Front Page News Article

                Chairman Mao dies                                                              

 Li-Shen Wu

     

  Beijing Post Reporter

BEIJING -- Today is one of the saddest days in recent memory for China. Today our great leader, Chairman Mao, has passed. He died yesterday, September 9th, in Beijing at the age of 82. One week ago today, as many of you know, Chairman Mao suffered a severe heart attack. His health had been in critical condition since his heart attack, and he was put on life support shortly before noon after falling into a coma. He was taken off life support just before midnight. He died immediately afterwards. The day was supposedly chosen for his death because the ninth day of the ninth month would be easily remembered. 

Over the last six months or so, Chairman Mao’s health had seemed to be rapidly declining. His lung infection had been worsening, and it was one of the leading factors in his death. When walking through the streets of Beijing today, the only sound in the air were the sobs of the Chinese citizens. Tang An Ming, one of the prestigious Red Guards, expressed his sorrow over the loss of Chairman Mao. “There is no doubt that today is the by any standard the saddest day of our lives. Chairman Mao has revolutionized a country in despair into one of great prosperity, and China is now headed in the right direction because of him.”

Unbelievably, there were some people whose opinions differ from what you would expect. One anonymous source was quoted as saying, “The death of Chairman Mao is actually a great event for this country. He has destroyed the culture that we so greatly valued, and corrupted the minds of our youth. China will be a better place without Mao Zedong at the helm.”
          
          
Hua Guofeng, Chairman Mao’s designated successor, will take over as the leader of China. Whether you think that Chairman Mao hurt our country or made it great, there is no doubt that we lost one of the most influential people in the history of our great nation.

Bibliography

                                                                 Works Cited 

          Asia Society. “Art and China’s Revolution.” Asia Society. Asia Society, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://sites.asiasociety.org/‌chinarevo/>.

         British Broadcasting Corporation. “China’s Communist Revolution: A Glossary.” BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/‌26469/‌cultural-revolution/‌1>.

      
         Joseph, William A, and Wellesley College. “Songs of the Cultural Revolution.” Wellesley College.       
Wellesley College, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.wellesley.edu/‌Polisci/‌wj/‌China/‌CRSongs/‌crsongs.htm>.

         Oracle Education Foundation. “Cultural Revolutiion.” ThinkQuest. Oracle Education Foundation, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/‌26469/‌cultural-revolution/‌1>.

         San Jose State University. “The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.” SJSU. San Jose State University, n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://www.sjsu.edu/‌faculty/‌watkins/‌cultrev.htm>.

         Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. “Jiang Qing.” Wiikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., n.d. Web. 1 Feb. 2012. <http://en.wikipedia.org/‌wiki/‌Jiang_Qing>.

Art

                                Art during the Cultural Revolution

         

           Art during the Cultural Revolution in China shared a few common themes. One of the themes that you could find in art during that period was that there were a lot of paintings of Chairman Mao. The most famous was named Chairman Mao goes to Anyuan (Shown below), a painting by Liu Chunhua, which depicts Mao Zedong as a young man on his way to the city of Anyuan. This painting is believed to have been reproduced over 900 million times. Another common theme in art was the color red.  Red was the color that representing Communism, which was the form of government during the Cultural Revolution. People believed that Communism was the only way to succeed, which was why Communism and the color red were so popular in the art. Another common theme was the little red book. The little red book was a small, red book filled with different quotations from Chairman Mao. It was considered a prized possession for many people, and it was in many works of art with people holding them to the sky, his wife (Qiang Jing) holding the book, and just people having them in general. In February of 1976, the Ministry of Culture released a statement, saying that “special attention should be paid to artworks representing the struggle against those in power but taking the capitalist road in the socialist period".

                                                   

Religion and Belief Systems

             Religion during the Cultural Revolution

            China’s government, since the establishment of the People’s Republic of China n 1949, has had an officially atheist government. Atheism is the disbelief in gods and deities. During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong and the Chinese government promoted atheism. They believed that religion symbolized feudalism. Karl Marx, a German philosopher, described feudalism as the economic situation before Capitalism. One of the worst things that you could be accused of being during the Cultural Revolution was being a Capitalist, as people had been essentially brainwashed, in a sense, that Communism was the greatest ideology to follow, and that Capitalism was the worst.
            Due to the government’s extreme discouragement of religion, many places of worship were destroyed as a result. However, this policy was only so strict during the 1960’s and early 1970’s, as when the Cultural Revolution began to draw to close, during the mid-late 1970’s, the policy relaxed considerably. Two years after the end of the Cultural Revolution and the death of Mao Zedong, the 1978 Constitution of the People’s Republic of China stated complete “Freedom of Religion.”

Interview with Mao Zedong

Mao Zedong

Interviewer: What was your childhood like? When did you decide to become a politician?
Mao Zedong: Well, I was born in Shaoshan in the Hunan province. I was born into a very poor family, as my father was a peasant father. He was very strict and demanding, however my mother was a caring and gentle person, and a devout buddhist. I didn’t begin primary school until I was 8 years old, but I dropped out at 13 to work on the family farm. I eventually returned to my studies at a secondary school in Changsha, the Hunan capital. When the revolution against the Qing dynasty began, I joined the revolutionary army. After the fall of the Qing dynasty and the establishment of the Republic of China, I returned to school and graduated from the First Provincial Normal School of Hunan in 1918. When I was 27, in 1921, I attended the first session of the National Congress of the Communist Party of China, which was my entry into Politics.


I: Why do you discourage religion so much if your mother was a devout Buddhist?
MZ: The reason I discourage religion is that the success of this country is much more important than each of our individual beliefs. Religion is emblematic of feudalism, and feudalism of course leads to Capitalism leads to failure. By maintaining Atheist beliefs, we can prevent the downfall of China.

I: What exactly is Maoism?
MZ: Maoism is a theory that I have developed over the last few decades. It’s basically my own interpretation of Marxism, a theory created by a German philosopher named Karl Marx. Many people consider Maoism an anti-Revisionist form of Marxism. Guerilla warfare is a big part of Maoism. Another main point is my substitution of the dormant power of the peasantry for the urban proletariat, or lower/working class people, that China had been missing. It’s a very complex concept, that takes a lot of time to understand.

I: What are your goals for the Cultural Revolution?
MZ: My main goal when I launched the Cultural Revolution was to enforce Socialism by destroying all elements of Capitalism, culture, and traditions. I felt like by achieving true Socialism, we would be able to become a world power. I also wanted to get rid of as many religious aspects as I could, the reasoning for which I explained earlier. I also wanted to destroy what I dubbed the “fourolds”, old customs, old ideas, old culture, and old habits. I felt like these fourolds were the leading factors in keeping this country for competing with countries like the United States, the Soviet Union, Great Britain, and France

Map

The borders of China shrank during the transition period from the Qing dynasty into the borders of the Republic of China, which would later become the People’s Republic of China and what are now China’s modern day borders. During the collapse of the Qing dynasty in 1911, Mongolia declared independence, which is why, as you can see from the map above, the only change was that Mongolia was no longer part of China. One other political geography change was the status of the island of Taiwan. In 1895, the island of Taiwan was claimed by Japan from the Qing dynasty. Later, in 1945, the Republic of China regained control from Japan as a result of Japan’s defeat in World War II. When the Republic of China of lost mainland China to the communist party, they fled to Taiwan. Since the Communist party came to power in China, the Republic of China has been commonly referred to as Taiwan, and considers itself as its own country however the People’s Republic of China denies is status as a sovereign state. The green shaded area is the China during the later parts of the Qing dynasty, while the red lines show the boundaries of modern China. The capital of the Qing dynasty was Beijing, and it remained the capital during the transition. The borders of China extend as far west as the Tien Shan mountain range, and as far north as the Xiao Hinggan mountain range. Mao Zedong, the creator of the Cultural Revolution and the leader at the time, was born in Shaoshan, South-Southwest of the capital city of Beijing, in 1883. He died in the capital of Beijing in 1976.

Editorial

                                                REVOLUTION!

          Yesterday, May 16th, 1976, Mao Zedong released what is known as the May 16th notification. All of China now knows that the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution has begun. Chairman Mao is on a campaign to destroy the fourolds, old habits, old customs, old cultures, and old ideas. This is going to be great for China! Mao Zedong will lead us to prominence!

            The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution will help us out of the mess that is modern China. Chairman Mao has let us know that bourgeois elements have entered our government, and that they are trying to restore capitalism. Capitalism could ruin China even more than it already has! This revolution will turn us into true Communists, the greatest ideology we could follow. It will destroy all thoughts of Capitalism, and it will destroy the old traditions and old cultures that have been holding this nation back. Old habits, old culture, old customs, and old ideas have been dubbed the "fourolds" by Mao Zedong, and he has called for them to be brought to an end, and it will help us succeed.

            One of the most common arguments that opposers of the revolution have is that we cannot lose touch with our traditions and cultures. They are a big part of who we are. While this is true, they are holding us back. We cannot advance as much as other countries because we stick to our old habits, our old culture, our old customs, and our old ideas. The fourolds are the key to our downfall. If this country could get rid of it’s cultural aspects, it could rise to the top of the global scene, to compete with the United States and the Soviet Union.

            China needs to let go of our old culture and traditions that have held us back for years. We need to become world competitors. Mao Zedong will lead us to prominence with the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. By destroying the fourolds that have been a burden on us for centuries, we can rise to the top.