IB History Kevin Hu

Word Count - 1040

AN ABSOLUTE MONSTER OR A GREAT VISIONARY OR BOTH DISCUSS THIS ASSESSMENT OF
MAO ZEDONG IN THE GREAT PROLETARIAN CULTURAL REVOLUTION
After the Great Leap Forward which had brought catastrophe throughout China, Mao Zedong had lost
considerable influence over Chinas policies and was reduced to a father symbol of the party. The
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was begun by Mao Zedong to help stop what he believed to be
Chinas shift towards the restoration of capitalism and drift away from socialism. Not only this, but it
could also be seen as Maos way to regain authority and prestige in the party after the GLF. However,
the horrifying acts of brutality towards people who were seen as capitalist roaders and the ruthless
destruction of the Four Olds led many to view Maos revolution as monstrous and brutal. However,
despite the suffering during the Cultural Revolution, Maos visions were always of a socialist and
classless China. The many improvements to rural life during this time emphasized Maos belief of a
classless China. However, despite his vision and actions to create a socialist China, the lack of
compassion and empathy towards the suffering in urban China suggests that Mao was more a monster
rather than a visionary.
It is believed that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was means to further Mao's vision for a
classless society, in which all people, regardless of social status, worked together for China. Mao
believed that women played a pivotal role in the growth of society. A conventional perception of women
was passive and tender; however this was seen as bourgeois and completely changed during the
Revolution. As a result, Women were treated equally as capable as men; Fenby suggests that women
were taking a greater public role in leadership
(Fenby2008 455)
furthermore, Goldwasser and Dowty stated
that at Party Congresses held in 1956 to 1973, the amount of female members of the partys Central
Committee grew from 4% to 13%
(Goldwasser&Dowty 1975 117)
,

further showing how their influence in China had
grown significantly during the Revolution. Maos vision of a socialist society where gender or social
differences are non-existent was furthered by the growth in womens rights, further showing Maos role
as a great visionary. Ryan argues that Maos vision of classless china had benefited rural areas the most,
as they were untouched by the upheavals experienced in cities
(Ryan2009

262)
. While in urban areas,
education was disrupted due to the Revolution, the number of schools in village areas had exponentially
increased.
(Ryan 2009 262)
As well as this, health care also improved significantly with the introduction of
barefoot doctors, which were slightly trained in medicine and were sent to rural areas to help treat
IB History Kevin Hu
Word Count - 1040
diseases. This beneficial change to rural lifestyles suggests that Mao was motivated by his vision to turn
China into a classless and socialist society.
The aim of the GPCR was to enforce Communist ideology throughout China by eradicating traditional
cultural and traces of Capitalism. Furthermore, Mao pursued his vision of a socialist China through
mobilization of the country's urban youths called Red Guards. Mao urged the Red Guards to attack the
four 'olds': old culture, old thoughts, old customs and old habits, with the reasoning that they were
responsible for holding back the growth of China. However, this attack on the four olds as well as those
people considered anti-revolutionist was done with such high levels of idealistic enthusiasm, that in
time it degenerated into brutal fanaticism. As a result, the Red Guards began to attack teachers,
intellectuals, anybody who were capitalist roaders. Mao even issued a notice to stop "all police
intervention in Red Guard tactics and actions," that those who opposed the revolution would be labeled
and treated as "counter-revolutionaries." Mao even suggested that "the sign of a true revolutionary was
his desire to kill."
(MacFarguhar & Schoenhals 2008 515)
As a result of this, the fear and despair created by the Red
Guards led countless people to suicide. MacFarguhar and Schoenhals estimate that between 750,000
and 1.5 million people were killed in the violence of the Cultural Revolution.
(MacFarguhar and Schoenhals2008 262)
This emphasized how Mao advocated the use of monstrous and ruthless violence, perhaps even
suggesting that Mao lacked compassion and empathy towards the people of China. Xing Lu states that
China had become a nation of fanaticism and terror, a cultural wasteland,
(Xinglu2004 2)
implying of Maos
monstrous actions for a Socialist China.
Maos decision to advocate attacking the Four Olds was also intended to bring China closer in line with
Maos Communist ideology, which however led to the destruction of all forms of traditional Chinese
Culture. All foreign influences were ridiculed. New music, operas and paintings were produced that
glorified the revolution and the people of China. Even long kept family books and arts which were
passed down through the generations were destroyed and as a result, considerably large batches of
Chinese history and culture were lost. Xing Lu believes that Chinas rich tradition of artistic expression
was replaced with formulaic political jargon and tedious ideological clichs,
(Xinglu2004 2)
. Although this did
not bring suffering to the people of china, the careless destruction of past culture can still be seen as a
monstrous act.
Throughout the revolution, many were left in poverty and poorly educated. The shock-wave of violent
revolution had brought suffering throughout urban China. There were several significant shortcomings
of the Cultural Revolution, most notably the extreme violence against the four olds and those who were
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Word Count - 1040
seen as capitalist roaders which demonstrated how Mao Zedong was brutal and monstrous in order to
create a Socialist China. Perhaps if the Cultural Revolution was simply a means to regain power, the
actions as well as his lack of empathy towards the suffering in China would suggest that he was an
absolute monster, however, this is unlikely as the Cultural Revolutions achievements and to an extent,
even its failures demonstrate Maos unrelenting vision of a Socialist and classless China. If he genuinely
wished for a socialist China, and his brutal and monstrous actions were to achieve his vision of a socialist
China, then it can be concluded that he was both a monster and a great visionary.
SOURCES CITED
Ferby, Jonathan-(2008).-Modern-China.-NA:-Penguin-Books.-45.
Goldwasser&Dowty-(1975).-Worker's-Party.-NA:-Monthly-Review-Press.-117.
Lu,Xing-(2004).-Rhetoric-of-the-Chinese-Cultural-Revolution.Carolina:-University-of-South
Carolina.-2.
Kreiger,Joel-(2001).-Cultural-Revolution.-2
nd
-ed.-New-York:-Oxford-Press.-2001.
Macfarquhar&Schoenhals-(2008).-Mao's-Last-Revolution.-US:-Harvard-University-Press.
262,-515.
Ryan, Tom-2009).-China-Rising.-Victoria:-HTAV.-262.
Wang,Youchin.(NA).Student-Attacks-against-Teachers.Available:
http://hum.uchicago.edu/faculty/ywang/history/1966teacher.html. Last-accessed 5/2/2014.