Sessions 5 & 6 - Cultural Revolution, 3/25

[clay dube]

Thanks for sharing what comes to your students' minds when they think of China. I hope that others will do this as well.

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately, I was sick on this particular Saturday. However, reading through everyone's posts has been very interesting and has given me some insight. I, too, had never heard of the Cultural Revolution before this class. I regret missing out on hearing the speakers' experiences. After reading the articles posted for this session, I would just like to comment on the Gao article and how the article takes a look at the classic question of who is writing the history? From what perspective are we looking back at the past? I thought the description of the exhibit "Ordinary Life in Extraordinary Times" and the comments left in the exhibit's guest book were very interesting. The idea that artifacts alone, without descriptions or implications, can elicit such strong emotions, both positive and negative, makes me wonder how I can incorporate this technique in my class. It reminds me that it is important to always step outside of my perspective and try to see situations from all sides.

[Anonymous]

On a quick sidenote, I also noticed in the reading that the word "haojie" translates to calamity or catastrophe. Does anyone know if there are other translations for this word? I am curious because I have a student named Haojie and am now curious about the origins of his name. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

I can’t help but compare the Red Guard of China’s Cultural Revolution to the youth and counter-culture movements that emerged in America, Europe and Britain in the 1960s. Although set in motion by Chairman Mao, with the stated goal of preserving “true” Communist ideology, the Red Guard shared a similar anti-authoritarian bent with its Western counterparts. Although China’s youth revolt was magnitudes greater in the cost of human life and suffering, in practice the Red Guards were guided by an imperative to upend and replace the status quo much like those involved in the civil rights and anti-war movements in the West.

[Anonymous]

In The Battle for China’s Past: Mao and The Cultural Revolution, Mobo Gao asks some important questions about one of modern China’s most profound historical events. Among these are whether or not the Cultural Revolution was a holocaust (“haojie” is the word that’s used) as many people nowadays assert that it was. Webster’s dictionary defines holocaust as “a thorough destruction involving extensive loss of life especially through fire,” but it is normally used to refer to the mass slaughter of European Jews by the Nazis. However, in our time the meaning of this word has been distorted and demeaned in political rhetoric, and by casual comparisons. There’s even something called Godwin’s Law that claims that most online discussions eventually compare someone or something to Hitler or his deeds.
Although it is hard to find a spirited defense of the Cultural Revolution these days, Gao does a good job of at least freeing the event from some of the politically-charged hyperbole that is taken as fact by so many. Yes, people died, lives were ruined, and suffering occurred, but it is important not to make assumptions as to: the reasons why, it’s severity, Mao’s intentions, and the value of its outcome. To do so, is to—as Gao puts it—“participate in the official project of reducing everything to the label of ‘ten years of calamities’.” It is important to remember that in the academic study of history, standards of evidence and methods of analysis are based on skepticism. It is intellectually dishonest to adopt assumptions that are not thoroughly vetted from credible sources and exposed to peer-reviewed debate; the search for the truest account of a historical event should be more important than satisfying a narrative that fits conveniently into our personal world-view.

[Anonymous]

In The Man Who Stayed Behind, Sidney Rittenberg talks about a meeting between Mao and revolutionaries from Africa, where a representative from Southern Rhodesia voices his concern that the PRC will betray the revolution as the Soviet Union had. “I felt the young man’s worry was justified,” writes Rittenberg, “Kruschev, with his fear of thermonuclear war, had abandoned the Soviet policy of supporting armed revolutionary struggle in favor of negotiation and accommodation with the United States.” I found this interesting in light of what we learned in class about Deng embracing Nixon in 1972 because he feared the Soviet Union more than he feared the United States. In the United States people tend to think of communism (if we think about it at all) as monolithic; however, far from being “agents of Moscow” communist countries disagreed with one another, sometimes erupting in violence, such as in the Sino-Soviet border conflict of 1969.

[Anonymous]

p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 11.0px Helvetica; color: #000000; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000} span.s1 {font-kerning: none} What struck me most about hearing about the Red Songs is how people are so nostalgic and emotionally attached to these songs written in a time that hurt so many. It seems that culture is truly embodied. Rituals and tradition are hard to overcome because they become embodied rather that intellectually performed. Intellectually, they know its a period of suffering that these songs represent. The body feels a connection to that time that isn't necessarily all bad. I wonder what embodied emotions the Rittenbergs experience when they hear red songs?

[Anonymous]

Unfortunately I think society always encourages us to play the "who is my enemy" game rather than the "who is my friend" game. I think we see that in today's political climate. I think the friend game is a great way to encourage students to choose compassion and kindness and perhaps turn some of those enemies into friends. Thanks for this idea.

[Anonymous]

I completely agree! To all of those peddling "truth" in the face of all this uncertainty I say, "Cite your sources!" Unfortunately I think this might not even be enough anymore. It's getting increasingly hard for citizens to wade through all of the information and misinformation that is out there. I wonder how we can teach our students to do this when it requires so much of my brainpower to do this for myself. I wonder how we can overcome the facade of social media culture and teach our students how to critically navigate it and not base their self worth or their intellect on it.

[Anonymous]

Wow! That's cool! Thanks for sharing

[Anonymous]

As I reread some of the arrticles I form from the reading 'Mao Zedong Thought Is the Sole Criterion of Truth' and Chairman Mao often teaches that the principle of adhering to the truth while rectifying one's mistakes. Things I wonder after reading this 1. who's truth was he talking about 2. why does one have to adher to any truth 3. rectifying one's mistake in what way

Many of these readings gave me so much to think about. Do I have aas specific of a view point as many of these leaders had and if I could ever follow one of these leaders if they were still alive. Im not sure quite yet what my respoce would be but I like that I am thinking about different things in my life.

[Anonymous]

This chapter of the book, "The Red Guard Generation and Political Activism in China.", is packed with interesting historical information. I found that a lot of pieces fell into place while I was reading. Guobin Yang (the author) described the 'Great Leap Forward' as ..."to leapfrog China from socialism into what utopian Marxism viewed as the final destiny of humankind - Communism." Mao's visit to Moscow in 1957 for the Conference of World Communist and Workers' Parties, where Mao heard Nikita Krushchev speak, propelled him into this idea. Mao began to fear that the de-Stalinization of Russia by Krushchev would lead to a similar de-Maoization in China, so he sought reform and, instead, found grievances against the party. 400,000 people were seized and punished or imprisoned because of their public vocalizations against the party, and Mao turned instead to propagandizing the younger generation to be on his side; the so-called 'Flowers of the Nation.' The flowers who later formed factions against each other in civil war and killed each other, even young, 15-year old Zhu Qingfang, who was in a faction that supported Mao.

I am going to preview the film, "Flowers of the Nation.", and determine whether it is something I want to share with my students beginning next year, plus the list of four other children's films we could possible check out. There were also a lot of books, films, and music referenced in this chapter that were crucial to the formation of the embodied/collective memories of the 'Red Guard Generation.'

Biographies read by that generation:
Karl Marx
Friedrich Engels
Mao Zedong

Other books/writings:
The Nine Commentaries
Little Red Book
Quotations of Chairman Mao
How Steel Was Tempered (Russian)

Films: See Table 2.1 on page 55
Tunnel Warfare
Flowers of the Nation
Chapaev (Soviet)
The Young Generation

I HIGHLY recommend this chapter of this book to teachers of older students as an incredible summarization and explanation, which provides many jumping-off points. This could be a year-long class! (Tying in to the Cold War and the war in Vietnam, as well) I MUST buy this book!

[Anonymous]

I really enjoyed the hour of shorter film clips, as it gave us something to remember later on when looking at the list of possible films to choose from. I chose to watch, "Coming Home", and I even showed some of it to my students. They were so focused on watching, listening to the Chinese, and reading the English subtitles, it was amazing. I also plan on watching all of the other films on the list to determine if and how I can incorporate them next school year. I wrote a review of this film in the appropriate forum.

[Anonymous]

Cultural Revolution
I like the primary resource by Zhou Enlai. Getting primary source and using secondary sources will further allow students to think and analyze resources like a historian. The Cultural Revolution will provide students with insights that it does not matter what their age, they can have an impact.

[Anonymous]

I was extremely disappointed to have missed this lecture on the cultural revolution in China, but reading the accounts through the readings that were uploaded painted a really dramatic picture. I especially liked the excerpt of After The Bitter Comes The Sweet. Her story of being in college during this tumultuous time, and the difficulty of knowing who was "right" and what "the people" and "the party" wanted spoke to a complicated array of influences in this time period.

I think students would do well to understand that the Cultural Revolution was not, ultimately, one thing, but was a whole confluence of ideas and people and ups and downs, that has it's roots in ideas that begin in China long ago, and is still, really, unfolding even today. I wish I had been able to ask those who lived through it some of their experiences about that.

[Author]

Posts