Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution：Life for the workers

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1、MaoZedongandtheCulturalRevolutionLifefortheworkersByMichaelBaeandAaronTsoiIntroductionTheGreatProletarianCulturalRevolution(无产阶级文化大革命),wasstartedin1966.ItwassetuptosecureMaoismandeliminatePoliticalOpponents.Itofficiallyendedin1969,whenMaohimselfadmittedthattherevolutionhadended.Overthisperiodofth

2、reeyears,manydiedandmillionsmoreimprisoned.TheleadersoftheCulturalRevolutionremainedinpower,evenaftertheendoftheRevolution.Theperiodiswidelyconsideredtohavebeenaperiodofeconomicstagnation.AshortintrototheRedGuardTheRedGuardisthenamegiventothehundredsofthousandsofstudentswholefttheirschoolstosprea

3、dMao’smessage;thattheModerateswerebringingChinadownthe‘CapitalistRoad’,andneededtoreturntopureCommunismonceagainTheywereresponsibleforamajorityofthechaoscreatedduringtheCulturalRevolutionTheytraveledthecountrysideandvisitedfactories,etc.tospreadthemessageAttheendoftheCulturalRevolution,theywerese

4、nttothecountrysideto‘learnfromthepeasants’Influence–TheRedGuardTheyhadtheworkersarrangemeetingssofrequentthatproductioncametoastandstillAnyonewhocomplainedwasaccusedofbeingabourgeois,etc.Vandalismwasalsocommon,astheRedGuardstartedtostampoutauthorities,liketheleaderofthefactory,etc.Highlevelsofvio

5、lenceensuedThismeantthatnationaloutputfelldramaticallyduringthecourseoftheCulturalRevolutionThiscausedtheChineseeconomytobecrippledthroughthethree-yeardurationoftheCulturalRevolutionInfluence-PoliticalLater,theGangofFour,especiallyJiangQingconsideredeverythingasCapitalist;theycondemnedabasictheor

6、ythatproductionpowerdecidedtherelationofproductiontothecharacterofthesocietyas‘Revisionism’;inasensereferringtolookingbacktothepast.Theyagitatedworkersopenlybysaying‘[notto]feartostopproductionandwork’.Theydislikedmodernism;theyreferredtheintroductionoftechnologicalplantsas‘worshippingandtoadying

7、toforeigncountries’.MostworkerscomplainedabouttheFour’spolicies,andmadeanefforttoproduce.However,adeclineinproductionwasimpossible,withtheirconstantexposuretosloganscreatedbyJiang'sgroups