Cultural Revolution
Cultural Revolution had become very popular, and its effects were evident due to the collapse of the Chinese Communist Party. The authority of CCP had been destroyed due to the humiliation of both high and low cadres (MacFarquhar & Michael, 45). The revolution was on a different level, a level which it could be able to easily achieve its goals without any issues whatsoever. However, the main aim of the revolution was not well understood by the people, a factor which led to confusion among the people. Mao Zedong’s aim of revolutionizing the country was met by confusion, due to the people who Mao trusted to help him in the revolution.
Mao believed the revolution would be of positive impact to the country, nonetheless, he did not understand the type of people whom he was working with. In as much as Mao was determined to save the country from capitalism, he did not have first-hand information about his own people, particularly those who were tasked with the mandate of heading the revolution process. Lin Biao and Jian Qing, were the main perpetrators of confusion, with the aim of gaining popularity. Their main aim was to exploit Mao Zedong’s errors, hence being able to gain supreme powers (MacFarquhar & Michael, 45). Due to the trust which Mao had put on them, they were placed in significant positions of the revolution. Lin and Jian, were therefore determined to make sure that everything went contrary of what Mao had planned. Mao’s main aim was to lead to the integration of the universal principles of Marxism-Leninism with material practice of the Chinese revolution.
The humiliation of the party cadres had taken a new turn, making most people to see the need to continue with the revolution. The revolution in itself was effective, in the sense that Mao mobilised and used huge masses in order to push for their grievances. Due to the alteration of information which led to confusion by Lin and Jian, each and everything which the party was actually doing was wrong. The party had gone against the rule of law, under the watchful eyes of Jian and Lin, thus leading to a disaster. The people did not therefore understand the right and the wrong, and they were therefore doing things without the knowledge of right and wrong (MacFarquhar & Michael, 47). The party’s leading cadres at different levels were therefore subjected to criticism, a factor which made it hard for the party to be able to run its activities at ease. The activities of the party came to a standstill, since most of the activists whom the party had relied upon were rejected, thus rendering the party non-effective. Initially, most of those who participated in the Cultural Revolution were mainly acting in support of Mao Zedong, due to the faith that they had on him and the party in general.
Cultural Revolution’s effectiveness slowly died down, after the confusion which made the masses not to understand what they were actually doing. The masses were doing things in total confusion, a factor which led to a disaster, since the revolution was not against the enemy, but against the actual activities of the party, hence affecting the overall authority of the party (MacFarquhar & Michael, 61). The Cultural Revolution did not therefore change the social ills in the country, but instead it led to huge disasters, a factor which affected the operations of the country as a whole. Mao’s aim was then tarnished, making the revolution he had yearned for to remain nothing but a disaster.
What Mao had planned failed to occur, since people became confused, and they were also misled by Mao’s allies who were determined to gain popularity and power through the revolution. The people later discovered that Mao was not entirely concerned with their well-being, or the wellbeing of China, but with his own political interests. It became evident that Mao was determined to do away with his political rivals in the party, thus being able to dominate. The people were however confused, making the revolution to become even disastrous, thus making it hard for Mao to handle the situation. China experienced a lot of challenges, which included economic decline (MacFarquhar & Michael, 63).
Judging from the turn of events in the revolution, it is wrong to say something positive was seen out of the revolution, however, the Cultural Revolution had a few positive impacts which will be mentioned later in this section. The revolution was aimed at building Mao politically, and destroying his enemies, thus making him to stand out (MacFarquhar & Michael, 64). This can therefore be termed as political fraud, since Mao used the people of China, as a means of gaining power, and being able to dominate over other political leaders, without caring about the economic situation of the country and the Chinese people. On the other hand, the effect of the revolution was greatly felt by the country, since it had more negativities, than what the people had thought when it actually began.
The revolution saw millions and millions of people being persecuted, in the struggle, where most people lost their properties, others were injured, tortured or even killed. The situation was worse, and it had not positive impact on the people of China, because some of the supporters of Mao ended up dying, others lost their properties, without any form of support or assistance from Mao (MacFarquhar & Michael, 67). The revolution which the Chinese people thought was good for them, turned out to be against them, thus making life harder for them. Similarly, the youths in urban areas were also transformed to rural areas in the countryside movement. This saw most youths being displaced, some of them losing connections with their families.
Mao’s aim in the revolution became clear after it turned catastrophic, and people now began to understand who Mao really was. Mao also incorporated the army, students and the Chinese people in general to come together and cause great disorder (MacFarquhar & Michael, 70). He knew through the creation of a great disorder, he would not be in control of the people, thus making the masses to do whatever they want, hence leading to the destruction of property and the loss of lives. The rallies were named Red Guard rallies. These rallies were mandated with the aim of causing a great disorder, hence making the Chinese people to destroy property, thus affecting the country in general.
Similarly, the revolution had negative effects, as it affected the economy of China, making the Chinese people to suffer. The security of the country was also affected, since it was not easy for the country to run with an army which had been participating in the revolution (MacFarquhar & Michael, 73). The country was in great problems, Mao could not see anything wrong with the country during the revolution, because the state in which the country was in, favored his interests. Different social activities in the country could not be conducted at ease, because of the rallies, which were attended by very many people, and in the end, the rallies turned violent, thus affecting the wellbeing of other people.
A cultural revolution is supposed to protect the culture of the Chinese, thus allowing them to be able to do things in the way they like it. However, Mao’s revolution aimed at changing the culture of the Chinese. Changing the actual culture of a people is affecting their wellbeing, and not allowing them to be able to lead lives the way they want to. This can therefore be termed as a means of changing the way the Chinese people lived, into a way which Mao liked, thus being able to have total power over his subjects (MacFarquhar & Michael, 75). Lin Biao advocated for the destruction of the ‘Four Olds’, which were: old customs, culture, ideas and habits. These was not a positive way changing the way the country was operating. While advocating for the destruction of the four olds, Lin was affecting the wellbeing of the poor Chinese citizens, whereas the movements aim was not to frustrate the poor. Lin, who had decided to use confusion in the course of the revolution, was now humiliating and frustrating the poor, who were not in any way supposed to be affected by the revolution. This was therefore the area where the revolution turned against its own people, forgetting about the enemies who were the corrupt people in the government (MacFarquhar & Michael, 81).
In as much as the culture revolution had a lot of negatives, it also had some positives, this part will therefore talk about the positive side of the revolution. The revolution was started because the rich had become corrupt, and those in power were basically the rich, due to corruption. The Chinese government was therefore at the verge of collapsing, due to intense corruption which was affecting the country (MacFarquhar & Michael, 87). In order to save the poor from this problem, Mao began a revolution n with the aim of protecting the majorities who were the poor in the country. The revolution began, however some leaders such as Jiang and Lin Biao whose aim was to confuse the people, confused them leading to the catastrophe.
Even though most people lost their lives during the revolution, the effect of the revolution was positive, after the incident, and for years to come. The revolution had changed the activities of the country, and had cleared China of the political rot which it was suffering from. The poor could now enjoy living peacefully, without being humiliated by rich corrupt leaders in the country. In addition, the country changed, and the elite became humble, the poor were given a chance of being rich through legal means, and not through corrupt ways (MacFarquhar & Michael, 93). The crooked government was then strengthened, and China’s economy grew at fast rate, due to the effect of the culture revolution. Finally, the revolution allowed the poor to have a better life, and also allowed the government to take care of its citizens without favouritism. This was consequently the revolution which allowed China as a country to reach where it is today.
Word Cited
MacFarquhar, Roderick, and Michael Schoenhals. Mao's Last Revolution. Cambridge, Mass: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2006. Internet resource.s
