Our twins spent two years at primary school in Chengdu. Their lessons featured alarming cautionary tales and stories of Chinese superiority, but there was fun and irreverence, too
Near the end of third grade, my twin daughters, Ariel and Natasha, officially joined the Young Pioneers of China. This organisation is under the auspices of the Chinese Communist party, and members are between the ages of six and 14. In order to become a Young Pioneer at Chengdu Experimental primary school, the public institution my daughters attended in the south-western Chinese city, there was no application, no interview and no ceremony. Parents were not consulted or informed. The twins simply came home one afternoon wearing Young Pioneer pins on their right breasts. The pins featured a gold star, a red torch and the name of the organisation – Zhongguo Shaoxiandui – in gold Chinese characters. Ariel and Natasha told me and my wife, Leslie, that from now on they would be required to wear the pins on Mondays, when Chengdu Experimental held its weekly flag-raising ceremony, as well as on other special occasions.
Young Pioneers also wore red scarves that were knotted at the neck. According to the organisation’s constitution, the scarves are red because they represent the blood that was sacrificed by the martyrs of the 1949 Communist Revolution. When I first lived in China, in the mid-1990s, schoolchildren had to be selected to become Young Pioneers, and red scarves were a mark of kids who were politically favoured. But by the time I moved back to the country, in 2019, membership had become compulsory at most schools, including Chengdu Experimental. Unlike the pins, red scarves were not provided to Young Pioneers, and we bought them from small-time vendors who arranged their goods on the sidewalk near the school’s entrance. Every Monday morning, there was a proliferation of these vendors, because some Young Pioneers had a tendency to forget their scarves, despite the organisation’s official motto: “To struggle for the cause of communism, be prepared!”
1. Love the Party, love the Country, love the People.
FUN TIME
Don’t throw things out the window. It’s dangerous. You might hurt someone.
Don’t cook here. It’s dangerous. A small fire can become a big one.
Be careful! Look out for cars. Don’t go against the traffic.
Don’t open the door for a stranger. It’s dangerous.
STORY TIME
What are you doing, Little Bear?
I’m lighting firecrackers.
Be careful!
Ow! That hurts.
Don’t run down the stairs.
Ouch! My arm hurts. I am having a bad day.
Look out! A bike is coming.
My leg hurts. I can’t walk.
We are taking you to the hospital.
Oh, dear! I am having a bad day!
He suffered extensive burns all over his body, resulting in permanent disability. Blind curiosity and careless experimentation have brought great misfortune to Mo Mo, his family and society.
Facing the mighty river, and watching the white sails float past,
My body has been demoted to Hezhou, but my heart still defends my beliefs …
李白乘舟将欲行 Li Bai chengzhou jiang yu xing,
忽闻岸上踏歌声. Huwen anshang ta gesheng.
桃花潭水深千尺 Taohua tan shuishen qian chi,
不及汪伦送我情.。 Buji Wang Lun song wo qing.
I, Li Bai, embark on a boat, ready to set sail,
When suddenly from the shore comes a melodic farewell.
The depths of Peace Blossom Lake, a thousand feet below
It’s still incomparable, O Wang Lun! To the love that you bestow.
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