I Believe Paper, edited

The Chinese Cultural Revolution was the master plan created by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 in his attempt to “deurbanize” the great mass of city youth. Mao Zedong also created other revolutionary events during his stay as China’s communist leader, but the Cultural Revolution set China back in its economics, education, and technology during the period of his Communist Rule. Although the intentions of Mao were forthright and good for his people, the executions and results of his plans were often catastrophic and debilitating for his people.

I believe that the Cultural Revolution affected China worse than the Great Leap Forward plan because it so heavily affected all parts off society and created havoc in the lives of millions of young scholars and the intellectuals. The Great Leap Forward plan was created by Mao in his attempt to bring China into the global society. He moved farm workers into the cities to produce steel and other important things necessary to bring China out of agrarian society and into an industrial society. However, his plan backfired when there there wasn't enough labor in the fields to support China's massive population working in the cities. A large famine ensued, forcing Mao to reconsider his plans for industrial improvements. This is another good example in which Mao had good intentions for the sake of his people yet the implementation of his plan was poor and unsuccessful.

In “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress”, Luo and his violinist friend mentioned that “mathematics had been scrapped from the curriculum, as had physics and chemistry. From then on our lessons were restricted to the basics of industry and agriculture.” (7) Mao’s plan to “reeducate” intellectuals had a very good intent – he wanted the boisterous and unappreciative city people to reconnect to the land and to the people that sustained their daily lives by agriculture and other essentials that they often took for granted. In the lives of both Luo and his friend the violinist, Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution destroyed their lives. Both were planning to attend high school and were dissapointed that the actions of one man could change their dreams for the future.

The violinist mentioned that not only were they “refused admission to high school, [but then] the role of young intellectuals [was] based on an account of [their parents] being labeled “enemies of the people” (8) Mao wanted young people to stop their schooling to join the Red Guard units. The Red Guard units were formed from urban youth who were then sent to destroy those who did not support Communism. But for many young people, it was hard for them to give up their urban lifestyles to enforce Mao’s cult of personality. Therefore, I believe that Mao failed in his attempt to “reeducate” the urban youth because many refused to abandon their ideals for the socialist ideas of Mao’s cultural revolution.

One of Mao's primary beliefs was that the Communist party was allowing the country to slip into capitalistic ways of America and away from the revolutionary ideas that he had worked so hard to enforce in China. Mao also believed that the intellectuals were gaining too much power over the common people. He also sought to make these urban civilians appreciate the peasants that supported their luxurious lifestyles in the city. Personally, I believe that Mao’s idea of “reeducating” the intellectuals was an idea full of good intentions. At this point during his rule as the communist leader of China, Mao was realizing that the intellectuals, the leaders of China’s technology and future, were becoming too powerful and arrogant with their influence over China’s people. Therefore, I strongly believe that Mao had good intentions in implementing his Cultural Revolution on the people of China. He sought to bring back the traditional and cultral ways that were previously found in China.

Despite the ensuing damage to many lives and the economic future of China, the Cultural Revolution did have its bright spots. Mao was successful in uniting millions of his people. He was also successful in reinvigorating many traditional customs and traditions that were previously disregarded by many of the intellectual and city bred youth. Mao sought to reinstate the traditions that the Chinese had come to based their lives upon. He felt that the new intellectual ideas were polluting the minds of China’s youth and pulling them away from their ethnic roots. Therefore, I believe that Mao’s Cultural Revolution was good in its intentions, but very badly executed. As a result of the Cultural Revolution, Mao created havoc in his society, pitting the intellectuals who had moved China into a position of global power against the men and women of the countryside who now had to bear the burden of "reeducating" the young people of the cities.

I Believe Paper

The Chinese Cultural Revolution was the master plan created by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 in his attempt to “deurbanize” the great mass of city youth. Mao Zedong also created other events during his stay as China’s communist leader, but the Cultural Revolution set China back in economics, education, and technology during the period. Although the intentions by Mao were forthright and good for his people, the executions and results of his plans were often catastrophic and debilitating for his people.

I believe that the Cultural Revolution affected China worse than the Great Leap Forward plan because it so heavily affected all parts off society and created havoc in the lives of millions of young scholars and the intellectuals. In “Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress”, Luo and his violinist friend mentioned that “mathematics had been scrapped from the curriculum, as had physics and chemistry. From then on our lessons were restricted to the basics of industry and agriculture.” (7) Mao’s plan to “reeducate” intellectuals had a very good intent – he wanted the boisterous and unappreciative city people to reconnect to the land and to the people that sustained their daily lives by agriculture and other essentials that they often took for granted. In the lives of both Luo and his friend the violinist, Chairman Mao’s revolution destroyed their dreams and their lives. The violinist mentioned that not only were they “refused admission to high school, [but then] the role of young intellectuals [was] based on an account of [their parents] being labeled “enemies of the people” (8) Mao wanted young people to branish their schooling to join the Red Guard units. But for many young people, it was hard for them to give up their urban lifestyles to enforce Mao’s cult of personality. Therefore, I believe that Mao failed in his attempt to “reeducate” the urban youth because many refused to abandon their ideals fo the socialist ideas of Mao’s cultural revolution.

One of the primary beliefs at Mao was that he believed that the Communist party was allowing the country to slip into capitalistic ways of America and away from the revolutionary ideas that he had worked so hard to enforce China. Mao also believed that the intellectuals were gaining too much power over the common people. They also sought to make them appreciate the peasants that supported their luxurious lifestyles in the city. Personally, I believe that Mao’s idea of “reeducating” the intellectuals was an idea full of good intentions. At this point during his rule as the communist leader of China, Mao was realizing that his intellectuals, the leaders of China’s technology and future, were becoming too powerful and arrogant with their influence over China’s people. Therefore, I strongly believe that Mao had good intentions in his implementation of the Cultural Revolution.

Despite the ensuing damage to many lives and the future of China, the Cultural Revolution had some bright spots. Mao was successful in uniting millions of his people. He was also successful in reinvigorating traditional customs and traditions that were previously disregarded by many of the intellectual youth. Mao sought to reinstate the traditions that the Chinese based their lives upon. He felt that the new intellectual ideas were polluting the minds of China’s youth. Therefore, I believe that Mao’s Cultural Revolution was good in its intentions, but very badly executed. As a result of the Cultural Revolution, Mao created havoc in his society, pitting the intellectuals who had moved China into a position of global power against the men and women of the countryside.