China Rising Summary

Ryan, T. (2009). China Rising. Collingwood, VIC: History Teachers’ Association of Victoria. P. 235-237, 241-246, 260-263

I selected China Rising from my local library shelves as it boasted an in-depth study of the periods before, during, and after the Chinese Revolution – thus of course including the section of interest, the Cultural Revolution. I expected to cover the Cultural Revolution comprehensively, however I did expect more detail into education than it delivered.

Tom Ryan’s book helps lay down a solid introduction to both the students role in the Cultural Revolution (as Red Guards) and the upheaval the education system underwent throughout the Cultural Revolution. Ryan discusses student radicalism, the beginning of student-led ‘struggle

(2001), Impact of the Cultural Revolution on Rural Education and Economic Development: the Case of Jimo County, Modern China, Vol. 27, pp. 59-90. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org.ez.library.latrobe.edu.au/stable/3181364

This was a recommended article through the jstor.org site following on from Chang’s article, and is quite similar in subject matter – it examines education before, during, and after the Cultural Revolution but at a rural level, which none of the above articles have solely focused on. This was chosen because of the rural angle and as a further delve into solely education.

Dongping discusses the country of Jimo in his article; it’s lack of schools, literacy, and college/university educated young people who came back from the cities before the Cultural Revolution. Dongpings article discusses the positive aspect of the education upheaval during the Cultural Revolution – the rural villages received many more schools and teachers, and students that went away to study at university returned home, greatly uplifting the rates of illiteracy in rural areas. The fact that students had to have work experience meant that there were educated young people working on farms that knew how to operate machinery and could be teachers in their