Love during China’s Cultural Revolution: evidence from a ‘sent-down’ couple’s private letters 1968–1977

Abstract

ABSTRACT This paper reveals how love and marriage were interpreted, negotiated and maintained by a young couple during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), by analyzing 200 love letters. It first introduces the letter authors, their experiences of being ‘sent-down’ to work at separate state-owned farms, and the comrade-style love they developed by following the Mao-era injunction to prioritize revolutionary politics over personal matters. It then shows how class struggle politics and associated political thought movements inhibited youth dating and romance. Many young adults had to choose between personal matters and political revolution, which led to the paradoxical existence of expressions of ‘self-restraint’ and ‘self-indulgence’ in sexual affairs. After China’s universities reopened in 1970, the couple pursued tertiary education and put their romance on hold. This period was accompanied by a weakening tie between ‘personal matters’ (love) and political revolution and a rising tension between personal matters and personal development (education and career). With China’s abandonment of the ‘send-down’ policy in 1978, the couple returned to Harbin, the capital city of Heilongjiang province in northeast China. They married after a decade of separation and correspondence about their tumultuous experiences. Analyzing their letters demonstrates the impact of Mao-era policies, ideas and practices in shaping love and family formation processes for the sent-down generation.