Mao Zedong

“The people and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history.” This quote by Mao is key to understanding Chinese Communist Party (CCP) thought, especially during the Chinese Civil War and the war of liberation from the Japanese. These events were key to the CCP’s eventual victory over the nationalists. They were key not only in terms of military victories, but in persuading the Chinese people that the CCP cared for them far more than the “authoritarian” nationalist. And…

In the novel, the reader follows an educated youth as he travels to the countryside as a part of Mao’s “Down to the Countryside Movement.” The “Down to the Countryside Movement” was an effort by Mao Zedong to eradicate the anti-bourgeois thinking that he believed was prevalent in his country. Mao Zedong decided to send privileged youths, many who had just graduated, to the country and mountainside to learn about life there. Han Shaogong wrote about experiences from the “Down to the Countryside…

In 1840 the Qing dynasty was in control of the Chinese government. China was threatened by the British and Western Barbarians. This resulted in what is known as the Opium War. The British government was exporting Opium to China. Chinese citizens were getting addicted to opium and eventually the Chinese government stopped opium import from Great Britain. This hurt the British economy and resulted in a war between the two countries. At the end of the Opium War China was forced to give up land and…

situated amongst remote mountains called “Phoenix of the Sky” under the rule of Chairman Mao Zedong, the camp was to teach the younger generation about the industry and agriculture. Schools were closed and reading…

the opium wars, peasant rebellions, and ethnic disputes led to the decline of the Qing dynasty. After a power struggle between the Nationalists and various warlords, the vast majority of the population, the peasants, chose Communism and in 1949, Mao Zedong lead the communist party which possessed the power. The Communist philosophy naturally stresses production…

Author Christopher Hitchens had once said that “the totalitarian, to me, is the enemy - the one that 's absolute, the one that wants control over the inside of your head, not just your actions and your taxes” ("Totalitarian”). George Orwell’s novel, 1984, cautions the reader about the dangers of a totalitarian regime. The dystopian future that Orwell created in his novel shows the devastating effects on the people themselves. The people of Oceania lost their intelligence, independence, and even…

1978, the policy restricts couples from having more than one child. In the book Among the Enemy, 2 main characters, Percius and Matthias experience first-hand the many hardships those in China face today. In 1949, a Chinese emperor by the name of Mao Zedong banned all contraceptives from being shipped to China. (Jian, 2013) Contraceptives are used as an agent to prevent pregnancy. This choice by the emperor would ultimately increase China’s population by over a staggering four hundred…

At the late of 20th century, Mao Zedong, communist leader, organized the Cultural Revolution in order to assert the authority over the Chinese government. He declared that the nation’s youth to purify the “impure” elements of Chinese society and to revive the revolutionary spirit that lead to victory in the civil war 20 decades earlier in order to restore the China’s reputation and power. However, his leadership position in government as in the Soviet Union was weakened and failed his Great Leap…

If you look at a world map today, you will see an overwhelming majority of countries implementing capitalist ideals and many of them have become very successful. However, very few still apply communist ideals, in contrast to the many countries who tried such forms of government in the 20th century. It is my belief that although communism may not be a bad idea all together, it is still a flawed system that cannot work, and a free market system is better. One reason Communism does not work is…

Li-Young Lee’s “A Hymn to Childhood” flashes back to the Cultural Revolution in the People’s Republic of China, which took place from 1966 to 1976. During this time, the Chinese Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong was losing influence because of his failed policy, the Great Leap Forward, and so he wanted to reaffirm his power by starting a sociopolitical movement to eliminate his adversaries and other revisionists. Li-Young Lee infuses this past by including himself as the speaker who narrates…