Rae Yang

Rae Yang (, born December 1, 1950) is a Chinese-American professor emerita and writer. Her book, Spider Eaters, chronicles her experience during the Cultural Revolution.

Early life

Yang was born in 1950 shortly after the establishment of the People's Republic of China. Her parents were enthusiastic followers of Mao Zedong, having joined the Chinese Communist Party in the 1940s. When she was one year old Yang moved with her parents to Switzerland, where her parents served at the Chinese Consulate. During this time she grew to have a close relationship with her nanny "Aunty", who lived with Yang's family in Geneva and provided her with the parental love and care while her parents were away. Yang later returned with her family to China to attend Beijing 101 Middle School. In 1997, she published a memoir about her experience in the Cultural Revolution, Spider Eaters, the title a reference to a quote by Chinese writer Lu Xun: "Since someone ate crabs, others must have eaten spiders as well. However, they were not tasty. So afterwards, people stopped eating them. These people also deserve our heartfelt gratitude." The experience of her generation, the "spider eaters" of her book, would therefore serve as a warning to the later generation not to repeat the same thing. The work chronicles her role as both a victimizer as well as a victim in the Cultural Revolution, and won praise from the critics.