Deng Xiaoping

In the post-Maoist era, China has seen a transformation to various parts of its society, some argue these changes were done in order to Westernize the nation while others argue these changes will allow China to keep its overall structure intact. Throughout this unit we discussed social changes in contemporary Chinese society, especially in aspects of education, ethnicity, and gender were the focal points of transformation. Throughout this piece, these transformations and whether I believe if…

Mao Zedong is revered by many as the ‘founding father of modern China’, with his legacy being not only physically but metaphorically embalmed. However, many, particularly in the West, question this reverence in so far as he halted economic and political progress in China via tumultuous campaigns such as the Great Leap Forward. In order to consider if Mao's importance in Chinese history has been exaggerated, his significance needs to be assessed. Looking at Mao's the impact of his policies at the…

Mao Tse-Tung, also known as Mao Zedong, was a principal Chinese Marxist theorist and the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party from its inception as China’s governing regime in 1949 until his death in 1976. Economically, Tse-Tung is known for his introduction of multiple famous economic policies and five year plans, including the first Five Year Plan of 1953 and the subsequent Great Leap Forward, credited as responsible for completely redefining and modernizing the Chinese economy. In addition…

During the five thousand years history of China, they were many different revolutions appear, most of them had shown what should be improved or even needed to change to maintain a better quality of the nation life in different eras. The May Fourth Movement, the Cultural Revolution and the June Fourth Movement are famous and familiar revolutions in contemporary Chinese history. The leader of China initiated some of the revolutions, because he knew there were inadequate policies to get a better…

Introduction Patterns in Classical China • China born from isolation Isolation caused China create its own identity Invasions from neighboring regions happened rarely With the decline of the Shang dynasty there was relatively little chaos • Intellectual theory and heritage Harmony of nature Ying and Yang, everything is balanced by an opposite Dao used to appreciate, but avoid excess appreciation of opposites • Patterns in Government Dynasties or family of…

In June 1966, all middle schools and universities throughout China closed down as students devoted most of their time to Red Guard activities. Across the country, millions of young people were encouraged to criticize and even attack “counterrevolutionaries”. Often, education took a back seat to these revolutionary missions and children who were seen studying were viewed with suspicion (“Cultural Revolution”). Despite the revolutionary significance of this time period, the state of the Chinese…

Joseph Willis 3/6/16 HUM-111 Professor Stayer The first emperor of China was Shihuangdi, whose name means just that First Emperor. He became emperor in 221 BC, and promoted himself as the emperor. Shihuangdi was a cruel leader who did not like when people did not follow what he wanted. He easily killed those who did not agree with things that he wanted or agree with his ideas. He did not approve of the people talking about anything from the past and got rid of all things that even…

“History does nothing; it does not possess immense riches, it does not fight battles. It is men, real, living, who do this.” This was said by communist philosopher Karl Marx. His words essentially mean that the past has no use, the only thing that matters is the present. This greatly shaped the revolutionary communist leader Mao Tse-Tung’s thought process. Mao Tse-Tung led China between 1945-1976. During his time in power, he implemented many changes, both economically and socially. Mao…

1. Why was the rule of the Chinese Republic so brief? The rule of the Chinese Republic was so brief because General Yuan Shikai tended to be dictator, despite the Nationalist Party’s efforts to spread Western influences in China. When Yuan was president of the new Chinese Republic, he did not fully comprehend the Western ideas being introduced to China. On the other hand, the Nationalist Party advocated for these Western ideas. However, Yuan promoted traditional manners such restoring Confucian…

Revolutionary pedagogy: “Highest Directives” in textbook The textbooks in the era of Cultural Revolution provide a unique perspective to the establishment of Mao’s cult. Although generally regarded a presentation of academic background and kept at a distant from political turmoil, textbooks didn’t escape from the politicization during the Cultural Revolution; rather it bore witness to the Maoists’ attempt of upraising Mao Thought to an omnipresent, universal and unchallengeable place. Similar…