40 Fun Facts About Red Scarf Girl

In Red Scarf Girl, where does Ji-li hide an incriminating letter moments before her home is searched?

The cat's litter box on the roof seemed the one place nobody would dig, yet a searcher still found the letter there. Ji-li's grandmother had been made to kneel until it turned up.

In Red Scarf Girl, what do officials press Ji-li to do if she wants a future in the Communist Party?

Testify against her father was the demand, and Ji-li refused even though it meant giving up the political future she had dreamed of. She could think of nothing he had done wrong.

In Red Scarf Girl, which secret signal tells Ji-li and her siblings whether it is safe to go home?

A mop on the balcony was the family's code while house searches swept the neighbourhood. Ji-li learns it from her grandmother during a picnic in the park.

In Red Scarf Girl, what had Ji-li's long-dead grandfather been that brands her whole family as class enemies?

A landlord in the family tree was enough to ruin a child's prospects in Mao's China. Ji-li never even met her grandfather, yet classmates held his wealth against her.

Whose famous book, read at university, inspired Ji-li Jiang to write her memoir Red Scarf Girl?

Anne Frank and her diary planted the idea, but Jiang had no time to write until years later. She said she wanted to help Americans understand China.

The red scarf that gives Red Scarf Girl its title was the emblem of which Chinese children's organisation?

Young Pioneers wore the scarf as their only item of uniform, and Ji-li tied hers on with pride. The Cultural Revolution soon dismantled the group.

In Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li's classmates denounce their teachers with da-zi-bao, a term for what?

Wall posters in big handwritten characters soon covered the school, each one accusing somebody of a political crime. Ji-li could not bring herself to insult her teachers.

Which crop do Ji-li and her classmates harvest during summer labour in Red Scarf Girl?

Rice was cut by hand, row after row, and Ji-li was often the last to leave the field. She kept working after her sickle slipped and cut her leg, and later fainted at a threshing machine.

Ashamed of her family in Red Scarf Girl, what does Ji-li go to a government office to do?

Change her name was the plan, until the officer praised her for breaking with her family and promised to back her against her parents. Ji-li fled as soon as he left the room.

In Red Scarf Girl, which accusation is used to detain Ji-li's father, an offence he is later cleared of?

Listening to foreign radio was a story made up by a family friend while he was himself detained. Even after the charge fell away, Ji-li's father was not allowed home.

In chapter one of Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li is picked to audition as a dancer for which organisation?

The Liberation Army ran a prestigious arts academy, and an officer picked Ji-li out after watching her perform at school. Her father made her withdraw before the audition.

Why does Ji-li's father stop her trying out for an elite dance troupe in chapter one of Red Scarf Girl?

The background check would have laid the family's class status bare in front of the whole school. Ji-li had no idea there was anything to hide, and her father said she was too young to understand.

In Red Scarf Girl, what does Ji-li's father Jiang Xi-reng do for a living before his detention?

Actor is his trade, mostly as the villain in children's theatre, though at home he is loving and kind.

In Red Scarf Girl, what does a cheering crowd smash at the Great Prosperity Market as a Four Old?

The store's sign, lettered in gold, was torn down as superstition while Ji-li and her siblings joined in. At home her grandmother only remarked how much it must have cost.

In chapter two of Red Scarf Girl, which picture books does Ji-li most love to rent from the bookstall?

Fairy tales were her favourite, and she was reading with her brother and sister when news of a rally against the Four Olds pulled them away.

What does a da-zi-bao accuse top student Ji-li of in chapter three of Red Scarf Girl?

Romance with a teacher was the smear, offered as the real reason for her top marks. Her parents kept her at home until the fuss died down.

In Red Scarf Girl, which title is Ji-li nominated for before a classmate exposes her family's class status?

Red Successor was the rank for children still too young to be Red Guards. Ji-li lost her nomination the moment the class heard about her grandfather.

Which troublesome classmate tells the whole class about Ji-li's grandfather in Red Scarf Girl?

Du Hai cut in while Ji-li was describing her family, and her nomination for a class honour collapsed on the spot. Later in the book a crowd turns on his own mother.

In Red Scarf Girl, what does Teacher Gu announce has been abolished shortly before Ji-li's class graduates?

Entrance exams had decided who went to the best junior highs, and Ji-li had studied for years to reach the top one. In the end pupils were simply assigned to a school.

Why do the Jiangs dismiss their longtime housekeeper in Red Scarf Girl, though they treat her like family?

Fear of exploitation charges drove the decision, because keeping a servant now looked like living off a worker's labour. She went on living downstairs and stayed close to the family.

With taxis now off limits in Red Scarf Girl, how do Ji-li and her siblings get Grandma to the acupuncturist?

A pedicab could be borrowed when a relative was ill, so Ji-yong ran to fetch one and the three children hauled it themselves. They got her there and back, narrowly avoiding a crash.

In Red Scarf Girl, Red Guards make Ji-li's neighbour Old Qian kneel for hours on which household object?

A washboard with sharp ridges was his punishment while Red Guards emptied his home around him. He knelt there in the heat until he fainted and had to be carried inside.

Which nickname does Red Scarf Girl give the neighbour who brings Red Guards to search Ji-li's home?

Six-Fingers pounded on the door with a band of Red Guards while the Jiangs slept, and the apartment was left in chaos. He had become the terror of the alley, letting no offence pass however small.

Who is Ji-li's best friend in Red Scarf Girl, the daughter of a persecuted schoolteacher?

An Yi stays loyal throughout, even helping Ji-li tidy up after the Jiangs' home is searched. Her own mother, a teacher, is made to climb a chimney along with her colleagues.

In Red Scarf Girl, which discovery near the Jiangs' home leads Red Guards to search their apartment?

A knife in the garbage set the Red Guards combing through the rest of the rubbish for anything suspicious. Soon they were turning the Jiangs' rooms upside down.

Which treasured possession of Ji-li's do Red Guards carry off during the first search in Red Scarf Girl?

Her stamp collection went, along with half her clothes, whether or not anything counted as a Four Old. Ji-li was mortified that strangers had gone through her most private things.

In Red Scarf Girl, what do Ji-li's parents burn in secret so that it cannot be used as evidence?

Family photographs showing a fur coat or a childhood camel ride were proof of old wealth, so the children were sent out to play while they burned. Fine old clothes went the same way.

Why is Ji-li relieved when she first sees her junior high class in chapter ten of Red Scarf Girl?

Nobody from her old school meant nobody who knew about her family's class status. After waiting more than a year for junior high to open, she could start again with a clean slate.

In chapter ten of Red Scarf Girl, which invitation does Ji-li turn down for fear of being attacked again?

The propaganda group wanted her as a writer after yet another perfect maths score. Ji-li remembered how her past honours had been turned against her and walked away.

In which Chinese city does Ji-li Jiang grow up in her memoir Red Scarf Girl?

Shanghai was home, in an apartment roomy enough to mark the Jiangs out as privileged. That comfort turned into a liability once the Cultural Revolution began.

In Red Scarf Girl, which colour is used to label politically suspect families such as the Jiangs?

Black was the label for class enemies, set against the red of workers, poor farmers and Party members. The stigma passed from parents to children, whatever the children believed.

What do English speakers call Quotations from Chairman Mao, ever-present in the China of Red Scarf Girl?

The Little Red Book got its English nickname from the red cover of its most widely printed edition. In China it was better known as the Treasured Red Book.

In chapter twelve of Red Scarf Girl, which role does Teacher Zhang give Ji-li despite her class status?

Exhibition presenter was an honour she thought her family ruled out, until her teacher told her that people cannot choose their families but can choose who they become.

Which family secret does Red Guard classmate Chang Hong confide to Ji-li in chapter twelve of Red Scarf Girl?

Her brother has epilepsy and is not expected to reach adulthood, so she is torn between staying with him and serving the revolution. Ji-li had only ever envied her spotless family record.

Which old nickname for Ji-li's wealthy ancestors does a newspaper exposé print in Red Scarf Girl?

Half-City Jiangs boasted that the clan had once owned half of a city. Ji-li was so shaken by the story that she would not speak to her mother for two days.

Which daily punishment is Ji-li's elderly grandmother given near the end of Red Scarf Girl?

Sweeping the alley twice a day was her penalty as the widow of a class enemy, and Ji-li dreaded that she would fall. She lived to the age of ninety-eight.

After leaving China as an adult, in which American state did Red Scarf Girl author Ji-li Jiang first settle?

Hawaii is where she took a university degree and found work with a hotel chain. Most of her family later followed her to the United States.

Which Tony-winning playwright of M. Butterfly wrote the foreword to Ji-li Jiang's Red Scarf Girl?

David Henry Hwang wrote that he could only hope he would have shown the decency and courage of the young Ji-li.

After Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li Jiang retold the early adventures of which hero of Chinese legend?

The Monkey King stars in her follow-up book, which retells how the mischievous hero of an old Chinese tale began his journey.

In Red Scarf Girl, Ji-li says her red scarf, like the national flag, takes its colour from what?

The blood of martyrs who died for the revolution is what the red stands for, which is why Ji-li wore her scarf everywhere as a badge of pride.