Previous
Redemptionists
The Cultural Revolution, which lasted from 1966–1976, was a period in Chinese history when Communist leader Mao Zedong launched a series of “purges” to preserve his power. Many of these purges targeted academics, like the character Ye Zhetai. The Revolution depended mostly on young people, many of whom were seduced by the promise of clear ideals and built-in community and were then organized into violent factions known as Red Guards. The Revolution resulted in mass starvation and the deaths of hundreds of thousands to millions of people (estimates vary). Its traumatic legacy lingered long after Mao died and the country transitioned to capitalism.
Cultural Revolution Quotes in The Three-Body Problem
The The Three-Body Problem quotes below are all either spoken by Cultural Revolution or refer to Cultural Revolution. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 1
Quotes
The weapons attacking her were a diverse mix: antiques such as American carbines, Czech-style machine guns, Japanese Type-38 rifles; newer weapons such as standard issue People's Liberation Army rifles and submachine guns, stolen from the PLA after the publication of the “August Editorial”; and even a few Chinese dadao swords and spears. Together, they formed a condensed version of modern history.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Should philosophy guide experiments or should experiments guide philosophy? […] Truth emerges from experience.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 22
Quotes
“You want to aim a super powerful radio beam at the red sun. Have you thought about the political symbolism of such an experiment?”
Yang and Ye were both utterly stunned, but they did not think Lei’s objection ridiculous. Just the opposite: they were horrified that they themselves had not thought of it. During those years, finding political symbolism in everything had reached absurd levels. The research reports you turned in had to be carefully reviewed by Lei so that even technical terms related to the sun could be repeatedly revised to remove political risk. Terms like “sunspots” were forbidden.
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 26
Quotes
There was a movie called Maple recently. I don't know if you've seen it. At the end, an adult and a child stand in front of the grave of a Red Guard who had died during the faction civil wars. The child asked the adult, “Are they heroes?” The adult says no. The child asked, “Are they enemies?” The adult again says no. The child asks, “Then who are they?” The adult says, “history.”
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire The Three-Body Problem LitChart as a printable PDF.
Cultural Revolution Term Timeline in The Three-Body Problem
The timeline below shows where the term Cultural Revolution appears in The Three-Body Problem. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 1. The Madness Years
It’s 1967, the peak of the Chinese Cultural Revolution , and two factions of communist revolutionaries are in a standoff. The older revolutionaries look...
(full context)
...But Ye Zhetai, a brilliant physics professor, refuses to bend to the demands of the Cultural Revolution . To get him to change his mind, his former students are forcing him into...
(full context)
...the political implications of scientific thought. For example, in the years leading up to the Cultural Revolution , she began changing the names of theorems to fit the accepted political narrative.
(full context)
Chapter 2. Silent Spring
...memories of her father’s death. The scale of the deforestation makes the events of the Cultural Revolution feel small and unimportant. Ye reflects that this massive environmental destruction is a kind of...
(full context)
...then explains that since this letter is considered to go against the principles of the Cultural Revolution , Ye will be severely punished. Ye tries to clarify the situation, but she quickly...
(full context)
Chapter 11. Three Body: Mozi and the Fiery Flames
...at her home. When Wang tries to bring up what happened to Ye during the Cultural Revolution , she waves him off, explaining that “it’s all in the past” and that her...
(full context)
Chapter 26. No One Repents
...returned to Beijing with her daughter. Ye was amazed at the degree to which the Cultural Revolution seemed to be truly over, wondering if this was the end of “the madness.” At...
(full context)
...Shao Lin, had recovered and had married a man in the Education Ministry; as the Cultural Revolution ended, this man had risen in prominence, and Shao was now an important woman in...
(full context)
...explaining that despite devoting their lives to the cause they, too, had suffered in the Cultural Revolution . Indeed, only three of the girls had survived; the fourth had lost her life...
(full context)
