Red Memory
Living, Remembering and Forgetting China's Cultural Revolution -- Shortlisted for the Bailie Gifford prize for Non-Fiction
Published on 2. February 2023
Book
Hardback
304 pages
978-1-78335-264-7 (ISBN)
Description
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BAILLIE GIFFORD PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2023
WINNER OF THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2023
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
An indelible exploration of the Cultural Revolution and how it shapes China today, Red Memory uncovers forty years of silence through the rarely heard stories of individuals who lived through Mao's decade of madness.
'Very good and very instructive.' MARGARET ATWOOD
'Written with an almost painful beauty.' JONATHAN FREEDLAND
'Took my breath away.' BARBARA DEMICK
'Haunting.' OLIVER BURKEMAN
'A masterpiece.' JULIA LOVELL
A 13-year-old Red Guard revels in the great adventure, and struggles with her doubts. A silenced composer, facing death, determines to capture the turmoil. An idealistic student becomes the 'corpse master' . . .
More than fifty years on, the Cultural Revolution's scar runs through the heart of Chinese society, and through the souls of its citizens. Stationed in Beijing for the Guardian, Tania Branigan came to realise that this brutal and turbulent decade continues to propel and shape China to this day. Yet official suppression and personal trauma have conspired in national amnesia: it exists, for the most part, as an absence.
Red Memory explores the stories of those who are driven to confront the era, fearing or yearning its return. 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?
WINNER OF THE CUNDILL HISTORY PRIZE 2023
SHORTLISTED FOR THE BRITISH ACADEMY PRIZE FOR NON-FICTION 2023
A SUNDAY TIMES BOOK OF THE YEAR
A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK
An indelible exploration of the Cultural Revolution and how it shapes China today, Red Memory uncovers forty years of silence through the rarely heard stories of individuals who lived through Mao's decade of madness.
'Very good and very instructive.' MARGARET ATWOOD
'Written with an almost painful beauty.' JONATHAN FREEDLAND
'Took my breath away.' BARBARA DEMICK
'Haunting.' OLIVER BURKEMAN
'A masterpiece.' JULIA LOVELL
A 13-year-old Red Guard revels in the great adventure, and struggles with her doubts. A silenced composer, facing death, determines to capture the turmoil. An idealistic student becomes the 'corpse master' . . .
More than fifty years on, the Cultural Revolution's scar runs through the heart of Chinese society, and through the souls of its citizens. Stationed in Beijing for the Guardian, Tania Branigan came to realise that this brutal and turbulent decade continues to propel and shape China to this day. Yet official suppression and personal trauma have conspired in national amnesia: it exists, for the most part, as an absence.
Red Memory explores the stories of those who are driven to confront the era, fearing or yearning its return. 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?
More details
Edition
Main
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
Thickness: 21 mm
Weight
503 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-78335-264-7 (9781783352647)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
01/2023
Guardian Faber Publishing
€13.99
Available for download
Person
Tania Branigan is the Guardian's foreign leader writer; she spent seven years as the Guardian's China correspondent. Her writing has also appeared in the Washington Post and the Australian. Red Memory is her first book.