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The Causes Of The Cultural Revolution Of China

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Revolution: the "deconstruction" phase in the circle of societal reconstruction. In most cases, the society rebuilds itself, improves, takes mistakes from the past, and makes sure to establish itself as something new, distancing itself from its past faults. However, that is not always the case. The cultural revolution of China, lasting from 1966-1976, was a revolution unlike many others; it resulted in the destruction of traditional Chinese culture, as well as the reshaping of the Chinese political mentality.
Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Communist Party of China, was the chief instigator of the revolution. Much of his motivations stemmed from his poor relationships with other party leaders. This tension with the other members was caused by the Great Leap Forward, an attempt by Mao to increase agricultural and industrial production in China within a very short span of time. This resulted in the overworking of farmers, a famine with an estimated 40 million deaths, and a disgrace for Mao (Ramzy). Even his intended successor, Liu Shaoqi, who was groomed to perfection by Mao himself, turned his back on him after the disastrous attempt at reforming the agricultural industry. However, due to Mao's well-placed use of propaganda, he managed to climb back to power, establish a loyal base, and spread his ideology across China. He believed the Communist Party to be corrupt and need to be cleansed of those poisoned by intellectualism. Liu Shaoqi, the newly elected president of China,

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