News Story

Is He Leading Us to Glory or to Our Doom?

By Brie Fiorentino

China Globe

Bejing - This just in, Charmain Mao announces that the Cultural Revolution has started. Yes, on October 13, 1966 Mao decided he wants to make China a better country. He described how China needs to get rid of the ‘Four Old’s throughout China;old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. He wants China to come together as one country, and doesn’t want to follow anyone else who wants to take over China.

In 1960,the Soviet Union tried to persuade China to be just like them. Stalin was in charge of the Soviet Union but after he died, a man named Khrushchov exposed how evil Stalin really was. Mao didn’t want to be part of “Revisionism” and “Capitalism” that the Soviet union was trying to encourage Mao to follow. He wanted to make “the big leap forward” and Khrushcov said it would never work and Mao should just believe in the revisionist plan. But he didn’t want to be sucked up in the Soviet Union’s influence, so he made up his own Revolution and tried to move forward.

We interviewed some witnesses to get their opinion about this event. We met a middle school teacher whose name is Jia Meileg. She went to the speech that Mao gave on the 13th and she claims, “I think the four olds and the cultural revolution is such a wonderful idea that Chairman Mao has made. I think it will benefit on the schools and the children's education.”

We also met a young man named Hong Mei. He is a doctor who works in China Medical and has a father who’s a landlord. He heard about this big event from everyone talking about it in the streets and he states, “I’m not so sure about this Cultural Revolution. I mean, I can’t predict the future, but I have a feeling that this is going to turn out to be a disaster! You can’t just change a country like that all of a sudden? Can you?” Will this Cultural Revolution turn out to be good after all, or will the idea just fall apart?

Opinion/Editorial Article

China is Slowly Falling Apart

       Chairman Mao has started the Cultural Revolution and wants to change China in to a better and new country. He is doing this by getting rid of the Four Olds. By doing this, the Cultural Revolution is tearing China apart. Lots of people are getting hurt, not only on the outside but on the inside too. Someone can’t just change a whole county all of a sudden. Open your eye’s people, Mao Zedong is ruining China right before we know it!
        Lots of homes are getting searched by the Red Guards and being left as a mess. The Red Guards leave people’s valuables on the ground with the rest of their things. This is not the right thing to do just to see if families are hiding any weapons or more importantly, the Four Olds. But what is really terrible is that the Red Guards don’t care. They leave the house a mess not caring that it takes days and probably lots of yen to pay for the damages. It’s like they have no feelings for anyone at all.
        So many people are getting tortured from the Red Guards right this minute. Lots of people are sweeping the ground and being humiliated. Some of them collapse to the ground while other people walk by like nothing ever happened. Sometimes they are even related and go against their family and only care about themselves. They wouldn't care if their parents were beaten to death. Some people are so selfish and only take care of their future and not care for anyone else.
        Every where, businesses are getting shut down.There are signs on the ground that were ripped off and even broken into little pieces. So, if businesses are shut down, that means alot of people don’t have jobs. Iif people don’t have jobs then they don’t have the money to help support their family. Furthermore, some schools were shut down which left the teachers jobless and the children with out an education. So a lot of children were behind on their school work.
        Although very few people think the Cultural Revolution is bad, many other people think it is a great thing for their country. Some might think that Mao knows what he’s doing and it’s for the benefit for theirr country. In addition, the peasants are so happy because the Cultural Revolution is so helpful to them. Also, Mao is creating a new and better China that would turn out to be really good for their country in the end. But we can never predict the future, can we?
        Over all, the Cultural Revolution was not such a good idea. So many people are getting killed or even killing themselves. There were a lot more families than peasants who were living just fine but then the Revolution came along and ruined their homes and their relationships with each other. It should all just stop. All of earth is one big family so why not stick up for each other and not think of ourselves all the time?

Map



Cultural Revolution

  Qing Dynasty

 
    These two maps are very different from one another. One map is from the Cultural Revolution in 1966 while the other map is from the Qing Dynasty in 1949.  The Cultural Revolution map is very similar to the map of modern China.  One of the only differences is Taiwan was not part of china during the Qing Dynasty, it was part of Japan. Now it’s part of China but Taiwan struggling to be it’s own country, not wanting to be under any one's rule. The biggest difference between China during the Cultural Revolution and Qing Dynasty China is how much the land changed. Mongolia was part of China during the Qing Dynasty. But then over time, Mongolia became its own country.

On the Cultural Revolution map, what really seems to be an important place on the map is Shaohhan, Hunan Province, which is where Mao Zedong was born. When he died, the memorial was held in the capital, Beijing, in Tiananmen Square.  Also Tiananmen Square is where the rally was held for the Red Guards where Mao started the Red guards. A lot has changed in China from 1949 - 1966 so maybe in a few years, China will change even more.

Interview

                               

My Interview with Ming Li

a Red Guard

Q: How old are you and how did you become a Red Guard?

A: I am 18 and I always followed Chairman Mao. He has always been my role model and hero. I heard Mao’s speech about the red guards and thought,that is what I'm going to do. Right then and there, I wanted to help Mao Zedong, our beloved leader.

Q: Do you think Chairman Mao is doing the right thing?

A: Absolutely! I mean, he is our beloved leader and we have to fallow his orders but I’m 100% sure China will turn out to be the most wonderful country to live in. He is making the right choice to start the Cultural Revolution to improve China and its people.

Q: There are a lot of houses being searched... Have you searched any? If so how many?

A: Yes, I have searched about 66 houses and they all had things in them that just had to be thrown out right away. In some houses I found fur clothing which needed to be rid of right away. Also the children wanted to keep their books and toys but their things were part of the four olds! How stupid can they be? We need to make China better, not to continue to be the same old country.

Q: Do you think searching peoples’ houses is the right thing to do?

A: I think it is the best way to get rid of things that people are hiding. We need to get all the old things out but if people won’t give up all their items, then we have to go in and get rid of their things for them. We are looking for fur clothing, weapons, pictures, foreign influences, and anything that has to do with the four olds. Remember, that's our job. Some times, we even have to search the same house twice! Ugh, those brainless Black whelps! When do they ever learn? Is it really that hard to help China?

Q: Do you like being a Red Guard?

A: Oh yes, will all my heart. What type of question is that? Shouldn't it be obvious? I just love supporting Chairman Mao and helping him spread the Cultural Revolution around. He is such a great leader!

Inventions

The Little Red Book

    The Little Red Book was invented in China during the 1960s.  It was called the “Little Red Book” because it can fit in a shirt pocket. It was published in May 1965 in Beijing, China.  The Little Red Book was a wonderful treasure to millions of people. Some researchers say that 5 to 6.5 million copies were made. The book was published in 20 different languages. In the book, there are 200 quotes all from Chairman Mao. An example of one of his sayings is, “We can learn what we did not know. We are not only good at destroying the Old World, we are also good at building the new.” This means that everyone in China should destroy the Four Olds and we will learn that China will turn out to be a better country.

This book was a guide to what you should do during the Cultural Revolution.  It also has many pictures of Mao. It is a very important book in China.  All Red Guards are required to carry the book around wherever they went. The Red Guards used the book and its quotes to bust people for not following Mao’s demands. Schools all around China would recite a quote or two in the morning, just like how the USA recites the Pledge of Allegiance. So the Little Red Book is a very important book and will always be a wonderful invention to China, even though Chairman Mao himself has become a controversial figure.

Bibliography

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