Reunion : the bitter aftermath of Mao's cultural revolution

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Summary

Reunion tells the emotionally wrenching story of Wang Lucheng who gets the startling news that the illegitimate daughter he was forced to abandon at birth twenty-eight years ago has been searching ...

Reunion tells the emotionally wrenching story of Wang Lucheng who gets the startling news that the illegitimate daughter he was forced to abandon at birth twenty-eight years ago has been searching for him and wants to visit him in Beijing. The depth of his sorrow and shame at this abandonment is such that he can hardly bear to meet her. Wang was part of the "Sent-down Generation" of Chairman Mao's Cultural revolution of 1966-76. Sixteen million youths were sent from urban areas to the countryside where they had to engage in farm labor. Their education was cut short, leaving them disadvantaged as China's economy prospers. Wang's meager lifestyle exemplifies this problem. Wang's daughter, He Hai Xia is determined to travel the long distance from her village to Beijing to meet her father. The personal anguish of both father and daughter during their reunion brings into sharp relief the pain caused by one of the greatest upheavals in world history.

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