One of the most remarkable people I have ever met is Youqin Wang, a professor of Chinese in the United States. She has dedicated her life to researching and documenting the Cultural Revolution: that spasm of violence that took place in China during the last ten years of Mao Zedong’s life: 1966 to 1976. Many people, including victims, want to sweep this period under the rug. It is too painful, too awful, to think about. It is painful and awful for Youqin Wang, too — but she regards the documenting of the Cultural Revolution as necessary, and she made it her life’s work.
