Remembrance of Earth's Past

Ye Zhetai had survived the Cultural Revolution so far, but he remained in the first mental stage. He refused to repent, to kill himself, or to become numb. When this physics professor walked onto the stage in front of the crowd, his expression clearly said: Let the cross I bear be even heavier.

For the Red Guards, heaping abuse upon victims in those two latter mental stages was utterly boring.

began to really believe that they were guilty, to see how they had harmed the great cause of the revolution.

protective mental shell helped them avoid total breakdown. They often seemed to be half asleep during the sessions

and other once-respected intellectuals had all chosen to end their lives.3

This was a public rally intended to humiliate and break down the enemies of the revolution through verbal and physical abuse until they confessed to their crimes before the crowd.

mass “struggle session”

Battles like this one raged across Beijing like a multitude of CPUs working in parallel, their combined output, the Cultural Revolution. A flood of madness drowned the city and seeped into every nook and cranny.

The Red Guards backed up some distance and began to use the impaled body for target practice.

The Red Union warriors shouted in joy.