The Chinese Cultural Revolution

The Cultural Revolution started in1966 for the “renewed spirit of the Chinese Revolution.” Chairman Mao Zendong wanted to stop China from developing into a copied model of the Soviet Union, and so began a series of campaigns to stop this from occurring...or so he said. His true intention was regaining the power he had lost. It officially started when a man named Lin Piao gave a speech about his wish for students to return to the basic functioning of the revolutionary movement. Before long, people of the Chinese Communist party, intellectuals, and other political adversities were prosecuted in several ways, while ate the same time appealing to the people of China for help to once again establish China as a powerful and new country. These campaigns targeted the children in particular. As they were more susceptible to the advertisements and censored news that went out, they were efficiently turned into a group of effective Red Guard units. These units were, in short used to ensure the obedience of parents and/or to spy on them. This caused many family upheavals and betrayals that often led to tragedy. If one person in the family was an “enemy” then often the rest of the family was considered one too. Some people denounced their family members to escape this fate.
In 1949, the Chinese Communist Party calls their liberation a victory, where it’s really a terrifying/bloody fight for power among the government while directing the campaign for the people of China to become “New People.” At the center was Chairman Mao, who later washed away his rival within the same year and began to destroy the old culture and traditions of China truly began. People of all classes were targeted for inane reasons and many people were physically abused, sh...

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... professions and lifestyles. Landlords were considered the worst, as they “took advantage of people.”
Many things were lost in this campaign, among them a full generation of people, as well as tradition, lives, culture, and history. The sheer amount of people who had been killed, beaten, abused, and tormented came to light. Over 1.5 million people were killed, and countless others imprisoned. Instead of China forward, it was set back an entire generation and it was years before it became powerful again. After Mao died in September 1976, the Gang of Four briefly retained power, but was pushed out by the military. Deng regained power in 1977, and continued holding control over China’s political world for the next 20 years. The overall effect of the revolution was opposite of what was wanted. It caused the people of China to lose respect and faith in their government.