China during the Great
Proletariat Cultural
Revolution
By Will Porter
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.
Location
Mao Tse-tung declared China
the People’s Republic of
China on October 1, 1949.
China is located in East Asia
and borders the Yellow Sea,
the East China Sea,
Mongolia, India, and many
other nations. The Chinese
consider Taiwan to be part of
China and call it the Republic
of China.
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=QbECxnd5ZA4
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
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-hey, Aye-hey-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
The Three Main Rules of Discipline are
as follows:
(1) Obey orders in all your actions.
(2) Do not take a single needle piece of thread from the
masses.
(3) 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 90% of all of the
people in China belonged
to the proletariat class.
These 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!”
The End
Thank you for always thinking of Mao.