Scarlet Memorial
Tales of Cannibalism in Modern China
(amazon)Yi Zheng (View Bio)
Hardcover: HarperCollins, 1996; Paperback: Westview Press, 1998.
This compelling book provides a meticulously documented account of officially sanctioned cannibalism in the southwestern province of Guangxi during the Cultural Revolution. Drawing on his unique access to local archives of the Chinese Communist Party and on extensive interviews with party officials, the victims' relatives, and the murderers themselves, Zheng Yi paints a disturbing picture of official compliance in the systematic killing and cannibalization of individuals in the name of political revolution and class struggle."The treasure-trove of evidence Zheng Yi has unearthed offers unprecedented insights into the way the internecine, factional struggles of the Cultural Revolution reached a horrifying level of insanity and frenzy among the ethnic Zhuang people of Guangxi. Profoundly moving, acutely observed, and unflinchingly graphic, Scarlet Memorial is a shining example of a genre of investigative reporting that courageously and independently records obscure and officially censored historical events, revealing hidden dimensions of modern Chinese history and politics.
"If I were to choose Asian writers that deserve the Nobel Literature Prize, I'd choose Zheng Yi." — Kenzaburo Oe, Nobel Laureate
"[Zheng Yi] is one of China's most powerful writers, whose works deserve to be translated and widely read." — Liu Binyan, New York Review of Books
"Through immense courage and persistence, Zheng Yi has assembled the most painful and damning and haunting indictment of Maoist China that one can imagine. This book is as important as it is terribly depressing." — Nicholas D. Kristof
"Scarlet Memorial paints a frightening picture of man at his worst." — The Washington Times
"Novelist, journalist, and Chinese dissident offers evidence that the Chinese government sanctioned murder and cannibalism in the southwestern province of Guangxi during the Cultural Revolution. His information comes from interviews with party officials, victims' relatives, and the cannibals themselves." — Booknews
