Red Guards
In the summer of 1966 there was a new effort on the part of the head leaders in China to further control the actions and thoughts of the people in
China. The Red Guards were the force to do it all.
A group of kids who mostly in their teens and some in college were put into this gang. This so-called military force was called the Red Guards.
Groups of these Red Guards traveled from the large cities all the way to empty country sides. They held huge demonstrations at every stop. Their main goal was to eliminate as many as possible of the customs and traditional thoughts of the old China. They participated in Long Marches and other activities.
The man they looked up to most was a person by the name of Mao. They carried huge portraits of him and also carried banners and flags. Many people in the group beat on gongs and drums. Some observers said it looked more like a circus then a political demonstration.
They did a lot of things that many thought were outrageous. At one point they raced widely through Peking denouncing anyone who was in a business. They even made a demand to change the meaning of the colors in a stop light.
According to the Red Guards, that because the color of communism is red, that you should go on red and stop on green. When the Red Guards added students from another school or workers from another factory they decorated the entrance with purple paper, lanterns and a red cloth covered with flowers.
People who did not agree with Mao Tse-tung and his teachings were often dragged through the streets and forced to wear dunce caps. The main reason of course was to humiliate. This group in time became more destructive. Even some of China's highest leaders were taken. The Red Guards demonstrations lasted through fall, and winter of 1966 and well into 1967.
The Red Guards highly looked up to Mao they thought of him as a father who shared the same views. Chairman Mao greatly influenced many of their decisions.
They stormed on to railroad trains to spread their ideas coast to coast. Many people thought of them as a disorderly young army. Most of their efforts were devoted to wholesale destruction of reputation and careers. One of their best weapons were political posters which were about many high political figures.
Political people were not the only ones to be embarrassed, professors and engineers were also humiliated by the young group.
Many young people agreed with the Red Guards and their point of views.
Mao Zedong was a very influential man in history. He forever changed the face of Chinese politics and life as a whole. His communist views and efforts to modernize China still resonate in the country today. Jonathan Spence’s book titled Mao Zedong is a biography of the great Chinese leader. Spence aims to show how Mao evolved from a poor child in a small rural village, to the leader of a communist nation. The biography is an amazing story of a person’s self determination and the predictability of human nature. The book depicts how a persuasive voice can shape the minds of millions and of people. It also shows the power and strength that a movement in history can make. This biography tells an important part of world history-the communist takeover of China.
John Fitzgerald Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States. He graduated from Harvard, and joined the navy. He worked as a reporter before entering the political arena. He later wrote “profiles in courage” which won the Pulitzer Prize Award. Being that JFK was the youngest president to ever be in office there is no doubt that he encountered a lot of skepticism. This speech had many purposes but most importantly it gave him positive recognition. The inaugural address was written to encourage the American public to get actively involved with their country. It also reassured them that it was not a contest that he won but rather chance at a beginning. This speech reassured the voters that they made the right choice and informed a country that they were going to see some changes.
John F Kennedy was the 35th president of the United States and at 43 years old he was the youngest president to take office. Because of his youth, he stumbled upon much skepticism from his opposition and even a little from his supporters. Kennedy’s inauguration speech was so vital because he needed to make a quick and powerful first impression to America and to the entire world. The address was written to encourage American citizens to get involved with their country and with the issues of the time. This speech reassured the voters that they made the correct choice and informed the country that changes were on there way.
... much different person who had become the “master of his own opinions” 2. Liang was more upset he spent "most of the time is spent memorizing dogma" (269)3. Liang began to research in search of him, and through education was able to think outside of the Maoist thought. We see that Liang grew to be happy; he found companionship, freedom, Liang and his wife were finally able to get married due to China being able to view the west as more openly. The Son of Revolution indicates the bounds and paradox of the communist government, which quarantined many individuals; regardless of the fact its main focus was on equality and the better of community.
Anita Chan. Children of Mao: Personality Development and Political Activism in the Red Guard Generation (Seattle: University of Washington Press. 1985)
Mao was under the impression that Communism was so perfect that intellectual criticism would not be hurt, but benefit the attitudes in the country. This was a major chan...
Creel, Herrlee. Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-tung. New York: University of Chicago Press, Chicago.
Communism came to power in China in the year 1949 and was dictated by Mao Zedong, who later ordered for all educated men and women of China to be reeducated in the countryside. Lou and the narrator were just two of many thousands to be sent off to be reeducated. Lou and the narrator then meet the Little Chinese Seamstress, and Lou, as well as the narrator to an extend fall in love with her.
Evident throughout his entire address, Kennedy employs a cogent pathos appeal to keep his audience intrigued. This can be demonstrated when Kennedy initially proclaims: “Let the word go forth from this time and place, to friend and foe alike, that the torch has been passed to a new generation of Americans…” who he urges to be “unwilling to witness or permit the slow undoing of…human rights to which this nation has always been committed…” (Kennedy). Kennedy’s usage of “we” rather than “I” gives the audience a sense that they exist as part of something big, perhaps a family, while portraying Kennedy as a people’s president who desires to be a “person in the crowd.” Throughout his address, Kennedy establishes pathos mainly by appealing to American patriotism, a significant concept during the Cold War period in which Americans needed a jingoistic spirit to succeed. By reminding his audience of their forefathers and instigating parallels between “the first revolution” and the present generation, “born in this century, tempered by war, disciplined by a hard and bitter peace, proud of our ancient heritage,” the president grasps the attention of the audience. He even stresses the value of liberty and this generation’s dedication to the survival of that value to rou...
Gittings, John. The Changing Face of China: From Mao to market. Oxford University Press, 2005.
“ Here Rests in Honored Glory an American Soldier Known but to God.” The Solemn phrase engraved into what became the tomb of the Unknown Solider offers a sense of dignity and tranquil feeling to those who visits the magnificent marble sarcophagus. The body of an unknown soldier was entombed on November 11, 1921, as a tribute paid by the Americans to those soldiers who perished during World War I. A military honor guard was established at the tomb. The honor guard is made up of select members of the Third U.S. Army Infantry Regiment, known as the Old Guard. Guarded day and night, the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier became a national memorial that will forever symbolize the peace, victory, and valor of those American soldiers died fighting for the freedom of this country.
When John F. Kennedy won the 1961 election by just eighty six electoral votes, the world was fascinated. As he stood on the podium in Washington D.C., preparing to give his inauguration speech, everyone tuned in to what he had to say. As he began speaking, everyone was hearing his words and soon, people were calling it one of the best written inaugural speeches ever written. Kennedy was able to connect to our country by using an emotional appeal to pull his message, successfully, off. Whether you were a hawk, a dove, or somewhere in between, John F. Kennedy saw you and seemed to speak directly to you during his inaugural address. For that reason, as he stood up there and spoke, the world listened and started to take note of our new President of the United States. By creating an emotionally persuasive speech, Kennedy went from having barely fifty one percent approval rating to skyrocketing to a seventy six percent approval rating, all with his inaugural speech.
In writing the speech, he wanted it to be brief but powerful and focus on foreign policy and to unite all American citizens by pointing out their common values and ethics such as equal rights; beliefs in life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; and hard work. The most famous section of the speech was near the end when Kennedy said to all Americans, “And, so, my fellow Americans, ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country.” He also appealed to the citizens of the world by saying, “My fellow citizens of the world, ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do for the freedom of man” (JFK’s Inaugural Address). These lines made it clear that it was everyone’s responsibility to make the changes the entire world wanted to see. The newly-elected President of the United States repeated these appeals to both Americans and the world throughout the speech to grab the attention of the audience, for example, “Let every nation know, whether it wishes us well or ill, that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship…” (JFK’s Inaugural Address). He wanted to keep his promise of establishing peace between nations and wanted to let all countries and citizens know that all would gain success if they worked
Salzman also showed that there was great oppression. The people of China were under constant surveillance and control. Rarely were they able to make important decisions f...
Mao’s Cultural Revolution was an attempt to create a new culture for China. Through education reforms and readjustments, Mao hoped to create a new generation of Chinese people - a generation of mindless Communists. By eliminating intellectuals via the Down to the Countryside movement, Mao hoped to eliminate elements of traditional Chinese culture and create a new form Chinese culture. He knew that dumbing down the masses would give him more power so his regime would be more stable. This dramatic reform affected youth especially as they were targeted by Mao’s propaganda and influence. Drawing from his experiences as an Educated Youth who was sent down to the countryside Down to the Countryside movement, Ah Cheng wrote The King of Children to show the effects of the Cultural Revolution on education, and how they affected the meaning people found in education. In The King of Children, it is shown that the Cultural Revolution destroyed the traditional incentives for pursuing an education, and instead people found moral and ethical meaning in pursuing an education.