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cultural_revolution1.docxKwun Ho Ho, Harris
Ms, Caroline Johnson
COM-102-045
04 May 2014
Cultural Revolution
China's decade-long Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution shook the politics of China and the world in 1950. Even though it is almost 60 years old, the movement is still so controversial that the communist party of China still prohibits public discussion about its Cultural Revolution. This paper seeks to investigate the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The thesis of the paper is that the Communist Party of China government should admit their wrong doings and have the courage to face their failure in the Cultural Revolution. A nation that is not willing to admit its past does not deserve a prosperous future. It is believed that if the Chinese can face up to its past mistakes, China can develop in a faster pace and become more successful.
Background of the Cultural Revolution
It has been about 60 years ago since the Communist Party of the China started what came to be called the Cultural Revolution. Mao Zedong was very fond of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. But, his ideas ended up destroying the lives of millions of Chinese. Indeed, some observers do not believe that the dark history that the Chinese underwent can be addressed and really forgotten completely. In addition to the fact that millions had their lives, history, beliefs, and cultures destroyed, the proponents of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution did also destroy millions of historical artifacts and monuments which were greatly valued by many communities around the country (Esherick et al. 34).
Another reason why Chairman Zedong’s idea of Cultural Revolution is criticized is that the children were separated from their families and their parents. As a matter of fact, familial ties were destroyed completely, particularly between 1966 and 1976; the period when indoctrination and forced adoption of concepts were at their extreme levels. The Communist party did also force people to abandon their economic activities, education for their children as well as for themselves, and their professions. In fact, a whole generation was lost since China became inadequately educated when compared to the rest of the world (Esherick et al. 34).
The Aim of the Cultural Revolution
Chairman Zedong had hoped that his idea of Cultural Revolution would help revolutionize China speedily. He had hoped that within no time, China would be in a position to catch up with the rest of the world. To Zedong, the reason why the western powers appeared to oppose his views was that they did not wish to see China emerging as a power. However, his approach was wrong, and it resulted into serious consequences and a lot of suffering for the people he had hoped to assist (Lu 78).
The disruption of the country’s economy and society was too great that the objectives which the Chairman had remained largely unachieved. His experimentation was more damaging than beneficial, and it almost bankrupted the government and the people. Therefore, even though he was opposed to the redesigning of his original ideas, the Chairman had no choice but to let the man he had chosen as his Vice Chairman and the one who was the Premier to implement some reforms, i.e. redesigning of his original ideas (Jiang 46).
Anti – Revisionism (Three Red Flags)
Anti-revisionism is the term that is used to refer to the opposition that influential Chinese people had towards the revision or the modification of the revolutionary ideas which the Chairman and his team had. Anti-revisionists views any attempt to review or dilute the ideas of the Chairman as rather concessions to the adversaries of Communism. Such feelings made them oppose the move to revise vehemently. The following subsections address some of the steps which the government of China undertook to safeguard their communist ideas (Feng 78).
The Chinese government adopted the General Line from the ideas of the leaders of the Soviet Union. In the Soviet Union, the General Line started being implemented in the year 1927, and it was meant to help with the celebration of the idea of collectivization of agricultural activities. The idea was really being championed by Leon Trotsky who was a Bolshevik. Chairman Zedong believed that the General Line was the best for China. He believed that it would help ease the agricultural activities; and, therefore, the people of China did not have to suffer famines. However, the idea failed, and people suffered famines (Chong 73).
The Great Leap Forward refers to the campaign of economic and social activities which the government of China implemented between the years 1958 and 1961. Through this idea, the Chairman had hoped that China would be transformed from a largely agrarian economy into a country that was largely industrialized through communism. On the contrary, the country did not industrialize rapidly; instead, the people of China experienced what is commonly referred to as the Great Chinese Famine. The most noted changes to the Chinese society include the fact that people were forced into participating in agricultural collectivization and the prohibition of private farming activities. Anyone who went against these rules was considered a counter revolutionary and was punished severely (Chong 38).
The Communist Party of China placed a lot of restrictions on the people living in rural areas. The restrictions were enforced via what was referred to as the public struggle sessions. In these sessions, there was a lot of social pressure and forced labor. The Communist party called this the rural industrialization, and it was the official priority for the party. The people’s commune refers to what used to be the most significant of the three main administrative levels of the communities living in the rural areas. Its implementation was done between the years 1958 and 1983. Starting from 1983, the communes were abandoned, and townships emerged (Dittmer 15).
As the idea of the Cultural Revolution was being implemented, there was significant authority struggle in the Communist Party. Some of the officials did not follow the orders of the Chairman to the letter. Indeed, some ended up being corrupt, and they tended to amass resources for themselves and their cronies. This practice annoyed the Chairman so much that he came up with a plan of punishing them in public; at least so that he can intimidate the rest into dropping their corrupt views (Yan & Gao 30).
Following the removal of a leader called Peng Zhen, the party was disoriented. This disorientation was particularly seen in the Party Committee that sat in Beijing. There was massive disorder and discontent in the country’s capital. About the same time, on May 25, 1966, a lecturer of philosophy called Nie Yuanzi wrote a poster where he and other leftists criticized the university administration’s policies. Yuanzi alleged that the administration was having a secret mission to gain so much influence before undermining the party from within (Dittmer 67).
Zedong favored dealing with dissenters in a chaotic manner. In this regard, he ordered that Yuanzi’s message be broadcast throughout China in a bid to demonstrate to the dissenters that their plans cannot go unnoticed and unpunished. The broadcast was followed by the closure of classes in Beijing and other regions of the country in protest to the school administration’s secret plans. In early June, students lined the streets while holding huge portraits of Chairman Zedong, shouting slogans, and beating drums as if to intimidate the Chairman’s perceived enemies. By the end of July 1966, the Red Guards started violent purges of dissenters. By mid August, most of the needed purges had already been done (Dittmer 70).
Cultural Revolution of the Development Process
As it has been indicated, Chairman Zedong’s idea of Cultural Revolution was meant to facilitate a rapid development process. Although his ideas appeared to be working at the very beginning, they soon began to wreck havoc on the society, economy, and governance. The following subsections address some of the most important issues which relate to the development process (Chong 12).
Cultural Revolution was a huge social-political movement whose objective was to facilitate the enforcement of communism and the removal of cultural and traditional elements as well as capitalistic views from the society. In order to achieve this goal, the Chairman imposed Maoist orthodoxy within the Communist Party. The movement caused a lot of paralysis to the society in terms of the economy, social aspects, and politics. The launch of the revolution followed claims by Mao Zedong that some bourgeois elements had infiltrated his government as well as the society at large, and that their aim was to facilitate the restoration of capitalism. Therefore, his move was meant to have them removed through violent Class Struggle (Feng 18).
The young youth, especially the students, responded to Zedong’s request by forming the Red Guards all over the country. The movement did spread fast and was adopted by the Communist Party, urban workers, as well as the soldiers. As a result, there were serious factional struggles in every aspect of life in China. Many senior officials were expelled from the party after being accused and condemned for assuming views which were largely considered to be capitalist. The most famous expellees were Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi. Such expulsions made the Mo’s personality cult to spread and grow to proportions which were so immense to be ignored (Feng 30).
Although most Chinese were of the opinion that the revolution was necessary, a significant number did not agree with the Chairman. Those who did not agree were persecuted, especially through what had become violent factional struggles. There were wide-ranging abuses, including arbitrary imprisonment, public humiliation, sustained harassment, property seizures, and torture (Esherick et al. 45).
Most of the dissenters were urbanites who were vehemently opposed to forced emigration from the cities into the rural areas. As all these were taking place, the Red Guards were ransacking religious and cultural sites. They did also destroy numerous artifacts and historical relics. Of course there was serious opposition to such activities. There were people who had grown up respecting and valuing what was being destroyed. However, the activities had to remain since they were either ordered or sanctioned by the Chairman himself. The Maoist reforms where, however, done away with following the death of the Chairman in 1976 (Esherick et al. 78).
In August 18th 1966, the Red Guards gathered in Beijing in order to listen to the Chairman addressing them. The Red Guards had come from all over the country, and were so eager to listen to the Chairman who spoken atop the Tiananmen Gate (Feng 78). The Chairman and his handpicked successor, Lin Biao, made several and frequent appearances in a bid to greet the Red Guards whose number was approximated to have been 11 million. The Red Guards cheered the two leaders wildly every time they made an appearance. While making his speech, the chairman praised the conduct that the Red Guards had been exhibiting, and indicated that they had helped entrench democracy and socialism in the society (Lu 10).
The Gang of Four refers to the political faction of the Chinese Communist party that consisted of four prominent officials. Their prominence was linked to the Cultural Revolution that occurred between 1966 and 1976. They included Jiang Qing, who was Mao’s last wife, Wang Hongwen, Yao Wenyuan, and Zhang Chunqiao. Later on, these officials were charged with treason and subsequently expelled (Dittmer 150).
It remained relatively unclear whether the gang was implementing Mao’s ideas or the ideas which they were implementing were their own. In the end, these individuals were blamed for many of the excesses of the Communist Party, and this is what led to their purging. History indicates that the gang’s impact was largely negative. They sanctioned terror and other forms of excesses which made the Chinese people to suffer a lot (Yan & Gao 89).
Zedong favored violent or chaotic expulsion of the dissenters. He believed that such violence would in the end intimidate the potential dissenters and to force them to toe the line. During the expulsions, many dissenters lost their lives, or at least their livelihood. The Red Guards were feared for being extremely ruthless, and due to the fact that they had direct contact with the Chairman himself. They were the people who turned Zedong’s following into a cult. In that case, few would have dared to oppose the Chairman (Jiang 67).
The post revolution period was marked by drastic changes. First of all, Maoism was dropped as an ideology, and the society became more open. Indeed, China became more open to foreign direct investment and political room was open a little bit. In that case, people could discuss political subjects more openly, and they could also engage in economic activities more freely. The reforms deed, therefore, facilitate the emergence of the Middle Class, and this Middle Class was able to afford a better life while still living in the Communist China (Feng 89).
The End of the Cultural Revolution
Chinese Cultural Revolution came to an end about the same time when Mao Zedong died. The Red Guards had been done away with a little bit earlier after it became clear to the Chairman that they were not only a threat to the social cohesion but also to the Communist Party structures. Nonetheless, the group was disbanded after it had accomplished the mission that Chairman wanted them to accomplish. After the death of the Chairman, there emerged serious dissenting voices against the Gang of Four and other revolutionaries. In that case, the revolution had to be abandoned (Clark 67; Chong 45).
Deng Xiaoping became the Chairman of the Central Advisory Commission of the Communist Party in 13th of September, 1982. He ran that office way through to 2nd November 1987. Xiaoping is remembered for his reformist policies and the fact that he enabled the country to become a market based economy. Xiaoping did a lot for China in spite of the fact that he never became the head of state or government, or even the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China. He led smartly while sharing power with much older leaders in what came to be known as the Eight Elders (Yan & Gao 68; Lu 89).
Impact of the Cultural Revolution
Chinese Cultural Revolution made an impact in many aspects of life in China. These impacts are still being witnessed to the present day. This section discusses some of them. At the height of the revolution, politics were greatly influenced by the Chairman and the revolutionaries. There was little political participation for those who considered Zedong’s ideas as being oppressive. This impact can be said to have continued up to the present time since the Communist Party is still in power and powerful and has no political opposition (Chong 49).
The revolution ruined the economy. Industrial output fell greatly, and the level of income dropped sharply. Indeed, many observers believed that the economy could not recover with the revolution being continued. That is why leaders like Xiaoping ushered in the reforms which they believed were appropriate. The reforms did in fact help China recover and grow (Dittmer 89-91). As it has been indicated, the revolution destroyed cultural practices and believes. Cultural sites were completely destroyed, and the people adopted a relatively different way of life. The cultural loss that China suffered was and remains to be permanent. However, a number of people living in rural communities have started retracing their cultural roots (Dittmer 91).
The political ideology during the revolution was one hundred percent support for the Chairman. The support grew so intensely that it became a personal cult. This scenario was worsened by the fact that religion was discouraged. So, Mao was a moral leader in addition to being a political leader and the leader of the people of the republic (Chong 34). During the revolution, historical relics were replaced with political relics meant to praise the Chairman. Much of the oral history was lost in that process. In China, almost all utterances were made in favor of praising the Chairman. Anything else was lost in the process (Feng 29).
Obviously, the Chinese people lost most of the practices which were handed down from one generation to the other. Indeed, they lost both material and immaterial possessions and it was all about politics and support for the Chairman. Following the starting of the reforms in the late 1980s and early 1990s, the society has begun reclaiming its heritage. The government is also helping to this effect (Feng 31).
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