Ma Jiexian and Su Jianye

Mr. Su Jianye and Mrs. Ma Jiexian have lived through some of the most monumental changes in 20th century history. As residents of Mao’s China, they were firsthand witnesses to the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution and the economic reform that has transformed communist China into one of the central nations in the 21st century’s economy.

Crestwood Grade 10 student Guanghao Chen, along with classmate Tom Li, conducted an online interview with his grandparents in 2014. The result is a firsthand glimpse into the birth of a new superpower. Through painstaking work, Guanghao and Tom have translated and subtitled their interview to allow an English speaking audience a glimpse into China in the second half of the 20th century.

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