Lost in revolution and reform: The socioeconomic pains of China's red guards generation, 1966–1996

This paper examines why the socioeconomic life of China's Red Guards generation has been difficult in both Mao's time and in the post‐Mao reform era. It shows that Mao's Cultural Revolution destroyed the normalcy of society and prevented this generation from securing the life they expected. When reform moved China toward a market economy, their past misfortunes produced their present disadvantages. Their limited education disqualified them from the opportunities of employment and career promotion; their protracted sent‐down to the countryside postponed their marriage and normal social life; and their longtime economic hardships debilitated their market competitiveness. Mao's revolution made them ill‐prepared for the coming economic liberty, yet the post‐Mao reform, instead of compensating them for their distress, left them behind when it pursued market efficiency.