| This dissertation examines the course and consequences of the identity transformation of China's Red Guard generation. An analysis of historical data, personal documents and 35 interviews yields three principal findings. First, the liminal experience of the Red Guard Movement (1966–1968) broadened the horizons of the generation and initiated an inward turn in identity, characterized by reflexivity. Consequently, the generation's identification with the party-state and its charismatic leaders weakened. Second, these identity changes continued to develop in the Rustication Movement (1967–1979). Through engaging in identity-centered cultural activities, new depths and dimensions were added to the sense of inwardness. At the same time, the necessity to make a living in the rural areas led to the affirmation of the values of ordinary life, characterized by the valuation of personal interests and an intimate understanding of the ordinary people. Finally, it is argued that in the two decades after the Rustication Movement, from 1979 to the present, members of the Red Guard generation continue to engage in various forms of activism. They were the key figures in the Democracy Wall Movement and they contributed significantly to the cultural movements of the 1980s that influenced the rise of the student movement in 1989. In the 1990s, they were actively engaged in social and moral critiques of the negative social consequences of China's economic changes. These arguments lead to the conclusion that the transformation of the Red Guard generation is pivotal to the large-scale social change in contemporary China.; As a theoretical model, the ritual process of identity transformation developed in this study contributes a coherent framework for analyzing the long-term biographical effects of social movements and collective action. |
