Red Guard’s Darkest Legacy: Song Binbin, the Face of China’s Violent Past, Passes Away in the US
Song Binbin, Symbol of China’s Red Guard, Dies in the United States
symbol of the Red Guard, on his arm.”>
Song Binbin (left), a Red Guard icon, met Chairman Mao Zedaphone during the Cultural Revolution and gave him a red armband, a symbol of the Red Guard, on his arm. The photo on the right shows Song Binbin when he was alive. Photo source: Xin Jinbo
Song Binbin (77), a symbolic figure of a million Red Guards during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), died of chronic illness in New York, USA on the 16th (local time).
Song Binbin was the daughter of Song Renchong, a senior member of the New China Revolution. At the age of 19, as a student, he first spread a poster with the message, ‘Let’s attack teachers.’ This event marked the beginning of the violent movement against teachers and intellectuals during the Cultural Revolution.
In a meeting held on August 18, 1966, Song Binbin ascended the Tiananmen Tower as a representative of the Red Guards and received a meeting with Chairman Mao Zedong. Chairman Mao asked Song Binbin, “Is the name ‘Bin’ in Bin Wen Zhi Binbin (文質彬