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{ Cultural Revolution: China By: Helen Zhu 86

The Great Proletarian Revolution

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Page 1: The Great Proletarian Revolution

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Cultural  Revolution:  China

By:  Helen  Zhu  8-­‐‑6

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Everyone,  soldiers,  peasants,  all  alike  had  a  copy  of  the  liAle  red  book

Holding  up  the  liAle  red  book  like  the  bible  during  a  prayer

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January  20th,  1964    The  Great  Leap  Forward  was  a  failure;  Mao  Zedong  failed  to  do  what  he  promised.  He  told  the  peasants  that  there  would  be  a  beAer  world  if  they  worked  harder  and  gave  more  to  the  government.  But  in  doing  so,  Mao  caused  one  of  the  most  tragic  and  horrifying  events  in  Chinese  History.  The  peasants  starved,  I  heard  stories  of  the  gruesome  cannibalism  that  people  resorted  to.  Because  of  the  shame  of  causing  that,  Mao  left  the  country  in  ruins.  But  following  his  leave,  Lui  Shao  Qi  came  into  power,  he  made  everything  beAer,  he  was  mending  the  broken  country  left  in  Mao'ʹs  wake.  We  were  developing,  we  were  industrializing,  and  we  were  changing  for  the  beAer.  Lui  Shao  Qi  helped  us  grow;  we  were  slowly  catching  up  to  the  West,  slowly  but  none  the  less  catching  up!    Most  of  the  people  still  believed  that  Mao’s  plan  would  work  and  Mao  was  brilliant.  If  only  they  would  open  their  eyes  and  see  Lui  Shao  Qi  was  fulfilling  the  promises  that  Mao  made.          But  just  when  we  thought  that  China  was  great,  Mao  published  the  Li3le  Red  Book.  He  came  back  into  power,  once  again  won  over  the  people  of  China.  He  used  a  cult  of  personality  to  redeem  himself,  to  reclaim  the  power  and  control  he  once  had.  Students,  children,  and  adults,  were  given  a  copy  of  the  liAle  red  book,  it  was  as  if  it  was  their  bible  and  Mao  was  their  god.  Everyone  was  quoting  him,  his  face  on  every  poster,  every  wall,  and  every  corner.  Everywhere  you  went  he  was  watching,  observing,  waiting  for  you  to  make  a  mistake.   It  surprises  me  to  no  end,  how  these  people  who  starved  and  died  because  of  Mao,  still  treat  and  act  as  if  he  was  a  gift,  sent  by  god  himself.  Do  you  peasants  not  see  that  he  was  the  cause  of  your  starvation  and  devastation?  He  caused  those  deaths,  the  blood  of  innocent  people  are  on  his  hands.            He  is  not  doing  any  good;  I  feel  that  we  will  once  again  go  into  tragedy  and  chaos.  And  whom  do  we  have  to  blame?  The  infamous  Mao,  cause  once  again  he  has  the  people  blinding  following  his  orders.  Why  can’t  they  just  wake  and  realise  that  we  the  intellectuals  are  right?  I  guarantee  that  with  Mao  back  in  charge,  China  will  not  improve;  we  will  once  again  fall  into  the  hands  of  destruction.    Mao  will  destroy  our  destiny,  he  will  destroy  the  world  we  have  tried  so  hard  to  mend  and  wreck  the  future.  All  those  empty  promises  and  broken  dreams,  our  future  holds  nothing  but  the  mistakes  of  the  past.  

Journal  Entry  1

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People  puAing  up  DaziBao’s

People  admiring  the  revolutionary  DaziBao’s

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  May  25th,  1966            How  dare  she?  That  women’s  heart  is  as  cold  as  ice.  Nie  YuanZi  made  a  DaZiBao  with  names  of  people,  colleges,  she  thought  that  were  anti-­‐‑revolutionaries.  Sure,  maybe  one  or  two  of  them  were,  but  they  trusted  her,  and  she  betrayed  their  trust.  I  can'ʹt  believe  her;  I'ʹm  just  lucky  that  she  doesn'ʹt  suspect  me.              The  revolutionaries  are,  uh...  How  do  I  put  it  nicely,  unkind?  They  have  targeted  the  people  named  on  the  Da  ZiBao.  I  fear  this  is  just  the  beginning  of  the  chaos,  for  with  the  Da  ZiBao  the  revolutionaries  will  believe  that  almost  everyone  are  bourgeois  anti-­‐‑revolutionaries.  These  signs  are  weapons  created  by  Mao,  to  harm  and  target  those  he  thinks  are  doing  wrong.  Why  would  he  do  that,  he  loved  us,  he  told  us  that  he  would  do  anything  for  the  country,  and  yet  here  he  is  breaking  us  apart,  making  us  turn  against  our  families.  Its  barbaric  what’s  happening,  it’s  like  the  great  leap  forward  all  over  again.  All  of  the  students  in  the  courtyard  were  excited;  they  were  revolutionaries,  soldiers  trained  to  obey.                I  remember  it  vividly,  standing  out  in  the  courtyard  with  all  the  other  students;  we  were  told  that  Nie  YuanZi  had  a  special  announcement.  She  proudly  walks  out  of  the  building,  everyone  is  silent,  its  so  quite  you  could  hear  a  pin  drop.  She  slowly  puts  the  poster  up;  the  minuets  feel  like  hours,  suddenly  its  up  for  the  whole  school  to  see.  Oh  my,  it  was  poster  with  the  names  of  the  colleges  she  had  thought  were  bourgeois  anti-­‐‑revolutionaries.  The  courtyard  buzzes  with  whispers.  "ʺWhat  does  she  thinks  she’s  doing"ʺ  "ʺthat  a  great  idea!  Why  didn'ʹt  I  think  of  it?"ʺ  All  around  me  I  hear  people  whispering  about  how  brilliant  it  is,  and  all  I  can  think  is  why?  I  couldn'ʹt  even  process  how  heart  breaking  it  was  to  see  her  sell  out  her  own  friends.  I  look  over  at  a  fellow  professor,  another  friend  of  Nie  YuanZi,  he  looks  at  me,  I  can  see  his  heart  breaking,  the  betrayal  in  his  eyes,  and  we  share  a  look  of  acknowledgment.                It  pains  me  to  the  core,  Nie  YuanZi  a  friend,  helped  Mao  create  one  of  his  revolutionary  weapons  the  DaZiBao.    

Journal  Entry  2

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Students  humiliating  their  teachers Red  Guards  beating  up  a  anti-­‐‑revolutionist  

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January  5th,  1967 Caught  in  a  whirlwind  of  chaos  and  violence,  nothing  seemed  fair.  I  was  recently  imprisoned,  but  I  got  the  beAer  end  of  the  deal  than  most.  A  fellow  professor  is  also  here,  we  talk  of  the  chaos  and  how  things  were  beAer  before,  nostalgia.  The  chaos  created  by  Mao,  china'ʹs  "ʺgreatest  leader"ʺ  was  unimaginable,  I  thought  the  famine  was  rock  boAom  for  us,  but  it  seems  I  was  wrong.  He  ordered  the  peasants  to  overthrow  the  political  party;  he  claims  it  is  for  the  communism  and  the  country.  While  we  intellectuals  suspect  it  is  because  he  is  a  wolf  craving  for  more  power.  He  has  created  so  much  chaos,  that  it  wouldn'ʹt  be  a  surprise  if  he  left  again.     The  violence  is  geAing  crazy;  people  are  humiliating  their  professors  and  teachers  by  making  them  kneel  in  the  town  with  a  heavy  board  hung  on  their  neck  like  a  pendant  of  shame.  I  remember  being  there  for  one  of  them;  tears  were  streaming  down  my  face  as  I  watched  one  of  my  friends  being  humiliated.  The  steel  wire  that  acted  as  a  necklace  for  the  shameful  board  was  cuAing  into  his  neck.  "ʺStop!  Please  I  beg  you  to  save  him!"ʺ  I  wanted  to  yell,  fearing  the  same  fate.  I  held  my  tongue,  furiously  wiping  the  tears  away,  my  lip  bleeding  from  biting  down  preventing  me  from  yell  out.  I  turn  away  just  as  his  head  rolls  off.  I  can'ʹt  bear  it  anymore.  If  it  had  been  another  time,  and  in  a  different  situation,  I  would  have  thought  it  was  quite  ironic,  his  favourite  book  Alice  in  Wonderland,  off  with  his  head,  I  might  have  even  laughed.  I  carefully  sneak  back  into  the  shadows  hoping  no  one  noticed  me,  it  was  all  we  did  nowadays,  hiding  in  the  shadows,  cowering  away  from  people,  like  ghosts  drifting  past  looking  for  their  way.     Now  in  this  cell,  I  can  hear  the  sounds  of  children  mourning  for  their  parents,  parents  crying  for  their  children.  I  cry  at  night  for  the  children  who  are  drafted  to  fight  this  imaginary  war,  I  cry  for  the  people  who  didn'ʹt  get  to  live,  I  cry  for  those  who  didn'ʹt  have  a  chance,  but  most  of  all  I  cry  for  those  who  will  never  experience  anything  but  sorrow,  loss,  and  death.  

Journal  Entry  3

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People  going  down  to  the  countryside

Propaganda  poster  of  the  red  guards  going  down  to  the  countryside

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 "December 20th, 1968 "I don’t know how long I’ve been in here; it could be days, weeks, maybe even years. I can’t remember the last time I felt the warmth of the sun, the blue of the sky, the laughter of children. But most importantly I can’t remember the last time I felt happiness and hope. " "Outside the cold dark walls that imprisoned our souls, the chaos is ending; the military that guards our hearts and happiness tell us stories of what’s going on. The Red Guards are being sent back, the forces of evil are retreating back into the shadows. Finally, Mao realised the mistake he made, unable to maintain order and control over china while the Red Guards running around, like rabid dogs attacking innocent people. He was sending them to the countryside to get education, most of them children who didn’t go to school. Before the Cultural Revolution they were children, happy, full of hope, now their just shells of their past, full of hatred, and violence. 小红,my guard was currently telling me about how her sister was sent down, but she was needed here so she was told not to go. Most of these students lost years of their lives and education for a war, puppets on a string, and Mao the puppet master. Doing things with out even thinking, soldiers trained since the day they were born to believe in Mao, I pray for the souls of those children. I pray that his nightmare ends. She told me that most of the children are dying there, from malnutrition, diseases and exhaustion. " "There wasn’t enough food to feed all the Red Guard, the children had to work incredibly hard just for some food. Most of them died from malnutrition or exhaustion. Cause of that, some people take their lives, wanting to die on their own terms and not in pain. The Cultural Revolution has left China in a terrible state, we are way behind the west, the dreams and hopes of industrializing and becoming a developed country were now just dreams. "

Journal  Entry  4

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Lin  Biao  Mao’s  right  hand  man Plane  crash  where  Lin  Biao  died

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  September  13th,  1972 The  sounds  I  didn’t  know  I  had  missed,  the  chirping  of  the  birds,  the  buzzing  of  the  bees.  The  leaves  crunching  beneath  my  feet,  the  wind  caressing  my  hair,  my  torn  raAy  dress  billows  out  around  me.  I’m  never  going  back,  it’s  as  if  all  those  years  I  was  a  ghost,  walking  in  between  the  world  of  the  living  and  the  dead.  Everything’s  hazy  as  if  I  was  looking  through  a  glass,  into  the  crazy  chaotic  country  China.  I  recently  just  found  out  that  Mao  murdered  Lin  Biao.     They  said  that  Lin  Biao  had  been  conspiring  against  Mao,  stabbing  in  the  back  quite  literally  so,  he  made  an  aAempt  on  Mao’s  life.  Mao  was  growing  more  and  more  furious  as  time  went  on,  his  own  right  hand  man  tried  to  kill  him.  Just  like  in  the  past  Mao  eliminated  anyone  that  was  a  threat  to  him,  his  power,  or  his  throne.  This  time  was  no  different.  Lin  Biao  was  escaping  with  his  family  to  Mongolia,  Mao  sabotaging  the  plane  making  it  crash  miles  before  it  reached  its  destination.  The  word  spread  quickly  about  what  happened,  traveling  from  person  to  person  like  bees  in  a  hive.  Lin  Biao  who  once  helped  develop  and  make  china  a  beAer  place  was  now  labelled  as  a  traitor.  The  people  were  beyond  confused,  why  was  he  labelled  as  a  traitor,  they  started  questioning  the  political  part.  They  didn’t  announce  his  death  until  a  year  later,  honestly  a  lot  of  my  friends  and  I  figured  it  out  already,  Mao  didn’t  talk  about  Lin  Biao  anymore,  he  wasn’t  seen  anymore.  It’s  as  if  he  just  disappeared.   Now  with  Mao  Ze  Dong  back  in  power,  I  honestly  don’t  know  what’s  going  to  happen.    Some  of  the  greatest  things  that  have  happened  are  because  of  him  and  some  of  the  worst  are  also  because  of  him.  All  those  years  of  the  Cultural  Revolution,  feels  like  a  dream  that  you  just  can’t  remember.  A  memory  you  remember,  but  only  bits  and  pieces.    

Journal  Entry  5

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Ñ  Pictorial  History  of  the  People'ʹs  Republic  of  China.  China.org,  n.d.  Web. Ñ  "ʺPensavate  Che  La  Rivoluzione  Culturale  Fosse  Finita?  Dazibao  E  

Autocritiche  Tornano  Di  Moda  in  Cina."ʺ  Tempi.it.  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  27  Feb.  2014.

Ñ  "ʺOur  Magazine  Archive."ʺ  Foreign  Policy.  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  27  Feb.  2014. Ñ  McCormick,  Byty.  "ʺOur  Magazine  Archive."ʺ  Foreign  Policy.  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  

27  Feb.  2014. Ñ  "ʺAlliance  of  Radical  Booksellers."ʺ  Alliance  of  Radical  Booksellers.  N.p.,  n.d.  

Web.  27  Feb.  2014. Ñ  "ʺWuhan-­‐‑Mao'ʹs  Cultural  Revolution."ʺ  Wuhan-­‐‑Mao'ʹs  Cultural  Revolution.  N.p.,  

n.d.  Web.  26  Feb.  2014. Ñ  "ʺChina'ʹs  Lost  Culture."ʺ  The  Distributed  Republic.  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  27  Feb.  2014. Ñ  "ʺThe  Mao  Years."ʺ  China  Mike  RSS.  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  27  Feb.  2014. Ñ  "ʺExhibition  of  Everyday  Items  Illustrates  Changes  in  Chinese  Daily  Life  

(with  Photos)."ʺ  Exhibition  of  Everyday  Items  Illustrates  Changes  in  Chinese  Daily  Life  (with  Photos).  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  26  Feb.  2014.

Ñ  "ʺUp  to  the  Mountains,  down  to  the  Villages  (1968)."ʺ  Up  to  the  Mountains,  down  to  the  Villages  (1968).  N.p.,  n.d.  Web.  27  Feb.  2014.

Ñ   

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