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.