Revisit Children of the Cultural Revolution: Adversity and Resilience over the Life Course

Libin Zhang, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

In this proposed study, the author uses the 2003 Chinese General Social Survey and ventures to identify the adversity the adversity embodied in the consequent life events of the “sent-down” cohort in terms of educational attainment, marital status and fertility, initial work status and economic well-being. The author also seeks to figure out the resilience of, and inequality between “sent-down” cohorts exhibited in educational attainment and economic well-being. By doing so, the author brings together the literature on life course and resilience versus that on the inequality differentials, in the historical context that a state socialist regimen’s policy affects citizens’ long-term life experience. Explanation of the mechanism for such resilience through the theoretical framework is provided with according theoretical framework.