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.