Impeccably true to its definition, the Chinese characters for “revolution” literally mean “elimination of life”, proved by China’s catastrophic cultural revolution. Communist leader Mao Zedong sought to eliminate the past and push for a resurrection only to land China miserably behind. By wiping away years of scientific and literary advancements, China renounced its grandiose history and way of life.
In 1966, Communist leader Mao Zedong initiated the Cultural Revolution in China intended to reaffirm his domination over the Chinese government, drastically affecting the lives of nearly everyone in China. Suspicious of current communist leaders taking over the party, Mao enslaved the minds of Chinese youth to eradicate “impure” components of Chinese society, including every person suspected of being a capitalist in China (History.com). Revolutionary material was also stamped out as ordered by Mao Zedong, “to read too many books is harmful” (Mao Zedong) including all literature with the exception of Mao’s Little Red Book. Literary and scientific advancements ceased at this time, making pleasure reading a mere memory or otherwise extremely rare (Edward Quinn). Life was drastic and somber without creative outlets to cope, making the character’s of Balzac and the Little Seamstress’s story strikingly probable as the narrator expresses his frustration, “I feel loathing for everyone who kept these books from us.”( Dai Sijie 99). Struggling under the impeding pressures from every angle, it seemed worth risking lives simply to enjoy forbidden western literature as the narrator states, “I hadn’t expected that a tiny glimmer of hope for the future could transform someone so utterly.” (77); Balzac was their salvation.
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Allen, Brooke. “A Suitcase Education.” Rev. of Balzac and The Little Seamstress. New York Times 13 Sept. 2001: 24. Print.
Boucquey, Thierry, gen. ed. “Luo Guanzhong.” Encyclopedia of World Writers, 14th through 18th Centuries. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2005. Bloom’s Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 May 2014
Cook, James Wyatt. “Romance of the Three Kingdoms.” Encyclopedia of Renaissance Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2006. Bloom’s Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 May 2014
Guanzhong, Luo. Romance of Three Kingdoms. Trans. Moss Roberts. Beijing: Foreign Language, 2006. Print.
History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 14 May 2014.
Quinn, Edward. “Cultural Revolution in China.” History in Literature. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2004. Bloom’s Literature. Facts On File, Inc. Web. 14 May 2014
The Cultural Revolution in China was led by Mao Zedong, due to this Liang and many others faced overwhelming obstacles in many aspects of their life such as work, family and everyday encounters, if affected everyone’s families life and education, Liang lets us experience his everyday struggles during this era, where the government determined almost every aspect of life.
Dao, Bei. “Notes from the City of the Sun.” One World of Literature. Ed. Lim, Shirley G., and Spencer, Norman A. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1993. 231-233. Print.
Revolution Is Not a Dinner Party, a historical fiction book written by Ying Chang Compestine, exceptionally portrays the horrors and torture the Chinese people endured during the "revolution," or the Communist control and building of a new China.
Jonathan Spence tells his readers of how Mao Zedong was a remarkable man to say the very least. He grew up a poor farm boy from a small rural town in Shaoshan, China. Mao was originally fated to be a farmer just as his father was. It was by chance that his young wife passed away and he was permitted to continue his education which he valued so greatly. Mao matured in a China that was undergoing a threat from foreign businesses and an unruly class of young people who wanted modernization. Throughout his school years and beyond Mao watched as the nation he lived in continued to change with the immense number of youth who began to westernize. Yet in classes he learned classical Chinese literature, poems, and history. Mao also attained a thorough knowledge of the modern and Western world. This great struggle between modern and classical Chinese is what can be attributed to most of the unrest in China during this time period. His education, determination and infectious personalit...
China’s Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution (GPCR) is a well-documented period in world history, but the most profound records are found vivified in the literature and films later into the 20th century, respectively. One of the most profound novels is “To Live”, authored by Yu Hua, which as a fictional narrative offers both a unique and realistic sense of the time period at the individual level. However, the provocative film adaptation directed by Zhang Yimou in 1994 was formidable enough that it was banned in Mainland China. Zhang paints a more realistic picture of how the GPCR influenced Chinese society but adds zest to Hua’s ambiguity but acceptable imperfection. Naturally, the film has many different characteristics yet still manages to overcome the challenges that implicate film adaptations.
Following Mao Zedong’s death, “the rise of the moderate Deng Xiaoping created new opportunities for public expression” (“Scar Literature”). People began to write about their lives under Mao which led to the emergence of Scar Literature. The main characteristics of Scar Literature are the criticism of the Cultural Revolution and the Maoist regime, details of the suffering that people went through during Mao’s rule and the Cultural Revolution and catharsis. The criticism of the Cultural Revolution and the Maoist regime is obvious in every piece of Scar Literature. However, this criticism is likely indirect because direct attacks on the Maoist government would not have been received well by the new leader of China. (“Scar Literature”) The details of the suffering that people went through during Mao’s rule and the Cultural Revolution may include the experiences that people had during that time period like persecution and the emotions that were felt during that time as a result of living under Mao...
Douglas Reynolds, China, 1898-1912: The Xinzheng Revolution and Japan. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1993.
Zhao Zhenkai also known as Bei Dao is a Chinese born in Beijing, China. He’s one of the most outstanding, extraordinary and distinguished Chinese poet of his generation. By many, he’s seen and considered as one of the major writers in modern China. Bei Dao which literally means “Northern Island” is the pen name of this Chinese poet and he’s won copious international awards for his poetry, he’s been nominated severally for the Nobel Prize in literature and he’s an honorary member of the American Academy of Arts and letters. He’s also an author of short stories. He’s known through his writing as a critical thinker who creatively constitute a driving force culture and he’s seen as a pervasive, Insuppressible media machine that is incessantly grinding lives into story lines and human voices into carefully gleaming sound bites. Bai’s poetry core concern at this time is a solicitation for the reimposition of personal space and life’s ordinariness against a general indigence of humanity in china for the past ten years. Bai has written many poems which challenge the issue of a corrupt society, abuse of power and bloody landscape of the fascist dictatorship in China. Some of Bei Dao’s books of poetry and essay include, Blue house (2000), Unlock (2000), Midnight Gate (2005), The August Sleeper (1988), Old Snow (1991) and at the Sky’s Edge Poems (1991-1996) and untitled.
Chen, Zu-yan. Li Bai & Du Fu: An Advanced Reader of Chinese Language and Literature =. Boston: Cheng & Tsui, 2008. Print.
When Mao Zedong was born in 1893, his homeland of China was in deep political and economic trouble. Long before the rise of Mao, China believed that they were the most superior country in comparison to all other cultures and religions, resulting in complete isolation and a lack of contact with foreign countries. However, China’s political stability was tested in the early 1830’s when Western countries such as Great Britain, Germany, France, and the United States of America threatened China to open up their main trading port known as Canton, modern day Guangzhou. As a result, the Chinese faced unequal treaties and rights through this sphere of influence, leading to the loss of land to the West. 1 Furthermore, the Imperial Government and Republic
The Bedford Anthology of World Literature: The Ancient, Medieval, and Early Modern World, Beginnings—1650. Compact Ed. Eds. Paul Davis, et al. Beford: Boston, 2009. Print. 1163—1183.
In China at this time a second key topic is that of the internal crises that were occurring: famines, the rebellions, and explosive population growth of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Many of these issues were not new to the empire, but coming at the same time as foreign encroachments, therefore, the extent and the timing of their challenge was crucial. A third major topic is the extent and nature of the changes that were required, and the dialogue within China about how best to respond to these combined challenges. To the outright rejection of the Chinese past, dialogue about reform was many-faceted. It vacillated between the progressive combinations of elements from the west with the best of Chinese traditions. Finally, by the 1920s, discussing the relevance of Marxism for china, some reformers turned revolutionary. The particular role played by Mao Zedong in adapting Marxism to the Chinese situation and the Chinese communist revolution that unfolded in China in the 1930s and 1940s.
The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, beginning as a campaign targeted at removing Chairman Mao Zedong's political opponents, was a time when practically every aspect of Chinese society was in pandemonium. From 1966 through 1969, Mao encouraged revolutionary committees, including the red guards, to take power from the Chinese Communist party authorities of the state. The Red Guards, the majority being young adults, rose up against their teachers, parents, and neighbors. Following Mao and his ideas, The Red Guard's main goal was to eliminate all remnants of the old culture in China. They were the 'frontline implementers' who produced havoc, used bloody force, punished supposed 'counter revolutionists', and overthrew government officials, all in order to support their 'beloved leader'.
During the Cultural Revolution, Mao Zedong used culture as a powerful weapon for maintaining political power and for transforming society. All art forms in China were tightly controlled and manipulated to reform Chinese culture. “True reform could only come with the creation of Chinese operas about non-traditional, preferably contemporary topics” because if operas could be transformed, then China’s literature and art would follow (Clark 15).
He Lian Bo Bo Da Wang (Mei Yi), Yi Jiu Yi Yi, Ge Ming Yu Su Ming (Hong Kong, Hong Kong Open Page Publishing Co, Ltd., pp.1-35, 138-157. Hsueh, Chun- tu, The Chinese Revolution of 1911: New Perspectives (Hong Kong: Joint _____Publishing Co., 1986), pp.1-15, 119-131, 139-171. Lin Jiayou, Xin Hai Ge, Ming Yu, Zhong Hua Min, Zu De Jue Xing (Guangzhou, Guangdong _____Ren Min Chu Ban She, 2011), pp.