Modern History Research Essay
Question: To what extent did Mao's Cultural Revolution impact the people of China during the period of 1966-1968?
Mao's Cultural Revolution impacted the people of China during the period of 1966-1968 to a great extent as China was brought to near anarchy. This was essentially due to the creation of the Red Guards from the youth of China. They brought detrimental chaos to the country, through schools, colleges and on the streets. The Cultural Revolution also known as The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution lasted from 1966 to 1976, but its most intense stage was the from 1966 to 1968. This was because the Red Guards started with a sudden and passionate out burst of radicalism. The mass mobilization of the youth of China into the Red Guard units had a widespread negative impact on the population of China. This negative impact was furthered by the lack of an education.
A poster from the Cultural Revolution, featuring a...
English: Image shows three young Chinese Red Guard...
A quote from the preface of "The Little Red Book" ...The youth were also adversely affected psychologically. Finally the downward spiral of the Chinese economy had a profound effect on China in its entirety.
Through the mass mobilization of the youth of China into what were known as Red Guards, Mao's Cultural Revolution had an enormous negative impact on the people of China. As the Red Guard Demonstrations became more frequent and violent, China's people began to conform and join the side of Mao and his followers to avoid humiliation or death. These rebelling youths tore through streets, houses, and cultural heritages destroying all deemed 'suspicious'. This greatly affected China's population as the people lived in fear while China was losing control of its youth and spiraling into social turmoil. Mao's Cultural Revolution called for all the youth of China to band together and rebel against the 'capitalist roaders', which resulted in the creation of the...