About this book:

*Cultural Revolution in Local Eyes* explores the complex legacy of the decade of upheaval (1966–1976) by shifting the focus from national political figures to the granular experiences of ordinary people in villages, schools, factories, and borderlands. Utilizing local archives, personal dossiers, and oral testimonies, the book reconstructs how state-mandated class struggle was translated into daily life. It details the "making and unmaking" of political labels, the ritualized violence of rural struggle sessions, and the factionalization of urban institutions. By centering microhistories, the narrative reveals how local power dynamics and kinship networks often mediated, blunted, or weaponized central directives, turning abstract ideology into deeply personal conflicts over resources, status, and survival.

The book moves beyond the period of chaos to examine the long, bureaucratic process of rehabilitation and reconciliation following Mao’s death. It scrutinizes the "paper lives" of citizens, showing how the *danwei* (work unit) and personal dossiers governed mobility and identity well into the reform era. Chapters on the restoration of the national examination system in 1977 and the transition to a market economy illustrate the "transmission gap" of knowledge and the uneven restoration of professional expertise. The text highlights a "hierarchy of rehabilitation," where senior cadres often regained their status while ordinary peasants and workers faced significant obstacles in seeking redress or compensation for lost years and confiscated property.

A significant portion of the work is dedicated to the persistence of memory and the social "architecture of distrust" that survived the movement. It explores the gendered dimensions of labor and the specific persecution faced by ethnic minorities in borderland counties, where cultural erasure was often total. The book contrasts the official state narrative—which seeks to contain the revolution’s history within a framework of "individual errors"—with the private "kitchen archives" of families. Through stories told in whispers and the preservation of hidden artifacts, the text shows how intergenerational trauma is transmitted through silences and subtle behavioral cues, such as a learned reflex of political caution.

Ultimately, the book argues that the Cultural Revolution remains an "unfinished chronicle" in the Chinese landscape. Despite the demolition of revolutionary monuments and the redevelopment of sites of violence, the era’s impact persists in contemporary social hierarchies and interpersonal trust. By examining the limits of legal redress and the selective nature of local gazetteers, the book concludes that the revolution's deepest legacy is not found in public memorials, but in the enduring dispositions of the people who lived through it. The narrative suggests that while the "iron rice bowl" has been broken by market reforms, the scars of political classification continue to influence the distribution of opportunity and the texture of civic life in modern China.