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Esteemed author Rae Yang was born December 1, 1950 in the People's Republic of China at the start of the Communist Party of China's rule over the Central government, ushering in a new era for Chinese history under the red flag. Documenting that history in her memoir entitled Spider Eaters, Yang describes what it was like as a young girl, and woman, growing up under the leadership of Mao Zedong. Her parents were enthusiastic revolutionaries joining the party in the 1940's. Her mother was a graduate of Yanjing University in Beijing, and at one year old, Yang was moved to Switzerland where her parents served at the Chinese Consulate. During this time, she grew to have a close relationship with her nannie, who she refers to as Aunty, living with her family in Geneva and proving her with the parental love and care while her parents were away. Yang returned, with her family, to China in order for her to attend elementary school in Beijing. Yang recalls, "I hardly had a friend in my childhood. So in those years, the seed of loneliness dropped into my heart." Always there to console and encourage her was her beloved Aunty. Yang shares what it was like growing up in her parents Work unit and going to school were a large emphasis was placed on entrance examinations which had granted her admittance into the highly esteemed Beijing 101 Middle School. Yang, like many other students, became an exhilarated activist in the Cultural Revolution idolizing leader Mao Zedong and following his commands that radicalized societal norms. Yang joined the Red Guards (China), becoming disillusioned by the movement after being sent to the countryside where she had gruelingly worked in peasant conditions on a pig farm, a life in which she was not accustomed. After three years on the farm, Yang returned home to find her parents "had both changed literally beyond recognition." After these experiences, Yang "questioned the nature of the Cultural Revolution," feeling deceived by the political struggle for power. Living as an illegal resident in her own country after leaving Cold Springs which was due to the household registration system known as the Hukou system, Yang had to return to the countryside to bribe an official for her Hukou that was granted to her with the help of "Big China brand cigarettes and Maotai brand baijiu", moving to Shijiazhuang to return to studies. After gaining permanent residence in Beijing, Yang was accepted into the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, majoring in journalism. Yang was accepted into the "University of Massachusetts as a student in comparative literature," leaving China and bringing with her the memories of the Cultural Revolution.

Rae Yang worked as a professor and a volunteer, and she currently lives in California where she enjoys her days as a mother and grandmother surrounded by the love she has so greatly earned. Along with her memoir, Yang has published:
 * Spider Eaters
 * Reflections and Recollections
 * China: Fifty Years Inside the People's Republic
 * The American Dream of the Chinese

The Cultural Revolution, as its title implies, was a cultural movement sanctioned by the Chinese central government in an effort to further revolutionize society under the radical ideas of Communist leader Mao Zedong; however, Mao had alternative motives in his implementation of the movement. The Cultural Revolution was not only aimed at revolutionizing society, casting aside feudal and capitalistic influences, but it also sought to eliminate rivals within the Communist Party of China.