My Character

My name is Brigget. I am a female in my early twenties. I have just moved from Switzerland, where I used to live in a small town on my family's farm. When I was young I became fascinated with cooking. Since then I have dreamed of owning my own restaurant in a big city in the United States. Last week I decided to leave home to pursue my dream because I was tired of my parents trying to set me up to marry. I am no longer on speaking terms with my family. I only have the little bit of money that I have saved up through the years so I need to find a job quick. I was told that I have family in the U.S. and I am determined to find them.

What I know about the Cultural Revolution...

Cultural Revolution: a movement of reform in China initiated by Mao Zedong in 1965 to create equality and focus on eliminate counterrevolutionary elements in the country's institutions and leadership. It threatened China for ten years.

Bourgeois: a label for members of the upper class who were commonly educated. Intellectuals were drafted in efforts to remove these "bourgeois" influences so that everyone would be "equal"

Mao Zedong: the powerful leader of the Cultural Revolution. He closed Chinese schools and encouraged students to join Red Guard units, which persecuted Chinese teachers, doctors, etc. (people who were considered counter-revolutionary).

The Gang of Four: group who restricted the arts and enforced ideology. Movement was brought to a close when group was imprisoned on October 1976.

Counter-Revolutionary: people who criticized cultural institutions, questioned their parents and teachers or were any of the following; promoting propaganda; wearing glasses; being smart; acting or trying to be better than another person; and promoting ideology. All of these things were restricted during the Cultural Revolution.