The State of Revolutionary Ideology in Modern-day China
Over the course of history, many violent revolutions have brought forth new leaders and new ideas. They came in a great many forms and in response to a variety of circumstances. However, the Communist Revolution in China remains perhaps the greatest recent example. Not only because it took more than two decades to complete, but also because there was an attempt to institutionalize revolution after some initial changes to build state infrastructure.
China is an incredibly complex entity with a history approximately 22 times longer than the United States and is as far culturally from the West as it is geographically. Particularly in contrast to the Western acceptance of dissent, has been a long-standing institution of Confucian principles. When oversimplified, Confucian principles mean that children submit to their parents, wives submit to husbands, and citizens obey the state. To disagree with a superior in China is risky business, because ultimately the most important thing is to maintain good appearances.
With such a strong emphasis on hierarchy and submission to authorities it is surprising that a revolution in China ever occurred. Part of what I wish to examine were the circumstances in which revolution took place, considering that the 20th century witnessed two Chinese revolutions, the first ending the long dynastic tradition in 1911. I also wish to examine the attempt to institutionalize revolution during the early part of the PeopleÂ’s Republic of China, the PRC, most notable during the Cultural Revolution, as well as look at the popular movement for democracy during the decade following the Cultural Revolution. What appears from the history of the PRC is the...
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...year that is based on files released by the CCP, describes the ideas of China's top seven leaders. They do not promote Mao Zedong thought, nor do they push for democracy and human rights. They are technocratic and believe in modernizing China with a strong authoritarian fist.
What appears through the various strands of recent Chinese history, be it related to overpopulation, state repression, or economic satiation, is a populace that is currently unprepared and uninterested in pursuing any form of revolution. The change in mindset from Mao to today's leaders marks a distinct transformation from revolutionary ideology as a necessary and vital component within political life to a harmful and disruptive force. Unless a cataclysmic event rocks the political climate or an economic catastrophe occurs, it is unlikely that China will see another revolution any time soon.
Schoenhals, Michael. China's Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969: Not a Dinner Party. Armonk, NY: M.E. Sharpe, 1996. Print.
Ever since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China, the legitimacy of the revolution of which it was built upon has perennially been in question. For example, in a 1999 issue of the International Herald Tribune, a prestigious scholar claimed that all of China’s tragedies are ‘sustained by a mistaken belief in the correctness of the 1949 revolution’ and that the future progress of China depends on the recognition that the revolution was a failure. However, the CCP government was certainly not perfect and its most significant failures were its political failures such as the Anti-rightist movement and the Cultural Revolution and also economic failures such as the great leap forward. Millions of peoples were falsely accused and persecuted during the political movements of the Mao period as the CCP focused on class struggle instead of economic development during the period and tens of Millions of peoples died due to starvation as there were widespread food shortages during the great leap forward movement.
There is no better way to learn about China's communist revolution than to live it through the eyes of an innocent child whose experiences were based on the author's first-hand experience. Readers learn how every aspect of an individual's life was changed, mostly for the worst during this time. You will also learn why and how Chairman Mao launched the revolution initially, to maintain the communist system he worked hard to create in the 1950's. As the story of Ling unfolded, I realized how it boiled down to people's struggle for existence and survival during Mao's reign, and how lucky we are to have freedom and justice in the United States; values no one should ever take for
The Chinese Revolution is about making the entire country into Communists and killing each and every one of the people who hate Mao Tse-Tung. Mao Tse-Tung is the leader of China at this time, who believes in equality and everyone should have the same rights. The Red Guards is a military group which includes a group of children that eliminates the Chinese population due to hatred for Mao. If any of these events happen to our generation, most youth are smart enough to know that Mao is a bad leader and killing innocent people in the case of bitterness for Mao is wrong. The Chinese youth got swept up in the Cultural Revolution by Mao because the youth were easy to persuade into doing something.
...ering the recent changes in China’s politics. Many are wondering what the future holds for Chinese politics and the idea of a democracy with Confucian characteristics is something many have been looking at since Confucianism holds an important place in Chinese traditions. We have witnessed on many occasions the failure of trying to implement a democratic system in a country that either wasn’t “ready” for democracy or a country where the political culture wasn’t compatible with the democracy models we are used to. This idea is very relevant when you talk about China since it’s easy to see how democracy might not fit right with the Chinese political culture. In such a case, the best solution would be a democracy with Confucian characteristics. So we can see here how the relationship between Confucianism and democracy is something worth reflecting on in current times.
Fairbank, John King. The Great Chinese Revolution 1800-1985. New York, NY: Harper & Row, 1986.
Ella Baker was born in Norfolk, Virginia in 1903. She always had strong opinions, and “followed her own mind”. However, she was influenced by her grandmother growing up, and this contributed to her sense of social justice and racism. Her grandmother, who had once been a slave, told her granddaughter stories of her own years in slavery. Her grandmother had been whipped for refusing to marry a man picked by her slave owner (SNCC). This story and others like it inspired Baker throughout her life, and led to many of the incredible things she did. Ella and her parents moved to Littleton, North Carolina when she was eight. Sadly, her father stayed behind for his job. The public schools for black children during this time were not sufficient. Her parents wanted to send her and her brother and sister to boarding schools. They both worked hard to acquire this. Finally, when Baker turned fifteen she was sent to Shaw University, in North Carolina (SNCC). Being the bright, intelligent student that she was, she had excellent grades, and was top in her class. She expressed an interest in being a medical missionary, but this would not have been realistic. After graduating in 1927 as valedictorian, Baker headed to New York City (Richman). She was quite brilliant and hoped to find some opportunities in New York that would help her do something worthwhile with her life.
The Great Cultural Revolution, the biggest power struggle in modern Chinese history, caused some profound impacts in Chinese society. Started by the Chinese Communist Chairman Mao and lasting for ten years (1966-1976) as a means of purging dissents within the party, the movement fundamentally overthrew long-established social order, ideology, and education. “Class struggle” was the term used most often during this movement, and it caused some serious consequences. The division of classes by pure social statuses or specific classifications, namely the Five Red Categories and the Five Categories, was founded and the long class struggle had thus begun. It has exerted profound and significant impacts on the Chinese society, now and then.
The spread of Communism and its ideals significantly increased during the final stages of the Chinese Civil War which intensified after the Second World War and resulted in a victory to the Communists in October 1949. At this time, the majority of the provinces in China were led by either the GMD or the CCP. However, the civilians in the GMD-ruled cities were suffering rapid inflation, strikes, violence and riots which led to a collapse of public order. Adding to this instability, corruption was rife within the Nationalist party’s lead...
China is a communist country, whose citizens face many difficult situations while trying to fight for their human rights. According to the “Freedom Rankings” from the database CountryWatch, China is not a free country. Specifically, the Political Rights and Civil Liberties are in their maximum numbers; this means that these rights are confiscated from the people. Therefore, freedoms of press, expression, speech, religion, and movement are all severely limited in China. The government has also kept a close watch on art in China.
Revolution was the only solution to save China. D’Addese 8 Works Cited Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China. New York: NY 2013.
Zhao, S., (2003), ‘Political Liberalization without Democratization: Pan Wei’s proposal for political reform’ Journal of Contemporary China, 12(35): 333–355.
He Lian Bo Bo Da Wang (Mei Yi), Yi Jiu Yi Yi, Ge Ming Yu Su Ming (Hong Kong, Hong Kong Open Page Publishing Co, Ltd., pp.1-35, 138-157. Hsueh, Chun- tu, The Chinese Revolution of 1911: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint _____Publishing Co., 1986), pp.1-15, 119-131, 139-171. Lin Jiayou, Xin Hai Ge, Ming Yu, Zhong Hua Min, Zu De Jue Xing (Guangzhou, Guangdong _____Ren Min Chu Ban She, 2011), pp.
Mao resigned as president of the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) in April 1959 , after the Great Leap Forward, planning for Chinese production to “overtake Britain in 15 years”, failed and caused a widespread famine in China, where 20-30 million people starved. President Liu and General Secretary Deng began to restore China , while Mao remained ceremonial head of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Liu and Deng introduced many liberal and effective policies , which involved stepping back from communist ideals. Collectivisation and communal cafeterias were abandoned and peasants recommenced private, “capitalist” farming. They even rehabi...
Interests: China’s leaders desire to improve their nation’s economy while preserving political stability. They want to censor political discussions to prevent “westernization” of China,