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Ji-yun Jiang
Du Hai is an elementary school classmate of Ji-li Jiang, An Yi, Yang Fan, Yin Lan-lan, Deng Yi-yi, and Zhang Jie. His mother, Sang Hong-zhen is the Neighborhood Party Committee Secretary. When the Cultural Revolution begins, Du Hai discovers that his mother’s position and his family’s red class status allow him to bully Ji-li and An Yi with impunity because their class statuses are black. Along with Yang Fan, he leads the committee of school children who openly criticize and publish da-zi-bao against Ji-li’s Aunt Jiang Xi-Wen. And he’s the student who openly publishes Ji-li’s class status among her peers. Fortunately, she does not cross paths with him again after she leaves elementary school, and she’s unsure of what happens to him after that point.
Du Hai Quotes in Red Scarf Girl
The Red Scarf Girl quotes below are all either spoken by Du Hai or refer to Du Hai. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3: Writing Da-zi-bao
Quotes
Du Hai took the lead. “Down with the bourgeois Jiang Xi-wen! Long live Mao Ze-dong Thought!” he shouted. We repeated the slogans. Then Yin Lan-lan recited, “Our great leader, Chairman Mao, has taught us, ‘Everything reactionary is the same; if you do not hit him, he will not fall. This is also like sweeping the floor; as a rule, where the broom does not reach, the dust will not vanish by itself.’” Her voice was loud and forceful. “Today, we proletarian revolutionary young guards have come to revolt against you bourgeoisie. Jiang Xi-wen, this is our da-zi-bao. You are to post it on your door now.” She shook the white paper in front of Aunt Xi-wen’s nose.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4: The Red Successors
Quotes
“My father’s class status…?” I did not see what Du Hai meant at first. “You mean what did my grandfather do? I don’t know. I only know that he died when my father was seven.”
There was a trace of a grin on Du Hai’s face. He stood up lazily and faced the class.
“I know what her grandfather was.” He paused dramatically, sweeping his eyes across the class. “He was a—LANDLORD.”
“Landlord!” The whole class erupted.
“What’s more, her father is a—RIGHTIST.”
“Rightist!” the class was in pandemonium.
I was numb. Landlord! One of the bloodsuckers who exploited the farmers! The number-one enemies, the worst of the “Five Black Categories,” even worse than criminals, or counterrevolutionaries! My grandfather? And Dad, a rightist? One of the reactionary intellectuals who attacked the Party and socialism? No, I could not believe it.
Chapter 5: Graduation
Quotes
The junior high school entrance examination dreaded by all of us was gone. What a relief! […]
Du Hai sat on his desk roaring with laughter. To him, and to Yin Lan-lan and to the others who were not even sure of graduating, this was wonderful news.
But as I watched Du Hai, my elation suddenly evaporated. Yes, I would have a whole summer to play. But without an entrance exam, how would they pick the students for the elite schools? Ever since third grade, I had been counting on getting into Shi-yi, one of the best junior high schools in Shanghai. Then I had planned on attending an elite high school, and then one of the famous universities. Without an entrance exam, how could I be sure of getting into Shi-yi? What could I do to make up for my family background?
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Du Hai Quotes in Red Scarf Girl
The Red Scarf Girl quotes below are all either spoken by Du Hai or refer to Du Hai. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 3: Writing Da-zi-bao
Quotes
Du Hai took the lead. “Down with the bourgeois Jiang Xi-wen! Long live Mao Ze-dong Thought!” he shouted. We repeated the slogans. Then Yin Lan-lan recited, “Our great leader, Chairman Mao, has taught us, ‘Everything reactionary is the same; if you do not hit him, he will not fall. This is also like sweeping the floor; as a rule, where the broom does not reach, the dust will not vanish by itself.’” Her voice was loud and forceful. “Today, we proletarian revolutionary young guards have come to revolt against you bourgeoisie. Jiang Xi-wen, this is our da-zi-bao. You are to post it on your door now.” She shook the white paper in front of Aunt Xi-wen’s nose.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 4: The Red Successors
Quotes
“My father’s class status…?” I did not see what Du Hai meant at first. “You mean what did my grandfather do? I don’t know. I only know that he died when my father was seven.”
There was a trace of a grin on Du Hai’s face. He stood up lazily and faced the class.
“I know what her grandfather was.” He paused dramatically, sweeping his eyes across the class. “He was a—LANDLORD.”
“Landlord!” The whole class erupted.
“What’s more, her father is a—RIGHTIST.”
“Rightist!” the class was in pandemonium.
I was numb. Landlord! One of the bloodsuckers who exploited the farmers! The number-one enemies, the worst of the “Five Black Categories,” even worse than criminals, or counterrevolutionaries! My grandfather? And Dad, a rightist? One of the reactionary intellectuals who attacked the Party and socialism? No, I could not believe it.
Chapter 5: Graduation
Quotes
The junior high school entrance examination dreaded by all of us was gone. What a relief! […]
Du Hai sat on his desk roaring with laughter. To him, and to Yin Lan-lan and to the others who were not even sure of graduating, this was wonderful news.
But as I watched Du Hai, my elation suddenly evaporated. Yes, I would have a whole summer to play. But without an entrance exam, how would they pick the students for the elite schools? Ever since third grade, I had been counting on getting into Shi-yi, one of the best junior high schools in Shanghai. Then I had planned on attending an elite high school, and then one of the famous universities. Without an entrance exam, how could I be sure of getting into Shi-yi? What could I do to make up for my family background?
