Red Azalea

“It was said that physical death was nothing. It was light as a feather. Only when one died for the people would one’s death be heavier than a mountain.”

Min documents her training to be a member of the Red Guard, discussing the ideals to which the other members ascribe. Referencing their absolute loyalty, she recounts that they often died by suicide for Chairman Mao. Describing these deaths, Min notes that they used similes comparing death to a feather, unless someone died for the people, and then death was heavy like a mountain and meant something.

“We often ran out of food by the end of the month. We would turn into starving animals.”

Remembering her meager childhood under Communist rule, Anchee compares her brother and sisters to “wild” animals. She notes that they seem to lose their humanity at the end of the month, when food becomes scarce, as she describes their animalistic desires.

“She said that we were her spring.”

This quotation references Autumn Leaves and how she characterizes her students. As Anchee thinks about Secretary Chain’s accusations, she remembers Autumn Leaves’s dedication. The imagery in this line connects the youth of the students—“spring”—to her age and name, while also expressing how she prepares the future by educating them.