A Dictionary of Maqiao

Han Shaogong captures the emotion and experiences of the Cultural Revolution, and the Down to the Countryside Movement from the perspective of an educated youth in his novel, “A Dictionary of Maqiao.” In the novel, the reader follows an educated youth as he travels to the countryside as a part of Mao’s “Down to the Countryside Movement.” The “Down to the Countryside Movement” was an effort by Mao Zedong to eradicate the anti-bourgeois thinking that he believed was prevalent in his country. Mao Zedong decided to send privileged youths, many who had just graduated, to the country and mountainside to learn about life there. Han Shaogong wrote about experiences from the “Down to the Countryside Movement” because it directly affected him, as he was labeled an educated youth. He decided to write this novel after becoming part of the “Search for Roots,” or…