Exiting the Revolution: Alternative Ways of Life in Beijing, 1966–1976

Abstract

During the Cultural Revolution, many young people in Beijing exited the revolution by engaging in alternative ways of life. Echoing the fledgling tendency of reassessing the underlying meaning of youth subcultures in the Eastern Bloc, this article discusses the diverse mentalities behind these alternative lifestyles and challenges the traditional wisdom that regards youth subcultures as an easy form of everyday resistance to the regime. It also challenges the traditional landscape of Cultural Revolution literature that mainly focuses on youth activism as a means of mass participation. Young people could make political but not subversive choices by exiting the revolution. While some people exited simply to entertain and socialize, others exited to obtain a better political position during the Cultural Revolution, and others to pursue a meaningful way of life influenced by orthodox ideology. Exiting the revolution was not an easy option as well and, on many occasions, the ability to live alternatively reflected certain young people’s privileged access to resources that others could not access in the People’s Republic of China.