Jili's+Family

__** Dad- **__ Ji-li’s father is an actor who has been named a landlord, and also named a rightist. Because he was accused of listening to foreign radio (which he didn't do) he wouldn't confess to doing it and is being held in confinement. He is being forced to do hard labor and possibly be tortured without being allowed to see his family. Dad is one of the reasons for Ji-li's troubles in school, and in life. His being a rightist has put her into situations where she can't do want she wants to.

__** Mom- **__ Ji-li's mother is also the mom of 3 children. She gets very stressed out about the Cultural Revolution. She likes helping Ji-li with things. She is supportive of what Ji-li wants and she tries to care and nurture her. She is very emotional and worried and really wants the best for her children. For example, she sends Ji-li, Ji-yong, and Ji-yun to the park with grandma, because she doesn't want the kids to be worried about the Red Guards. She has a disease called menieres syndrome. This makes her face turn yellow and make her feel faint, and potentially pass out

__** Grandma- **__ Ji-li's grandma was married to a land lord who is considered a fourold. (a fourold is an idea or something that interferes with modern society.) A landlord is a fourold because they owned a lot of land and that made them have more power than regular family's and Chairman Mao did not like that people were unequal that is why it was a fourold. Although she did not marry him for the money she married him because she loved him, their whole family was blamed for this so they are considered a black family. Ji-li's grandma cares for Ji-li a lot. Grandma is very responsible because when they were at the park, she didn’t slip up and let the children into the house if the broom was not there. Because she is a landlord’s wife she gets very bad punishments for it such as being hit by the red guards and the fact that she has to sweep the alley twice a day, and does it even though she doesn’t want to.

__** Ji-yun- **__ is Ji-li's little brother. He is mischievous and he would rather play around in the alley then focus on his studies. He is a lot like Ji-yun, but a little clumsier.

__** Ji-yong- **__ Ji-li's 9 year-old, sensitive sister who encounters many troubles getting along with her fellow kids in her class. In school some people have found out about her bad background. One of the kids threw her back pack out the window and was calling her names. As you can see that her bad background of their family was affecting them.

Ji – Li’s Mom is a wife of a Landlord’s son- she has a black background. She is a mother of three children- Ji-li, Ji-Yun, and Ji-Yong. She does not support the Cultural Revolution because she knew her husband would be in trouble because of his status in society (he was a landlord).

Aunt Xi-Wen is a black whelp because she is related to a landlord. She gets a Da-Zi-Bao written about her because she is un-wanted in society. She has to sweep the allies as a punishment for being a black whelp.

Ji-Yun is Ji-Li's little, caring sister. She is 10 years old and lived during the horrible cultural revolution. Throughout the book she gets very emotional about the cultural revolution and the events that are occurring. She gets bullied by red families and can't stand up for herself. Ji-Li is takes care of her sister nicely. Ji-Yun is a young girl who had to live her life during this terrible time.

Song Po-Po is not blood related to Ji-Li, but she acts as another family member. She is Ji-Li's house keeper but had to be laid off due to the events in the Cultural Revolution. She is a very generous and a thoughtful person. She helps Ji-Li's family during tough times and helps them endure the pain. Ji-Li and her family respects her more than a house keeper. She is defiantly more than a main to Ji-Li.

Ji-Yong Ji-yong is the younger brother of Ji-li. He is a strong little thing that will do anything to defend his property and his family. He feels no pain when he fights for his things or defends his family because they are more important to him than his life. He follows his sister physically and mentally. His friends and he are called the three musketeers by the people of his neighborhood.

Ji-Li's Dad Ji-li’s dad is a landlord because his father was a landlord and he was the oldest son to take over the property. People said he was a rightist. He tried to keep his class status a secret for so many years and succeeded until the red guards came and wrecked his house. He got locked up towards the end of the story by his work unit because they said he had committed a big counterrevolutionary act that was illegal. He was the leader of his family, therefore, a leader of a black family.

Uncle Tian Uncle Tian was the brother of Ji-li’s mother. He told Ji-li’s household about all the news since they could not go out in public without being beaten, locked up, or worse. Uncle Tian worked in the same theater as Ji-li’s dad. He got the news from the theater and told Ji-li and her family. One day he didn’t come by and they wanted to show him and tell him something about a letter, but when they arrived at his house he had already been captured.