In response to Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, all texts focus on young women as they attempt to maneuver throughout the changing state. Mao’s attempted to preserve communist ideals after the failure of the Great Leap Forward by targeting the female youth. Red Azalea, Anchee Min endures tough labour on the farm while conforming to the Communist ideals of the female gender. Similarly, Rae Yang’s Spider Eaters focuses on the personal changes brought on by the Cultural Revolution. However, Wang Zheng’s Call me ‘Qingnian’ but not ‘funü’ was not written during the historical period.
Until reading Red Scarf Girl, I believed in that the ideal society could, no, would someday exist. But now I have been convinced otherwise. The youth of China believed that Mao’s purpose of the cultural revolution was to unify and strengthen their country. While this was later discovered to be untrue, they tried to accomplish that by bringing
Political freedom was not something that can be found under the rule of Mao. Mao believed in socialism, dictatorships of proletarians, communism, and Marxism-Leninism of Mao-Zedong thought. His work “The Little Red Book” contained all of his ideals commonly known as Mao Zedong thoughts. Within the cultural revolution set forth by Mao, but upheld by Deng, all of China had to refer to “The Four Basic Principles -1979”. They go as follows, “ 1.
Since Hsun-ching lived through China’s cultural revolution, his everyday life was a political issue. One prominent part of his story was his ordeal with the Red Guard. Although Salzman did not go into an extremely detailed description of Hsun-ching’s time with the Red Soldiers, he made the Cultural Revolution’s terrifying effect on China obvious. “In the week he had spent with Li and his followers, he had seen them drag teachers out of school and beat them mercilessly for no reason at all… The pheasants in that commune are starving largely because of the madness created by the Red Guards.”
The Chinese communist party gained much power after going after and attacking the Kuomintang and its anti communist policies into Taiwan. With the growth of the communist party’s power, the peasant and lower class experienced major influence that would change the course of their lives forever. Chinese peasants and the Chinese communist party between circa 1925 and circa 1950 had a relationship in which the party fostered and cared the state of the people. This created a sense of nationalism and pride for the peasants, while they were advocating social equality, and showing anti-Japanese sentiment. First of all, the Chinese communist party greatly influenced the peasant class in sparking and igniting a sense of nationalistic unity into the
Any outspoken person of Mao was attacked. The Cultural revolution worked. After Mao Zedong’s death and Hua Guofeng, essentially a Mao fanboy, failed as his successor, Deng Xiaoping took over control of China and basically saved the country. Deng Xiaoping started to undo some of Mao’s policies and began to open up the country. Xiaoping wanted to shift away from Maoism and began to institute 4 modernization to help China grow.
“All political power comes from the barrel of a gun.” - Mao Zedong (Chairman Mao). Mao Zedong was Chairman Mao, the leader of China during the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution took place from 1966 to 1976. The memoir Red Scarf Girl by Ji-li Jiang was written about the life of a young girl, Ji-li, who lived through these hard times.
When Japan invaded China in 1937, they started a chain of events leading to their defeat at the end of the second world war. Between circa 1925 and circa 1950 the Chinese communist party took hold of China sparking nationalism and anti-japanese stances, bringing the people new opportunities, and advocating social and gender equality. The Chinese people felt a loss of pride when Japan invaded them, but with the rising of the communist party they felt a new sense of nationalism and pride in their country. When looking at the conversation between a teenager and his grandfather, we get a wider picture at what life was like before the communist party rose to power.
One reason for this was due to manipulation of the people. For example, during this time period different events happened. The articles shows us that, “Fear of Communist infiltration intensified in the 1949 when Communists led by Mao Zedong took control of China and the Soviets detonated an atomic bomb-- well before some American scientists had estimated they would have the expertise to do so…” (Robert). The fear of an atomic bomb and Communist plagued the people’s attitudes.
In August of 1966 the Red Guard had gotten out of hand, the widespread chaos and destruction they had caused even caught the attention of Mao. Mao had sent the Red guards on a mission to destroy “The Four Olds” , old customs, culture, habits, and ideas. In an attempt to call the nation he invited every Red Guard to go to Beijing on public transportation free of charge. Children swarmed to the city in masses to see tiananmen square, the memorial to the fallen heroes of the revolution and Mao’s mausoleum. They crowded into the square in identical uniforms to read quotations from the Little Red Book and to admire the massive image of Chairman Mao that had been placed on the front of the gates to the forbidden city.
Red Guards were formed in order to eliminate the old ideas, culture, customs, and habits. During the cultural revolution, Mao fought corruption and streamline bureaucracy in which there are only a few people who do the work to get things done since as when the nationalist was in control, the government never really help the people and was corrupted. He also United all China under the Beijing government for the first time since the fall of the
He launched the Cultural Revolution in order to maintain that system. First he would use indoctrination to get kids to know he is like the “god” and they need to show loyalty and follow his rules. A group called red guards pledged their devotion to Chairman Mao and the revolution. They were mostly students and teenagers who were part of this group. They wanted to smash the old, non-maoist way of life, by destroying buildings, beat and even kill alleged enemies.
Introduction Joseph Stalin is perhaps one of the most important and discussed people in Russian history. He was arguably a feared tyrant cursed and despised by many. At the same time, one finds sufficient evidence for the adoration and worship of Stalin that used to exist in the minds of the citizens of the Soviet Union. One reason for this worship was the existence of the so called ‘Cult of Personality’ where Stalin was celebrated as a wise leader, father of all people, and the architect of victory of the Second World War. In his book, The Stalin Cult: A Study in the Alchemy of Power, Jan Plamper states that Stalin’s cult of personality was largely a visual phenomenon.
Atwood parallels the Cultural Revolution in China to the how the Gilead government gains power and control over the United States. The Chinese communist leader, Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution to assert his control over the Chinese government. Zedong ordered the nation to cleanse themselves of “impure” aspects of Chinese society. This was done by shutting down schools and a massive youth mobilization. The students formed groups called the Red Guards, they attacked and harassed members of China’s elderly and
Secondly, the Cultural Revolution and the chaos and disaster this had on the Chinese population, especially through the “Down to the Countryside movement” and finally, the Cult of Mao and what the idolisation and glorification of Mao meant for the future of China. Mao’s introduction of the Great Leap Forward policy and the impacts and effects this had on the Chinese population as well as its role in the introduction of the Cultural Revolution played a key role in shaping China into what it is today. The plan’s failure lead to Mao’s loss of power, which resulted in Mao introducing the Cultural Revolution in China. Unfortunately, Mao’s five-year plan was a disaster, and caused the death of an estimated twenty to forty
