Limitations Of Personal Memoirs In Li Kunwu's A Chinese Life

The Chinese Cultural Revolution was a widespread sociopolitical movement that permeated every aspect of Chinese society. When analyzing such a complicated event as the Cultural Revolution, it can be hard to formulate an accurate understanding of what actually transpired. However, with the help of historical sources historians are able to develop an understanding of the past and construct their interruption of what occurred. There are a variety of source types that a historian can draw from, each with its own unique set of values and limitations. This essay explores the values and limitations of personal memoirs, such as Li Kunwu’s A Chinese Life, in understanding the Chinese Cultural Revolution in comparison to the documentary film Morning

Their main limitation being that they were written for a very singular purpose, at best they could only reflect the experience of a single person or someone of a similar background. The Cultural Revolution provided a different experience for the majority of China. The way the peasant experienced the revolution would not be the same as the way the government official experienced it. If one is to use a personal memoir to try and gain an insight to the Chinese Cultural Revolution, there would be details and experiences that can be easily overlooked, skewing the reality of what actually transpired. Li Kunwu’s A Chinese Life in its presentation is selective by nature because it only includes what the author deemed significant and had an impact on his life. Furthermore, the author likely did not experience every event that took place during the Cultural Revolution, thus a personal memoir lacks the ability to express different

For example, Li Kunwu states, “…I try not to look back to often, to let memory tug me down the slope of remorse.” Therefore, this quote is a signifier that Li Kunwu has hold ups in presenting the information because he did not want to come off as a bad person and he wanted to “forget” the lives that were taken. However, he does acknowledge that they did take place. On the other hand, the documentary film Morning Sun revealed the details that Li Kunwu left out. It seems as if though the personal memoir has more disadvantages than advantages, whereas the documentary had more advantages than disadvantages. However, such an observation leads one to believe that the two sources shed light on the same topic using different methods to tell their truth, but yet the reader must take all sources into account when forming their interpretation of the event. The patterns displayed within the sources show a correlation and therefore adds validation to what the authors of the each sources say. However, this does not take away from those who display different information, but yet