Captive Spirits: Prisoners of the Cultural Revolution

by 楊曦光, Susan McFadden

In the midst of the Cultural Revolution a Rebel Red Guard anonymously circulated an essay condemning the Chinese Party elite as a decadent, exploitative 'new red capitalist class'. The subversive yet truthful nature of the message stung the top Communist leadership in Beijing. Incredibly, the writer, Yang Xiguang, was only nineteen years old, a star high school pupil and the son of high-ranking Hunan officials. Denounced as a 'counterrevolutionary' by Chairman Mao himself, Yang was hunted down, arrested in 1968, and sentenced to ten years in prison. Captive Spirits is his remarkable story of life in the Chinese gulag during one of the most tumultuous periods of modern Chinese history.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, China

332 pages, Hardcover

First published October 31, 1997

About the author

Xiaokai Yang (born as Yang Xiguang; Simplified Chinese: 杨小凯; 6 October 1948 – 7 July 2004) was a Chinese-Australian economist. He was one of the world's preeminent theorists in economic analysis, and an influential campaigner for democracy in China.

Reviews

[FantasticRICHAR · Rating 3 out of 5]

其实我感觉这书写的没有那种情节，不是很喜欢

[Rick Wen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Touching experience of an extreme successful economist who sat in jail for 10yrs in cultural revolution.

[readmore · Rating 5 out of 5]

值得每个中国人读一读 this book deserve every Chinese to read

[Oscar · Rating 4 out of 5]

关于对比朱元璋开国杀戮与本朝的对话，值得深思。

[Nan · Rating 5 out of 5]

一本书，解开了很多关于文革中的隐晦。关于毛泽东和周恩来为代表的保守派之间的权力斗争，no one was good in this battle of power, the only difference is who was more cruel.

[MinstrelDuty · Rating 5 out of 5]

楊此書是以文革反抗者為切入視角的，兼具了史料與史學研究的雙重價值。在史料層面，高於流行的文革親歷者自敘的諸種“受害者敘事”，就論斷而言，見識的高明其實遠勝過市面上的文革史研究著作。

[Justin Kwok · Rating 5 out of 5]

Most literary portrayals of the Cultural Revolution tend to focus on its pain, absurdities, and resentments. Yet in Xiaokai’s narratives, there is an unveiling of the lighter moments of this era.

In his book, Xiaokai depicts how he and his fellow inmates, behind bars, find solace in chess games, daydream about dining at every fancy restaurant in Changsha, and delve deep into philosophical debates, such as whether there is a value judgment that might transcend both history and present. At times, his storytelling makes me feel as though these individuals were not shackled behind cold walls but were leisurely strolling along the Champs-Élysées on a sun-dappled afternoon. However, the somber endings of each tale wrench me back, serving as a poignant reminder of the harsh reality these prisoners faced.

Throughout this book, Xiaokai elucidates an enduring truth: the indomitable human spirit yearning for freedom cannot be easily caged. This book stands not only as a testament to the resilience of the average Joe and Jane and their daily resistance amidst vast adversities but also as an ode to the very essence of what makes us human.

Read in this light, the English title of this book perhaps captures its core even more fittingly: ‘Captive Spirits: Prisoners of the Cultural Revolution.’

[Naoe Kanata · Rating 5 out of 5]

One excellent book recording the thoughts of people from scholars to criminals during the Cultural Revolution period in Changsha, China. It is fascinating to see how people were not fond of Mao's thoughts at that time, which shows that a lot of people already wanted to subvert CCP even at Mao's most powerful period, although many were killed because of their thoughs. So sad that the author died so young.

[至尊宝 · Rating 5 out of 5]

应该是09或10年的时候读的。

[寻找家园 · Rating 5 out of 5]

补标。钱理群对《牛鬼蛇神录》有深入分析。

[Sablin · Rating 5 out of 5]

呢本書我睇過兩次，每一次睇嘅時候印象都更加深刻。所謂嘅牛鬼蛇神，絕大部份都係喺文革時候嘅受害者，佢哋係反動派，係黑五類，係革命政府容不下嘅人，但係喺作者嘅眼中，佢哋係正常人，係老百姓，係每一個正常社會都容得下嘅人。結果無論係大學教授，前幹部，黨員，中學生，扒手小偷，一切一切形形色色嘅人都係監獄。

但願讀呢本書係呢個時代唔係一種黑色幽默，唔係現在進行式。

[Burke Marshall · Rating 5 out of 5]

书中描写的人都是当时社会上的精英啊，结果却有着悲惨的命运！

[xxxx · Rating 5 out of 5]

杨曦光入狱后拜师学艺情节令人感动，监牢外倒不能安心读书了。社会各阶层角色的文革故事在此书中均有记录，好看。让我收获最大的是《出监队》中作者的话，“我深深地对彻底否定文革的思潮反感，相信文革中造反派的反政治迫害运动终会在历史上恢复名誉”。起码让我对这种思想有了一个初步的认识，打开了一扇门，让我有兴趣去探究这种思想背后的成因。

[Dremofly · Rating 5 out of 5]

杨曦光和杨小凯的故事让我动容。在逆境中没有放弃自己，没有放弃学习。

[Lancelot Gu · Rating 5 out of 5]

亲身经历，实事求是的书，值得多看几遍。现实版的肖生克的救赎，救赎之道在于实事求是。

[P G · Rating 5 out of 5]

不應該被廢棄和遺忘的記憶，更需要處於其中的後人們閱讀。最後那篇作者舊作反映出當時知識和話語的侷限。