China Book Club: ‘Red Memory’ by Tania Branigan

Tania Branigan, The Guardian's former Beijing correspondent, writes: "It is impossible to understand China today without understanding the Cultural Revolution.". From 1966 to 1976, Mao's government encouraged children to turn on parents, students to condemn teachers, and as many as two million people died for alleged political transgressions, while tens of millions were terrorised and imprisoned. Yet in China this period is seldom talked about; a mixture of official suppression and national trauma have led to a consensual amnesia.

Red Memory uncovers forty years of silence through the stories of individuals who lived through the madness. Deftly exploring how this era defined a generation and continues to impact China today, Branigan asks: What happens to a society when you can no longer trust those closest to you? What happens to the present when the past is buried, exploited, or redrawn? And how do you live with yourself when the worst is over?