History of Chinese Society

During the era of Chinese history in which Mao Zedong lead the nation, China saw many changes to both its economic and social ways of life.  Prompted by the government, the country attempted to modernize and reform its ways in an attempt to produce a stronger economy, a more stable political order, and produce a more fair and equal society.  As history has shown, however, these governmental endeavors were never met and, quite frankly, what the government did deliver to the society was a quite opposite effect.  The tragic consequences from the government's actions can be seen from two very different points of view by examining the way in which the characters of two separate works watched the events unfold.  The characters of Wild Swans and Chen Village gave an insight as to how individuals that had a perspective based upon an urban and a rural lifestyle viewed the attempts at bringing change to the nation that the government promised and attempted to carry out.  Regardless of the consequences of the actions of the government under the leadership of Mao Zedong, history will remember the era as one of great cultural importance to all of the people of China, be it from either the cities or those that live in the countryside.   

The accounts of Wild Swans gives an extensive and excellent look at the shifts that occurred during the social influence of Confucianism and political eras of China during the time, especially with regards to the accounts of Chang and her mother.  From the early accounts of Chang’s mother, one is immediately exposed to the early warning signs of Mao Zedong’s lust for power at the cost of safety and well being of others.  As her mother and father are initially wed and follow the Communist Party’s ways, they are not initially allowed to spend a great deal of time together (Chang).  It is also shown that Chang’s mother, as a lower-ranking official, is treated with much less respect and care when compared to her father’s higher status within the army.  These factors are important to take note of because they reveal an important factor about Mao’s set up of power and authority.  By keeping individuals separated from their loved ones and kept in a strict, organized way of life, the amount of potential dissent from followers was stifled quite effectively.  

Between the two’s stories, the reader is also exposed to a time frame that encompasses two of Mao Zedong’s most influential, albeit disastrous, endeavors for the Chinese people.  The two events are the ‘Great Leap Forward’ and the ‘Cultural Revolution.’  These two events would ultimately lead to the deaths of millions of people based on poor governmental planning and execution but were advertised to the general population as a way to boost the prosperity of the nation.  From Chang’s autobiography, the reader gets a much larger view of the Cultural Revolution as it takes place during her teenage and early adult years, whereas the story from her mother would be more situated during the events that lead up to the Great Leap Forward.  

What the reader can see from the characters of Wild Swans is how the leadership that Mao Zedong displayed served as a great rallying point for the people of China originally, and then how those that continued to follow and support him dealt with the consequences that the general population felt in the forms of anger and betrayal.  This notion is especially felt through Chang’s writings during the time of the ‘Cultural Revolution.’  Based on the aims to “purge the country of impure elements and to revive the revolutionary spirit,” (BBC), the Cultural Revolution was an attempt for Mao to reassert his own dominant authority to the people of China, however, the resulting actions of it cost around one and one-half million people their lives.  Those that supported Mao during this time such as Chang’s father felt the backlash of this endeavor the hardest.  He was a constant target for public displeasure being a high-ranking military official, and Chang noted the stress and pressure that were placed upon him took a serious toll on his health, both physically and emotionally (Chang).  After his death, Chang, now openly against Mao’s policy, is sent to the countryside in order to have thought reform from the country’s peasants, which proves to be a difficult and pointless experience that many dealt with (Chang).  The accounts that are provided by Wild Swans gives the reader a look into the life of an individual that got to experience many of China’s social problems during these trying times from the point of view of both urban and rural life.

The accounts of Chen Village tell of similar times, but with a different attitude.  The book examines and gives an account of villagers lives within a particular location, Chen Village, and tells how the people of the town dealt with the lasting effects of the governments policy changes that occurred during the early period of the 20th century, namely during the events that transpired during ‘the Great Leap Forward’ and ‘the Cultural Revolution.’ As noted by Chan, Madsen, and Unger, the individuals that lived in Chen Village have mixed feelings about all of the governmental reforms and changes that occur during this time period.  The mix of a general feeling of blame to the government, to confusion as to why policies were dealt in such a manner, to general distrust and hopelessness are all experienced and recorded from the authors.  As one villager noted, “For the first time since Liberation, our countryside has really been given a chance to develop steadily.  Things would have gone ideally if Chairman Mao hadn’t started the Cultural Revolution,” (Chan, Madsen, & Unger).   Generally, people saw the Great Leap Forward as a means of the cause of widespread famine and starvation that the nation had experienced, and the Cultural Revolution as the root of much of the violence and self-promoting policies that the government had enacted.    

What these two different accounts show the reader is that the government of China, regardless of what its original intentions were, failed to deliver upon its promises during the tenure of Mao Zedong.  The promises of boosting the economy through the efforts of the Great Leap Forward actually came out to be quite the opposite.  Over a million people found themselves in a state of starvation as crops failed and the reforms failed to gain ground and take effect.  Ultimately, the government abandoned their efforts, and the Great Leap Forward was seen as a complete and utter failure.  The Cultural Revolution proved to be just as disastrous.  As an attempt to retain authority, it was merely a way for the government to have power over the citizens of the nation.  The results of the act lead many to distrust the government further and cause so much trouble that Mao had to use the army as a means of maintaining and restoring peace to many of the urban centers of China.     

The characters accounts and retellings of the actions of the government provide the readers with many clues as to why the undertakings of the government of the time were so unsuccessful.  What is shown through the two works is the general lack of thought out action and poor execution from the government during the era.  The villagers of Chen Village provide the struggle that members of the countryside of China felt during the time and the general outrage from the rural population at the poor decisions that were made by the leaders, while the accounts of the time from Chang shows how the urban youth dealt with the actions during the Cultural Revolution and how the urban population felt towards the government.  Combining the two different accounts of the events of the times shows the reader one simple fact.  The mismanagement of the government, through the policies enacted by Mao Zedong, cost millions of Chinese citizens’ lives and set the country back in social and economic terms for decades.

During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong utilized the propaganda tools of the communist party in order to get the youth of China to join together and push for the social changes that were being strived for.  The general term used to describe the groups that the youth formed were known as the Red Guards.  Originally created as a means to get the younger members of the country involved and a part of the communist party, the size and impact that the Red Guards had on the country soon became too large and were an actual threat to the government.  As time progressed from their original creation, Red Guards had conflicts and distinctions between the factions that ultimately lead to conflict within the overall group.  This rise to power then conflicting state can be seen quite similar, though with its own unique distinctions, to the history of Chinese culture.  Ultimately, the Red Guards showed the power that a united effort from a group of individuals could have upon the nation, and the youth of a nation is a very powerful force when mobilized and motivated correctly. 

As is clearly shown through the work Wild Swan, the youth are in a state of upheaval and unrest during the time of the Cultural Revolution.  As Chang demonstrates through the actions that occurred to her father in the form of public scrutiny, individuals were looking for a means of blaming the government for the failures of past policy, specifically the Great Leap Forward (Chang).  What Mao did in response to this unrest was to give the youth of China a goal to work towards.  The creation of the Red Guard was seen as a means to help the nation eliminate what was known as the “Four Olds.”  These included: “old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas,” (Szczepanksi).  When seeing the creation of groups that pushed for such changes, the youths’ emotions were being manipulated and played upon.  

The first emotion that was radically manipulated by the creation of the Red Guards was that of frustration.  The youth could channel their own frustrations about lack of progress of the nation into a way to create a newer, progressive state through their works as Red Guards.  Second, the emotion of hope was played upon as a means for youths to feel as though their works were providing a better nation for all, and, thusly, they were making a difference for the people.  Finally, the general beliefs of the youth were manipulated when the Red Guards were created.  Mao’s propaganda was set up in such a way that it called for the youths to make changes that the government approved, however, the youth believed it was what they themselves desired for the nation.  Though these groups were originally a means of spreading the communist party’s ideas, they soon grew too large and influential for the government to control.  

What Mao had clearly not counted on was just how serious many of the Red Guards took their jobs and goals.  Taking to heart the idea of ridding the nation of the Four Olds, the Red Guards were responsible for “destroying antiques, ancient texts, and Buddhist temples, and publicly humiliating teachers, monks, former landowners or anyone else suspected of being ‘counter-revolutionary.’” (Szczepanksi).  These actions lead to the initial division between the Red Guards.  Those that were more active in their endeavors of carrying out their objectives by whatever means, even if it meant violence, were termed “radical,” while those that were less prone to rash, decisive actions and typically felt more inclined to follow the government’s instructions were labeled either “conservative” or “loyalist.”  Eventually the actions of the radical faction of the Red Guards grew so out of control the Mao decided to enact the “Down to the Countryside Movement,” which served as a means to separate factions of the Red Guards and keep them out of the cities thusly resulting in a more stabilized social and economic lifestyle for the general population (History Learning). 

From Chen Village, the reader can see just how destructive the Red Guards movement to the rural areas of China was upon the youth of the nation.  As many of them did not want to be in rural areas, such as the village of Chen, many fled to Hong Kong to be in a more comfortable area as opposed to the villages.  With so much of the youth now in the rural settings, many also felt under the pressure and suspect of the revolutionary sponsors that had sent them there.  The youth felt, and rightfully so, that they were merely shipped out of cities in order to keep them out of the way and from doing any sort of damage to the government.  As Chen Village shows, this only serves a means to rally more and more of the youth to go against the government’s ideas and to leave in order to protest the actions of the government (Chan, Madsen & Unger).  

This sort of rise to power and subsequent breaking up of the Red Guards is seen in the history of China.  During much of its ancient history, China was a nation of multiple city-states that constantly fought each other.  Eventually, an era of a united China emerged by having many of the city-states join forces to defeat a common enemy.  Over time, however, the united city-states would vie for more and more power and the alliance would splinter and throw the nation back into a state of fighting and turmoil.  This is very similar to that of the Red Guards.  Originally, the youth of China were like the city-states, united and generally fighting amongst themselves over small, trivial manners.  Then, Mao united the youth for a common mission: help China progress.  However, over time the factions of the Red Guards, the radicals and conservatives, began to quarrel amongst themselves as to the best way to carry out the ultimate goal of the Red Guard, and a period of open violence began that drew the attention of the government.  Finally, the government broke up the Red Guard’s strength of numbers by sending many of the youths into the country for educational purposes.  Though the Red Guard’s history shares that of many of China’s more ancient cultures, it does vary in several ways.  

First, the Red Guard was a movement that was mostly the youth whereas the models it follows tend to be from that of governments of ancient China and its dynasty rule.  Secondly, the creation of the Red Guards was by those that were in power, not those that wanted power, meaning that Mao created the Red Guard to motivate the youth to be apart of the communist party, not to rebel against it. Finally, and most importantly, the Red Guard sought to destroy and separate themselves from the old ways of life.  The other models that are similar to the Red Guard tended to stay with tradition on many of these aspects such as religion and ancient history whereas the Red Guard rejected these ideologies as being part of the Four Olds.   

In a long-term sense, the Cultural Revolution produced lasting changes in Chinese society.  The most glaring outcome and lasting mark of the Cultural Revolution came from how many people lost their lives during the period.  Estimates show that almost a million people died during this time as a result of many of the actions that were undertaken from either the government or those involved in the actions of the Cultural Revolution.  The period also saw a fundamental change in the communist party and the way it ran China.  Mao pushed for so many of the changes that occurred during the Cultural Revolution because of his desire to rid the communist party of any of his potential challengers to power, and through the processes that occurred during its unfolding, he was able to effectively remove all of his competition.  To those that lived in China during the Cultural Revolution, this time period was one of a brutal social and economic upheaval in which individuals were chastised and scrutinized for not wanting to endorse and embrace the many different cultural changes that were being called for by the government and their supporters at the time.  The Red Guard can be seen now as a political stunt to organize Mao’s personal cult and trick the youth into believing they were acting under the nation’s best interest, while in reality, they were serving as a diversion by Mao as he rooted out his political enemies within the communist party.

Works Cited

BBC, . "Mao Zedong." BBC History. 2013: n. page. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mao_zedong.shtml>.

Chan, Anita, Richard Madsen, and Jonathan Unger. Chen Village: Revolution to Globalization. University of California Press, 2009. Print. 

Chang, Jung. Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China. Touchstone, 1991. Print. 

History Learning. "The Cultural Revolution." History Learning Site: The Cultural Revolution. 2000: n. page. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/cultural_revolution.htm>.

Szczepanski, Kallie. "Who Were China's Red Guard?." About Asian History. n.d. n. page. Web. 21 Mar. 2013. <http://asianhistory.about.com/od/glossaryps/g/Who-Were-Chinas-Red-Guards.htm>.