The Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution
was Mao Zedong’s way of eliminating all opponents to his party. The failure of the Great Leap Forward had weakened Mao’s authority and disturbed his popularity. So much, in fact, that other members of the Communist party turned against him.He needed something to put him back into power because he needed the revolution to be permanent and a
success in order to secure his power. The aim of the Cultural Revolution was to dispose of the four old ideas, old customs, old culture and habits. After he had done this he could then re-educate people with Communist ideology.This attempt to move his country forward yet again resulted in ruining China’s past, peaceful way of life. Mao created the red guards, a group of thousands of young radical Chinese boys and girls who set out to destroy the thinking of traditional China. Colleges were shut, schools and temples were destroyed, teachers and parents treated as outcasts and in many cases killed or driven to suicide. During it, tens of thousands of youths were sent to thecountryside to work as peasants because Mao believe this would close the gap between the urban and rural and labouring and intellectual people. University students were also taken away to become Red Guards [Mao’s Army] and were commanded to criticize and attack those who opposed Mao. The strategy was for students to only concentrate on the revolution. The revolution lasted until 1976. Though Mao Zedong did regain his people's popularity, his ideas had earned him the reputation of one of the
was Mao Zedong’s way of eliminating all opponents to his party. The failure of the Great Leap Forward had weakened Mao’s authority and disturbed his popularity. So much, in fact, that other members of the Communist party turned against him.He needed something to put him back into power because he needed the revolution to be permanent and a
success in order to secure his power. The aim of the Cultural Revolution was to dispose of the four old ideas, old customs, old culture and habits. After he had done this he could then re-educate people with Communist ideology.This attempt to move his country forward yet again resulted in ruining China’s past, peaceful way of life. Mao created the red guards, a group of thousands of young radical Chinese boys and girls who set out to destroy the thinking of traditional China. Colleges were shut, schools and temples were destroyed, teachers and parents treated as outcasts and in many cases killed or driven to suicide. During it, tens of thousands of youths were sent to thecountryside to work as peasants because Mao believe this would close the gap between the urban and rural and labouring and intellectual people. University students were also taken away to become Red Guards [Mao’s Army] and were commanded to criticize and attack those who opposed Mao. The strategy was for students to only concentrate on the revolution. The revolution lasted until 1976. Though Mao Zedong did regain his people's popularity, his ideas had earned him the reputation of one of the