. All you folks who are enamored by socialism and communism should read this book. Take a look at how people actually live. Do some research and realize how many people have died under communism. Just in China it is believed to be 300 million deaths since the revolution . Most of those people starved to death. A truly horrible existence. Aren’t we lucky to live in such a great country? Count your blessings or you could always move to a communist country and see for yourself.

"Blood Red Sunset" is the biography of Ma Bo's time spent in the Chinese laogai/gulag system. While participating in the Cultural Revolution, he is accused of being a counter-revolutionary and is sent to the frontiers of China. He describes his desolate and lonely decade that included living among semi-nomadic herders. There are a few people who come in and out of the book, such as a romantic interest and several other inmates, most of whom have ambiguous morals. While Ma Bo clearly lost faith in communism, the book is less of an academic judgement than it is his story. The language and style of the translation are easy to read, although some of the details are not very pleasant. All in all, this was a very informative and very interesting book.

For others it might be 5 stars. I wanted to use in my classroom but know before you buy that every page has the vilest language. Every English curse word... even those usually not printed are used extensively in his writing of his experiences. In fact, the brutality of the experiences are not detailed, but the author's use of foul language is used so often it would get rated an adult book. I also found his experience to focus on his accomplishments and successes as an enforcer of the Cultural Revolution philosophy more sincere than his regrets after having to experience his own imprisonment. I'm not sure he learned the lessons of that time period, he just suffered with many others not coming to terms with his involvement.

Was in great shape - I don't think that it had ever been opened.

It was in good shape, the only thing that was annoying was it said it was garenteed to arrive on a certain date, but it was one day late. I blame this more on UPS than Amazon. Everything else was really good!

This is an absolutely phenomenal book. There's so much about the Cultural Revolution and the early days of Communist China that just gets glossed over in history classes and general books about the country. Ma Bo was on the inside of it all, and despite his unflinching belief in Communist ideals, was nonetheless punished by the very system he had so much faith in. I was worried that this book would be tainted by the stain of moralizing one way or the other. What a relief it is to read on such a charged subject and not be preached at. Ma Bo simply tells his story, and you take away from it whatever you will. There's deep understanding of what motivated the Chinese then (and to one degree or other still motivates them today), and there is much to be learned from this tale. Whatever your thoughts on Communism, I strongly recommend this book to anyone who is at all curious about this major chapter in modern Chinese history.

Any student of Communism must read this book. Anyone who forgot what Communism is must read this book. I never cease to be amazed at what evil mankind wrought upon itself when Communism entered the world's stage. I cannot conceive of what it must have been like to suffer through such nonsense. Ma Bo tells it like it was, that the period from 1966 - 1976 was a gaping cultural wound that the Chinese public still suffers from. Stories of beatings, torture, sycophancy, and greed permeate these pages. There really is nothing positive to say about the time period. It is chilling. I had to read this book for my history of Modern China as an undergraduate, some 10 years ago. It still remains with me. Anyone who remains a Communist after reading this book must needs have much to answer for.

内モンゴル生産部隊での生活をつづった紅衛兵の詳細な記録。おそらく日記魔だったのだろう、日々の楚々とした出来事、話のやり取りまで記述している。迫力はあるが視野が狭いのが残念。著者は在米中国人で、でなければ記録を発表できないが、類書が中国脱出の経緯を詳述するのが普通だが、本書は一切なく、もっぱら内モンゴルの悲惨な8年に集中している。血の気が多く、熱血紅衛兵で自分の母親すら反革命とやり玉にあげた報いか、自分も反革命分子として悲惨な生活を強いられる。江青は西太后みたいだと正直な感想を口にしたため、犯罪者となって過酷な労働を強いられたのだ。1976年生産隊が中止となった内モンゴルは昔の豊かなステップが党の無知な土地改良によってかえって不毛の荒地と化し、共産党の幹部たちは現地で没収した物資をちゃっかり私物化して引き上げた。無念さとやりきれなさがひしひしと胸を打つ。