Impact and Significance: A Turning Point in History
One man was able to change millions of lives for the worse. While the Cultural Revolution created ten years of chaos, it did help shape China into what it is today. Future leaders of China learned from previous mistakes by carrying out various reforms, which enabled the country to grow and become a global leader.
Excerpt from "China: A Century of Revolution"
Courtesy of Zeitgeist Films
People
"During the Cultural Revolution, one of the objectives by Chairman Mao was to take down a few high ranking officials he considered his enemies. [They were] Just a few officials that Mao considered a threat to his power. That’s the very objective of this Cultural Revolution. At the time, nobody understood. Nobody was illogical enough to understand the whole motivation of it. During the Cultural Revolution those high ranking officials were taken down by this chaotic situation. They had been taken down, definitely illegally but taken down. They lost their power and their lives."
~Paul Bao
~Paul Bao
Student Interview with Paul Bao, University of South Florida Professor, on the Cultural Revolution's Impact on China
Ideas and Events
The main idea of Communism under Mao was to shift China from Capitalism to Communism. His political movements, known mainly as the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, resulted in calamity. After Mao's death, free-market reforms were implemented, which exposed China to the Western world. Under the leadership of Deng Xiaoping, private business ownership and entrepreneurship resumed. Foreign trade increased rapidly which established the foundation for China's economic prosperity.
"The Legacy of Deng Xiao Ping" by Dr. Erza Vogel, Harvard Professor
Immediately after the Revolution, college entrance exams resumed. Therefore, the education rate went up. Students and other citizens were allowed to travel abroad. They were exposed to new ideas and technology.
China also changed its stance on foreign relations by becoming one of the main voices in the United Nations. It has acted as the counterpart of Western superpowers in balancing the current world order. These changes have given them more presence on the world's stage. Today, China has emerged as one of the world's political and economic superpowers.
"For the United States, probably the most important foreign policy goal of the 21st century is to figure out how to work together to coexist with China in the Asia-Pacific region. It is extraordinarily important that we find ways to work together, to cooperate."
~Kurt Campbell, Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific
~Kurt Campbell, Former Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia and the Pacific