Question

1. what personal possession of ji-lis is taken when the red guards search the familys house? why is it confiscated?

Explanation:

In the context of Ji - li Jiang's memoir "Red Scarf Girl", when the Red Guards search her family's house, Ji - li's violin is taken. During the Cultural Revolution, anything associated with the "old culture" or things that could be seen as bourgeois were targeted. The violin was considered a symbol of bourgeois culture and Western influence, which was against the ideology promoted during the Cultural Revolution, so it was confiscated.

Answer:

Ji - li's violin is taken. It is confiscated because it is seen as a symbol of bourgeois (Western - influenced, "old culture") things, which were targeted during the Cultural Revolution for going against the prevailing revolutionary ideology.