Bai Shan Character Analysis in Red Scarf Girl

Bai Shan is a junior high school classmate of Ji-li Jiang. The teachers praise him for his good academic work, and Ji-li likes the respectful way he treats the teachers even as the Cultural Revolution systematically deprives them of power. Although he is a Red Guard member, he seems to like Ji-li, and he tries to protect or help her both at school and when he and she go to the countryside to help with the rice harvest. Soon after the events in the book, the Party sends many urban youths, including Bai Shan, to rural areas. After the end of the Cultural Revolution, he returns from the remote countryside and becomes a businessman in Shanghai.

Bai Shan Character Timeline in Red Scarf Girl

The timeline below shows where the character Bai Shan appears in Red Scarf Girl. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...self-study period during which the students will independently study Chairman Mao’s works. A boy named Bai Shan asks if he can take this work home instead. Teacher Zhang says yes, if he... (full context)

Later, in math class, Teacher Li praises Ji-li and Bai Shan for scoring 100% on a recent test. Everyone turns toward Ji-li, and for an instant... (full context)

...along, they will eventually succeed. While she’s out of the room, making tea, the boys—including Bai Shan —finish their project, a Chinese ink painting. After they leave, the girls admire their work.... (full context)

...the exhibition is the next day, so she rubs her eyes and dashes to school. Bai Shan stands just outside the doorway of the exhibition hall, and as she rushes past him,... (full context)

...field grows dark. Then, she hears the swish, swish, swish of an approaching harvester. It’s Bai Shan . He wants to help Ji-li with her rows. Exhausted and overwhelmed, Ji-li bursts into... (full context)

...large shadow looms over her, and she looks up to see an oversized version of Bai Shan , pointing and laughing. She jerks awake to find herself lying on a straw mat... (full context)

...met her husband—who was the son of a former capitalist. Eventually, they returned to Shanghai. Bai Shan also lived in the remote countryside for years before returning to Shanghai and getting an... (full context)