Red Scarf Girl Characters – Flashcards

Ji-li's 10 year-old, sensitive sister who encounters many troubles getting along with her fellow students in class. In school, some people have found out about her bad background. One of the kids threw her backpack out the window and called her a "Black Whelp" (a "Black Whelp" is the derogatory term used for children born into a "Black" family. Ji-yong gets into a fight because of this).

Ji-li's 11 year old little brother is mischievous and he would rather play around in the alley than focus on his studies.

Jiangs' maid who lives with them. She cooks and cleans for the Jiangs and is like part of the family to them. She used to be the housekeeper; unfortunately, they dismissed her because having a housekeeper is believed to be exploiting workers which stands for Capitalism.

Ji-li's grandma was married to a landlord which is considered a fourold. (A four old is an idea or something that interferes with modern society.) A landlord is a four old because they owned a lot of land and that made them have more power than regular families and Chairman Mao did not like that people were unequal that is why it was a four old. Although she did not marry him for the money but for love, their whole family is blamed, and they are considered a "Black" family. Because she is a landlord's wife, she is punished by the Red Guards.

Ji-li's father is an actor who has been named a landlord, and also named a rightist. Because he is accused of listening to foreign radio (which he didn't do), he won't confess to doing it and is held in confinement. He is forced to do hard labor and is possibly tortured without being allowed to see his family. Ji-Li's father is one of the reasons for Ji-li's troubles in school, and in life. His being a rightist has put her into situations where she can't do what she wants.

Ji-Li's mother has a disease called Ménière's syndrome. It occurs in the inner ear and makes her have vertigo at the slightest movement. She is mother to three children and really wants the best for them. She is very emotional and worried about the Cultural Revolution. She sends Ji-li, Ji-yong, and Ji-yun to the park with Grandma, because she doesn't want the kids to be worried about the Red Guards. She is supportive of what Ji-li wants, and she tries to care and nurture her.

He is a classmate of Ji-li in her Junior High. He is a little bit shy, and a communist who is ambitious and bright, like Ji-li. He shows interest in Ji-li, but she is afraid to respond to him. He tries to be helpful to Ji-li because he has special feelings toward her.

Red Successor, classmate of Ji Li, student of Teacher Gu, bullied Ji Li, because of her status.

Ji-Li's best friend, a classmate of Ji Li, and a student of Teacher Gu. Her family, like Ji-li's, also has their troubles, and her mother, a teacher, is detained for corrupting her children. In one incident related in the story and referred to in the epilogue, she is forced to climb a factory chimney as part of her "remolding." After An Yi's grandmother sees the Red Guards harassing an elderly man next door, the old woman panics and commits suicide, and she is cremated with no funeral or memorial rites.

Red Successor, classmate of Ji Li, student of Teacher Gu, and bully (like the rest of the Red Successors) to Ji Li, because of her status. She was not the smartest girl in the school, but blamed her bad luck on the teachers.

Friend of Du Hai. Classmate of Ji Li, student of Teacher Gu, and bully (like the rest of the Red Successors) to Ji Li. Yan Fan argued with Ji Li and An Yi about Four Olds.

Classmate of Ji Li in junior high school. She is a leader, and she supports the communist party enthusiastically. Though she holds a prominent position, she is friendly towards Ji-li, supporting her and encouraging her to take action to guarantee a good future. She reveals to Ji-li that though her brother has severe epilepsy, she cannot allow personal ties to get in the way of revolutionary activities, and thus does not stay at home to take care of him (unlike Ji-li).

A man in his late 70's to early 80's. Old Qian likes to walk up the alley without talking to anyone, so the Red Successors accused him of being a black whelp. Qian is forced out of his own home and made to kneel on his old and shaky knees on a washboard. At this point, Ji-Li is watching and starts to feel sorry for the man. She quickly realizes that she shouldn't be thinking such things because it was the old man's fault since he didn't give his bike to a Red Guard. Ji-Li keeps telling herself that what the old man did was wrong, but then in the back of her mind she still felt pity for the old man.

A Red Guard with six fingers on his right hand. Originally named Mr. Ni. In Ji Li's neighborhood, he is the man who is responsible for most of the searches and arrests.

Ji-li's name for a man who tries to get her to testify against her father. He leads the Red Guards in the search of the Jiang house that discovers the incriminating letter written by Ji-li's mother.

Ji-Li is born on the Chinese New Year of 1954 or February 2, 1954. Her name means lucky and beautiful. She is very smart and used to be the "da-dui-zhang" (the Chinese equivalent of the head of the student council, the most powerful student in the elementry school). Despite her academic achievements, she is held back by her poor class status. Ji-Li very much wants to become a Red Successor. A Red Successor is a student who will become a Red Guard in the future. (Red Guards were high school or college students that enforced laws and helped destroy the Four Olds). Because her grandfather was a landlord and her father is said to be a rightist (someone who disagrees with, or opposes the Communist Party), people started to humiliate Ji-Li at school, and they will not let her become what she wants to be- a Red Successor and a Liberation Army Dancer. She loves her family so much that when she tries to change her name so the landlord she had as a grandfather would not be associated with her, she is unable to go through with it.

The leader of the Communist Party in southern China where Ji-li lives. He wants to change China into a great and wonderful place for everyone to live by saying that everyone is and should be equal. He is a stern leader and will severely punish people who rise against him. Chairman Mao is also a manipulative leader. He is part of the Communist Party, and expects all citizens of China to be Communist too.

Actor friend of the Jiangs who made up a false story about Ji-Li's father to get himself out of custody, and that was why Ji-Li's father was detained.

Actor friend of the Jiangs who was detained at the theater. He helps Ji-Li's mother write letter to Comrades of the Municipal Party.

Actor friend of the Jiangs who confesses to anti-Party actions he has not committed.

Ji-Li's aunt who is humiliated by Red Guards because she refused to let children pick her mulberry leaves. Aunt Xi-Wen had to paste a da-zi-bao to her front door saying terrible things about her.

Teacher Zhang calls Ji-Li an educable child because he thought she was strong enough to look past her family's background and be the best person she could be. He wants Ji-li to represent the class in Class Education Exhibition

Teacher Gu was one of Ji-li's elementry school teachers.

Ji-li's friend at school. When Ji-Li forgot her Precious Red Book for the Morning Benediction, Sun Lin-Lin cleverly thought of a way to save Ji-Li. Lin-Lin gave Ji-Li her red book cover so that Ji-Li could pretend she brought her book and would not receive punishment.