History #3

Response #1

Katelin Kaneen posted Sep 16, 2019 12:59 PM

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Mao Zedong’s Rule Over China is the topic I have selected. Just as we discussed in the first parts of this module, I’ve come to discover overlapping of all three major lenses. However the political lens stood out to me over the other two lenses. This particular article focuses on how Mao Zedong’s movement with the Cultural Revolution and the impacts it has on China today. The Cultural Revolution (CR as they notate in the article) was a way to rid China of capitalist and traditional components and preserve Mao Zedong ideology by any means. 

“…he called upon the youth and the ‘masses’ to rebel against all kind of ‘authorities’.” (page 218, Fifty Years On).

Through a political lens, the author of this article gives insight on how people may have responded to him as a leader. It further more described how many people were willing to fight with him and follow his orders. Other people highly respected him as a leader and believed that he had the best solution. When Mao became so agitated with fellow Party members he really found a way to threaten them as well as society to purge all these bourgeois values.

“People denounced one another, and those…regarded as unpopular or suspicious, were deliberately arrested, tortured or killed. Civil-war like conditions became the rule, with bloody vicious rivalries among ‘rebel organizations’ which claimed to be defending Mao’s ideas.” (page 218, Fifty Years On).

This quote gives me an insight on how people might have been influenced by Mao Zedong. It showcases how lives were changed in such a little time. "Civil-war like conditions” creates an image of hard times for individuals and families in what seems like a rash decision from a leader. It created almost this law that China had to abide by or they would be killed. 

Article: Fifty Years On

Author: Thomas Heberer and Feng-Mei Heberer