After Mao failed to modernize China’s economy through industrialization and collectivization with the Great Leap Forward plan, he launched the Cultural Revolution in hopes of reclaiming his position in the government and maintaining a communist society (Ramzy).The revolution commenced in 1966 and lasted for a decade. During the revolution, the youth of China was influenced by Mao to join the student mass paramilitary movement where they served as soldiers, known as the Red Guards. They executed orders that benefitted Mao, inflicting violence towards intellectuals and citizens who were against his communist beliefs (Lieberthal). The disturbance by the youth created economic instability due to the torment towards professionals in the industry. …show more content…
Some historians believed that the Cultural Revolution had a positive outcome because the Red Guard title granted students the opportunity to question the political system and eradicate old traditions and capitalism in order to establish new customs ("The Truth About the Cultural Revolution”). However, the Red Guards took advantage of their power and acted in their own interest, which ultimately led to the execution of thousands of people. For instance, average citizens such as teachers encountered humiliation through “struggle sessions,” where they were taunted and derided for days by Red Guard members (Lu). This displayed how the Red Guards did not have any mercy towards other human beings. The fact that they created a session to humiliate others demonstrated how cruel their mentality had become after Mao’s influence. The torment continued for so long that the death toll was estimated to range from five hundred thousand to eight million (Ramzy). The Red Guards would then justify their actions by stating that it was for the benefit of the country to get rid of those that were against Mao’s ideology (Fox). It got to the point where small groups of Red Guards would physically attack …show more content…
Due to the heavy loss of intellectuals in society, resources available for purchase were limited because of the slow production. Likewise, thousands of innocent humans were murdered by adolescents who were unable to differentiate right from wrong. Hence, people nowadays should be cautious and pay attention to the details of any powerful leader or new ideas. This would prevent any callous actions from transpiring that could brutally harm others through the process. Even though the revolution enabled the Chinese people to fight towards what they believed to be a better society, the atrocities that occurred left traumatizing memories that still affect those who were involved to this very
The cultural revolution is a strange period in Chinese history laced with intense struggle and anguish. The cultural revolution mobilized the all of society to compete for all opposing factions that they belonged to (Ong, 2016). Mao mobilized the young people of society during a background of political turmoil, which helped Mao to mobilize the students in order to enforce his political legitimacy and ideas (Ong, 2016). Mao’s charismatic authority created his personality cult and most defiantly leant a helping hand in mobilizing the red guard movement (Ong, 2016) (Weber, 1946) (Andreas, 2007). No matter which faction of the red guard they belonged to, they all mobilized against their common enemy; the better off, upper class. (Ong, 2016). Multiple ideologies within the youth led red guard movement explain why the movement gained momentum and became incredibly powerful (Walder, 2009).
The purpose of this investigation is to examine the extent to which the Chinese Cultural Revolution impacted China’s economy from 1966 to 1970. The main body of the investigation will focus on the persecution and violence towards high-level party officials and capitalists by the Red Guards and the “Destroy the Four Olds” campaign. The “Destroy the Four Olds” campaign was significant because it inhibited industrial and agricultural innovation and production of an entire country for a decade as it placed the country’s economy and industry into the hands of inexperienced revolutionaries. Two sources that will be used will be China: A New History and Modern China: The Fall and Rise of a Great Power, 1850 to the Present, and they will be evaluated in regards to their purpose, value, and limitations. An analysis of these sources and the evidence will be used to form a conclusion as to how and to what extent the revolution impacted the Chinese economy.
One of the first effects, that was shown in the book brought by the revolution was shown through her fellow student’s attitudes in which they quickly embraced the idea of criticizing their teachers as well as other individuals in hopes to impress others or even get into higher positions such as a redguard this is evident where even Ji-Li has thoughts such as “We were proud of our precious red scarves, which, like the national flag, were dyed red with the blood of our revolutionary martyrs. We had often been sorry that we were too young to have fought with Chairman Mao against the Japanese invaders, who tried to conquer China.” (2.44). I believe due to thoughts such as these it leads to actions such as the da zi-bao. In relation to current events in our current timeline, I see many attributes from the revolution in our country currently, such attributes would parental influence as well as societal influence. When a parent influences their child they lead through example which is based on what they knew and what they believe, for example if the parents were to be more conservative it is likely for the child to conform to those beliefs. When societal influence happens the individual is witness to other people’s emotions, opinions, or behaviors. By following this the individual can be molded into someone of certain beliefs, for example when you go to university you are met with many worldviews and opinions which can take affect of how you view certain aspects of life, whether or not these turn to something of immoral is up to you. When influences are held wrongly the outcome can often become immoral which can lead to such events with high
The begins of Mao’s Cultural Revolution begins with the Hundred Flowers Campaign which took place during 1956-1957, the government embarks on this campaign with the hope that the tension between government and scholars can end, but this approach does not work and backfires. The next event which takes place in the Anti-Rights Campaign (1957-1958), this campaign disciplines those who spoke out during the Hundred flowers Campaign, a significant amount of people lots many jobs due to this and are sent away by government. This leads into the Great Leap Forward (1958-1959), this just happens to be one of Mao’s more intense programs of economic reform, in this program Mao’s main attempt was to modernize China’s economy, the consequence of this resulted in Mao’s having a temporary loss of power. He believed that all he needed to develop was agriculture and industry and believed that both
The fact that these instances were prevalent in China at this time goes to show the level of empowerment that the youth felt. Mao had talked so highly, and said so much, that the Red Guard felt invincible. These attacks were now such an issue that Mao was forced to intervene due to the sheer violence. He most likely recognized that he had gone too far with this empowerment, and had begun to take away from China’s
The Chinese youth was swept up in the Cultural Revolution simply because they were the youth. As children and teenagers are younger they can be easily influenced and that was what had happened to the youth of China.Teenagers read a book called ¨ Little Red Book¨”and it was
During the second half of the twentieth century, many citizens in China fell victim to economic and social hardships as a consequence of the Great Leap Forward. As a result, Mao Zedong was marginalized and new power arose. However, fearing that traditional chinese culture and “ bourgeois ideology” were at risk of recurrence, Mao established the Cultural Revolution as his final attempt at abolishing his concerns. The Cultural Revolution brought about many young, loyal Maoists ready to risk it all in order to establish a new regime that rid chinese society of what Mao believed to be impurities. Among these revolutionaries included Red Guards and some members of the sent-down youth. In the memoirs, Call Me Qingnian but Not Funü: A Maoist Youth in Retrospect and Images, Memories, and Lives of Sent-Down Youth in Yunnan, it is expressed that the Cultural Revolution greatly affected the lives of the revolutionaries, and although both stories entail different circumstances, the Red Guards and sent-down youth experienced both different and similar feelings of optimism as well as concern and apprehension for the future during a critical time in both chinese history and their personal lives.
“As one of the Red Guards in the middle school, I was given power through Mao to torture and humiliate our teachers, headmaster or anyone we didn’t like. I didn’t know it was wrong. I thought I was doing the right thing to continue the revolution, to fight and win the class struggle”- Zhao, Lin Qing. As a teenager Zhao was a Red Guard in Guangzhou during the Cultural Revolution. When asked what her impression was a member of the Red Guards, Zhao answered with two words: “naïve and senseless”. She refused answering anything more about her experience. She said, “The memories are still too painful to recall.”
This consisted of intellectuals with capitalist attitudes or any individual which did not comply with Maoist thought. Other than Mao’s firm belief that the continuity of the revolution will eventually ride out capitalist ideologies, the Red Guards were merely the impetus to the radicalisation of anything that represented traditional China. The youth did this by following the three major objectives: the first being public humiliation, the second being abuse and ultimately persecution of the individual (Szczcpanksi, 2015). The Red Guards gradually started to become more independent and with it extremist attitudes doubled. With Mao’s assurance that ‘To Rebel is justified’, there was no denying the extensive lengths the activists took to reform the socialist components of China. DISCUSS WHAT THEY DID – BURNING OF BUILDINGS AND SO
The Cultural Revolution was based on the belief that school should be simpler, and the more books a person read, the more unintelligent they become. Mao wanted to brainwash Chinese society and create Chinese citizens who would grow up to become uneducated and mindless. According to Jing Chang she wrote that in order to obtain absolute obedience and loyalty, one needed terror. And that's why Mao decided to use young people in their early teens and twenties because they much easier to influence and manipulate. Mao attempted to use young people and influenced them that their democratic system is unfair and succeeded in creating a group of students known as the Red Guards.
Mao’s Cultural Revolution was an attempt to create a new culture for China. Through education reforms and readjustments, Mao hoped to create a new generation of Chinese people - a generation of mindless Communists. By eliminating intellectuals via the Down to the Countryside movement, Mao hoped to eliminate elements of traditional Chinese culture and create a new form Chinese culture. He knew that dumbing down the masses would give him more power so his regime would be more stable. This dramatic reform affected youth especially as they were targeted by Mao’s propaganda and influence. Drawing from his experiences as an Educated Youth who was sent down to the countryside Down to the Countryside movement, Ah Cheng wrote The King of
The Communist fervor that gripped mainland China under Mao Zedong’s rule had lasting effects on the economy and culture. In particular, the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution devastated rural and peasant populations, leading to fatal consequences for a large portion of the chinese demographic. The Great Leap Forward was an attempt at socializing the chinese economy almost ten years after the People's Republic of China was established in 1949. Property and businesses were stripped from private owners by the government and given to community leaders to run with the help of community members. Unfortunately, revolutionary passion blinded community leaders and the government. The former over reported food production while the latter continued to support a failing economic structure and policy. This lead to the Great Chinese Famine, and a decline in economic productivity and revolutionary zeal. The Great Cultural Revolution was meant to reinvigorate the revolutionary spirit. Launched several years after the failure of the Great Leap Forward, the Cultural Revolution targeted the youth. A successful propaganda campaign mobilized groups of mostly disadvantaged youth (red guards) and the working class to purge those antithetical to the movement. Millions were killed in the resulting class warfare which targeted capitalists, rightists, and landlords. The effects of these influential events are still explored in modern chinese cinema many years after their occurrence. An
Although the Cultural Revolution had a huge impact on all of the citizens of China, it seemed to affect the youth the most. The youth of China began to get involved after a speech by Lin Biao by 1965. It urged the students in schools and colleges to return to the basic principles of the CR. The Chinese youths quickly formed a group called the Red Guards early in the CR, which encouraged all the Chinese students to disapprove of whoever didn’t support Mao and his beliefs or anyone associated with Mao’s rival, Liu Shaoqi (Trueman). Schools and colleges were closed, and the students neglected their studies. While the Red Guards were very passionate about what they did, their enthusiasm nearly pushed China into social disorder. The economy was affected very badly, and almost driven to a near collapse (Busetto, Galduroz, and Satou). Food shortage was one of the main problems the economy caused. Also In some areas, the activities of the Red Guards got out of hand. They
“Don’t cling to things, because everything is impermanent” (Albom 103). Everything in life is temporary. Nothing in life is permanent.. In the story Tuesdays with Morrie, Morrie is dying from ALS. He is changing the way he lives his life and is teaching it to others. He is explaining to Mitch that he and others should not be too attached to things because they are not permanent. Morrie teaches people to live life through grieving if needed, accepting death and forgiving oneself and others.
What does it mean to invent something? Has anyone ever truly invented anything? Wikipedia defines invention as “a unique or novel device”. At Dictionary.com the definition is better described as “U.S. Patent Law: a new, useful process, machine, improvement, etc., that did not exist previously and that is recognized as the product of some unique intuition or genius, as distinguished from ordinary mechanical skill or craftsmanship.” While the patent office is filled with so called inventions, many that were never produced, some argue that the ideas were either stolen or just evolved naturally out of other people’s research. From the unknown inventor of the wheel, to Ford, Edison, and Steve Jobs, you can find brilliant applications of technology, but have these people actually invented anything?