China during the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution

China during the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution

Bombard the headquarter Summer 1966 saw a new campaign against “rightisists”. A campaign much bigger and wider then all previous Cultural revolution was against 4 olds - Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas Main force to lead a new revolution was students. Mao used a desire for new, a generation gap problem for his benefits

Anti four old campaigns Immediately revolutionary youth (Red Guards) launched a campaign that destroyed most of the cultural elements of China – churches, religious buildings, paintings and arts, books etc A violence against past escalated toward violence against everything and everyone who’s not agreed with party thus escalating unimaginable wave of red terror

Enemies of state Mao used the youth energy to fight against those who down powered him namely Liu Shaoqi It all started summer 1966 when Mao used criticism campaign to allow criticism of party and its leader, Liu was forced to write 3 articles with selfcriticism but that wasn’t sufficient and in october 1968 was pledged guilty on charge of counterrevolution and sent to labour camp where he shourtly died.

Red Wave During winter 1967 -1968 violence escalated. Instead of original Mao Red Guards there were thousands of smaller group appeared country wide. Mao welcomed political chaos as a mean to purify country’s old blood Yet in March 1967 he tried to control violence by creating three –in-one comittees( combined from radical leaders, party and army cadres) that suppose to become new adminitration

Timeframe The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution began on May 16, 1966. Led by Mao Tse-tung, it lasted until 1976, although Mao himself declared that it was over in 1969.

A New Culture The Cultural Revolution, was just that, a change in the Chinese culture. However, this revolution was government sponsored, as Mao sought to eliminate bourgeoisie intellectuals from China, and create a powerful, single-class, proletariat country.

The Youth Movement Instead of killing the intellectuals in China, who amounted to less than 10% of the population, Mao decided to re-educate intellectuals in the ways of the proletariat. To do so, he made many books and learning sources illegal, and relocated members of the bourgeoisie class to farming communities where they were forced to do manual labor. http: //www. youtube. com/watch? v=lfv 9 Sv. XNXd. U&fe ature=related

Literature During the Cultural Revolution, almost all forms of creative literature were made illegal. All western books were banned and destroyed, and no one was able to publish any literature unless it supported the Communist National Party. Mao Tse-tung published many works himself, and almost everyone in China was forced to carry around a book of his quotations known as the “Little Red Book. ”

Music, like all other forms of art, only existed in the form of propaganda. Typical songs were titled “The East is Red, ” “Long Live Chairman Mao, ” and “I Love Beijing's Tiananmen. ” This song is entitled, “I am a Little Member of the Commune. ” I am a little member of the commune, with a little sickle in my hand, and a bamboo basket on my shoulder. I go to work after class, cutting weeds, collecting manure, and picking up the lost wheat ears. The more I work, the more I love it. Ayh-hey, Aye-hey, Always keeping in mind the good character of the poor-and-lower-middle peasants, Loving the collective and loving labor, I am a little member of the commune!

Art At one point in China calligraphy had been considered the greatest form of art above painting and dancing. The Chinese language consists of 60007000 characters, each with an intricate design. During the Cultural Revolution, all forms of art, calligraphy, painting, dancing, and singing, were reduced to those that supported the Communist National Party. “Let the new Socialist Performing Arts conquer every stage. ”

Etiquette Three Main Rules of Discipline are as follows: (1) (2) (3) Obey orders in all your actions. Do not take a single needle piece of thread from the masses. Turn in everything captured.

Religion Mao lashed out at organized religion in China. He blamed religion for China’s problems and under his rule many different types of temples and churches were burned to the ground or converted into government buildings. However, some people began to worship Mao, and Mao worship evolved into a cult activity.

People Over 80% of all of the people in China were countryside farmers who lived in small farming communities. People would farm for both sustenance and local sales, and sometimes meat was hard to come by in certain locations.

Women Before Mao, women had been treated as subservient in China. However, Mao insisted on treating women as equals saying “Women hold up half the sky. ” “Proletarian revolutionary rebels unite!”

Impacts on Economy and Families The Cultural Revolution caused China’s economy to collapse. The amount of rice grains produced a year decreased greatly and cotton production also dropped dramatically. Due to the decreased production, the price for rice increased, and the price for cotton fabrics and clothes also increased. Transportation also became a problem for the people of China, as industrial production dropped during the ten harsh years. The Cultural Revolution led many citizens to lose their possessions. Politicians, landowners, and the high class society lost their jobs and properties. The lives of many Chinese were changed for the worse. More citizens became peasants and worked in the farms in order to afford foods and earn money for their families. Due to the abandonment of the birth control programs, many families increased and birth rates went up. That made living arrangements harder for most families, as the expenses of living were already difficult.

Impacts on Schools and Students Many Chinese students were not able to study during the Cultural Revolution. They were forced to farm and do manual labor. The government required that the values of the Cultural Revolution be taught in schools. During 1966 and 1967, all graduates and current students were required to completed a course covering the ideals of the Cultural Revolution before graduating. The process blocked many students from completing school, and many students dropped out. For those children who could not afford to go to school, they worked in factories and farms to earn petty amounts of money for their family. For those who stayed in school until graduation, they were sent to the countryside, because Mao thought it was necessary for graduates to be re-educated by famers and peasants. Four million high school and college graduates and sixteen million students were sent to the farmland where they ended up working the farms and performing manual labor. Problems arose for most of the young people due to the of food, lack housing, and money. Many students’ talents were wasted, because students were stuck working in the fields until the revolution ended.

Results The death of Mao in 1976 marked the end of the Cultural Revolution. The Eleventh Party Congress officially ended the Cultural Revolution in December of 1977. Throughout the ten years, many people were left in poverty and for many, educational opportunity was forever over. The burden of the ten years known as Mao’s Bloody Years left a burden on China that continued after the end of the Cultural Revolution. The educational systems took many long years to repair. The greatest impact of all was that all educational opportunitie and potential productive careers were denied to people who experienced the Cultural Revolution during their teens and ear adulthood. For some people, their lives changed for the better as they wer able to escape the hardships of the Cultural Revolution. As for most, the nightmares of the Cultural Revolution still linger and escaping that piece of reality is only hope, because the collapse of the economy and government had huge impacts on their lives which took years and years to restore.

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