Life for Teenagers in China During the Late 1960s

Have you ever wondered how life must have been for teenagers in China during the late 1960s? Most teenagers were inspired to fight in the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution was a movement in 1966. Mao Zedong motivated millions of chinese youths to challenge authority in order to depart from socialism. To further control the actions and ideas of the people in China, a group of youths called the “Red Guards” followed Mao’s beliefs and humiliated non-believers. These adolescents joined the cause because they wanted to have a better economic status and have power over authorities. The Red Guards experienced what it is was like to be an elder by inflicting violence on others. In an attempt to advance China’s economic and political status in the world, Mao Zedong created a revolution to bring an end to the old customs, but in the process his Red Guard caused violence and created a generation of uneducated Chinese youths.

After millions of years under imperial rule in China, nationalist rebellions made the government unstable eventually making way for communist ideas. For over twenty years the nationalist struggled to keep democratic power in the country. The Xinhai revolution was a civil war between the nationalists and the communists. The Communists were led by Mao Zedong and they emerged victoriously. In September 1949, two good things happened. It was the celebration of the communist victory and the unveiling of the communist regime that would subsequently rule over China. Mao and his communist supporters had been fighting against a corrupt and abandoned Nationalist government in China. Mao denounced that those who opposed the communist government are imperialistic and domestic reactionaries. Mao also declared that communi...

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...tember 1971, Lin’s plane crashed supposedly due to insufficient amount of fuel or engine failure. Speculation that it was shot down by Chinese or Soviets. Mao was aging and his health was deteriorating. His wife gathered the “Gang of Four” and tried to control the media. Although the politicians were still enthusiastic, the Chinese had lost taste for the movement.

For the entire span of the Cultural Revolution, schools in China were closed and not managed. This left an entire generation with no education. All types of artifacts were burned to ashes such as religious texts. They were described as “old thinking”. Millions of people died during the cultural revolution. The victims who suffered from public humiliation committed suicide. Terrible mistakes and brutal violence weakened the history of communist China. For youths at this time it was confusing because