The
Narrator and
Luo were banished to a
re-education village just as the millions of city youths who they followed, and who would follow them. At this time they were eighteen and seventeen respectively. The reason for this massive and profound campain was unknown, as it could have been to neutralize the threat of the Red Guards, or as the
characters thought, a way of getting rid of intellectuals. Their relocation to the secluded corner of the mountain occured after their
parents were labeled as enemies of the people.
The name "Phoenix of the Sky" is an interesting use of poetry to describe a terrifying object. The word phoenix commands respect as it is a mythological creature. The fact that it is called Phoenix of the sky is a statement of its dizzying heights, as it is the tallest mountain in the area, ruling the skies. the name ispires awe and terror, and rightfully so.
