This New York Times article told the tale of two Chinese women who suffered due to their opposition to the Cultural Revolution: Nie Yuanzi and Wang Rongfen. I think it is very interesting as it gives us a portrayal of a segment of what happened in revolutionary China in the 60s and 70s.
Interestingly, Nie was the one who helped fuel the frenzy of the revolution by writing a poster attacking Mao's political rivals in the CCP. She was appointed the leader of Mao's Red Guards (student activists that carried out the revolution against "counter-revolutionary" elements), but she realized that the Cultural Revolution was getting out of control and finally opposed it.
"Looking back, she insists that she had no idea that the poster she made would have such terrible consequences. "I didn't know we were heading toward disaster," she said, describing herself as a party loyalist who executed orders. "Once I understood, I stopped following them. I opposed them, and for that I was punished."" She was jailed for 17 years.
Wang Rongfen wrote a letter criticizing Mao's Cultural Revolution. "The letter, which has never been published, earned her a life sentence, which was lifted after 12½ years, following Mao's death in 1976, which also spelled the end of the Cultural Revolution."
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