Chinese Modern History and The Chinese Cultural Revolution
Instructions: Please answer all three of the following questions in concise and well-reasoned essays of approximately two to three pages per question. Each response should present a coherent argument that makes judicious use of assigned readings and material presented in class. References to the readings should be informally but properly cited (for example: Schoppa, p. 39), and no use of other than assigned readings is permitted. For each of these questions, we are interested in your personal views. But you must be certain to support your views with evidence from lectures and class readings.
GENERAL ADVICE ON HOW TO DO WELL: Please take this advice seriously and you will do well. When we grade the exams we will be asking ourselves one big question: To what extent has this student profited from readings, lectures, and class discussions? This does not mean you need to cite every possible reading that could apply to a particular question, or every remark made in class. Instead, it means you need to be selective, marshaling evidence to write a convincing argument. All three essay questions can be approached in different ways, and we certainly don’t have one correct answer in mind for each.
Question 1: The Cultural Revolution in Context Many people in and out of China view the Cultural Revolution as a complete anomaly, a phenomenon that had nothing in common, nothing to do with, the rest of China’s modern history. Do you agree? Or is it possible to find linkages between the Cultural Revolution and earlier (and subsequent) events?
Question 2: Public Profession / Private Belief Throughout our course, one major theme of our discussions has been the difference between what people say publicly (that is, what they profess) and what they actually believe. Choose two or three periods that highlight this duality and give some examples from each. How can we, as historians, get at the innermost beliefs of historical subjects? Carefully chosen evidence from course readings is crucial to your answering this question.
Question 3: China’s Past and China’s Present One important goal of this course has been to provide students with a deep knowledge of Chinese history that will allow them to better understand events that take place in China today. With that in mind, please read the attached article entitled “Want to escape poverty? Replace pictures of Jesus with Xi Jinping, Christian villagers urged.” How does your understanding of Chinese history help you make sense of the events and ideas discussed in the article?
China A Cultural Revolution
Name:
Institution:
Course:
Date:
Question 1
For most of the people, they think that the Cultural Revolution is an anomaly. Ironically, this is a concept that started much earlier, back in the 19th century. At the time, most of the people were against the concepts of democracy that were being advocated by the United States. For most of the families in the early and even all the way to the mid-century, they practiced the teaching of Mao. For most of the families they made sure that even their children had the chance to practice the teachings as a family unit to make sure that they could entrench the believes and the practices. The idea behind the teachings at the family level was that, they could not be lost in the westernized ways of the Americans. In one of the most vivid examples, Anchee Min is seen to mention the fact that most of the families were practicing the Mao teachings (Min, 1994). In her book, she starts off by mentioning that, even her family was keen on the Mao teachings as they were the guide to their cultural identity growing up. Before they moved from the house that they had first lived in, a four bedroom house, their neighbors considered them not as revolutionary enough as the rest of the families (Min, 1994). Ideally given the fact that, they lived in a large house and they were a small family, and the neighbors downstairs were a larger family of eleven and living in s a single roomed house, they were considered antirevolutionary. After Anchee and her family had moved, it is clear that even the families in their new apartment, were staunch believers in the teachings of Mao and would even have recitals in the evening (Min, 1994).
‘Upstairs was a big family with six children. Their third daughter was my age. Her official name was Sun Flower but she was called Little Coffin at home, because she was as thin as a skeleton. She came down and asked me if I would like to join her family’s Mao study seminar every evening after dinner. I said I had to ask my father. My father said no. He said he did not want to have a revolution at home. It surprised me. I spent a night thinking whether my father was a hidden counterrevolutionary and whether or not I should report him. ’ (Min, 1994)
Even at the place of work, some of the workers would have the occasional readings come through the loudspeakers. Anchee also mentions that, in the cable and hardware shop that was below their house, there were times that the employer would play them teachings of Mao over the loud speakers. As Anchee mentions, ‘They had loudspeakers in each room. In the afternoon there was a voice reading from Mao’s works, from articles in the People’s Daily and Red Flag magazine.’ (Min, 1994) While the modern history may indicate that much of the revolutionary is disconnected with the past practices; there actually a very strong bond that exists between the past and today. Much of the practices and approaches may have changed but the theme and the objectives have remained the same. Retaining the cultural integrity of the Chinese people and away from the western powers that try to segregate the people and impose on them their westernized approach to culture. For decades this has been the precept of the American governments trying to make sure that they can breakdown the culture and finally the people and the government.
Question 2
Throughout history, there have been incidences where the theme of duality has come up. This is a concept that revolves around people taking on two stands but making it look like they have taken one. Ideally, the concept of duality is associated with people speaking about supporting one element while in the real sense they support another. This way they are able to maintain relations with two sides of the faction while trying to remain neutral. It is a very risky affair in the sense that, at one point one is going to be called to answer call of one side and they may get caught. In one of the incidences that comes up, in the book The Dragon Village, by Yuan Tsung Chen, the uncle to the narrator used to create poems (Chen, 1980). He was an avid poet and from now and then at the dinner table, he would call out to the family and in some of the cases their guests, telling them that he had a new poem. He would then passionately recite the poems involving all the characters that were in the room. Sometimes he would even do it more than ones. What is more interesting is the fact that, the narrator lays out a disclaimer stating that, while she did not enjoy the poems but would the one leading the applause whenever the uncle recited one of his new poems. This is rather interesti...