It was a gloomy afternoon in early spring, 1968, Peking, China. I was taking a nap with my new-born baby when somebody knocked wildly at the door. It was a group of Red Guards, in green army uniform with red armbands. They were students from my department at Peking University, the Department of Western Languages and Literature, where I was a teacher of English.

LRB 4 November 1982 | PDF Download