Mao Zedong Suicide Analysis

In the period of November 16-28, 1919, Mao Zedong published a series of articles in a local newspaper concerning the suicide of a young lady who felt trapped by the society she was raised in. In his writings, Mao seizes the opportunity to attack Chinese society, primarily pointing out the misogynistic attitude towards women and pitting the youth against the older-generation. In doing so, Mao condemns the traditionalist attitude of China and called for the younger followers to rise up and make a change. These essays that Mao published were targeted towards a young generation frustrated with Chinese society’s focus on traditional thinking and encouraged this younger generation to create a movement that would change Chinese society. Mao places the blame of Miss Zhao’s suicide on three factors: her family, the family of her fiancé and of society. Society, he says, is the direct causation of the attitudes of the two families and is thus the true impetus of her suicide. He claims that such a situation would not have happened in Western society and that if it did happen, Miss Zhao would have had the opportunity to protect herself. This inability to …show more content…
In his essay on the topic of the suicide of Miss Zhao, Mao incites rebellion in the youth of China by attacking Chinese society and challenging the widespread Confucian thinking that dominated the older generations. Mao pushed for the elimination of gender discrimination rendered from years of cultural complacency and urged for the younger generation to separate from the older. Given the occurrences that were happening at the time, Mao’s writings on Miss Zhao’s suicide prompted an uprising where students rebelled against traditional Chinese values. This uprising, known as the May 4th Movement, signified a turning point in Chinese history where liberal Western ideas were ushered into