Red Turnaround: A Dancer's Personal Experience

Author: Tian Ling Wang Lianchun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-01-01
Features: Zhongnanhai, a solemn and sacred place. Through the ages, how many stories worth savoring have been left behind. "Chunouzhai," a place in Zhongnanhai little known to outsiders. It was here that Tian Ling, a student of the dance troupe of the People's Liberation Army Art Troupe, a child soldier wearing a red scarf, first met Chairman Mao Zedong. Under the sunshine, Tian Ling was growing up, not yet able to fully savor the taste of happiness, still immersed in her fantasies about the future. Then, an unprecedented political movement pushed her into the storms of life. In adversity, she thought of Chairman Mao. With the passage of time and the hardships of life, on her journey of seeking truth in all directions, Tian Ling returned to Zhongnanhai again. The care and teachings from Chairman Mao brewed the sweet wine of her life, and with the years passing by, the taste became richer. The interaction between the leader of the Republic and a young soldier was thus etched into the final years of Chairman Mao's life and into Tian Ling's unforgettable memories. To commemorate the 110th anniversary of Chairman Mao's birth, the author, from the perspective and insights of an art troupe member, objectively and fairly recorded some of the things she saw and experienced.