Journal

Cultural Revolution
Journal
By:Tommy 8-2
Wednesday, May 15, 13

Oh how the Great leap forward has failed! I was very excited when Mao launched this campaign! Just
imagine what life will be! Unfortunately, luck wasn't on our side this time because instead of the better life
I've dreamed of having, we took a step back and down a pratfall! Famine has struck the whole China hard
including me. My salary working as a professor could now only afford me a few pounds of grains and some
meat; this leaves my growing elder son all grumpy and hungry. Them poor peasants out there suffering
too! Millions died due to insufficient amount of food. We even got some deranged lads out there that started
to eat human! Cannibalism for Christ's sake!
I still believe that Mao has secret plans up his sleeve but he's got no more room to make these mistakes
again. Mistakes like this will stunt our industrialization development, at the same time, other countries will be
racing ahead and onto the finish line. Mao has my full support though, being in the Communist party, I know
that we have the right people to propel China and Communism forward and into a whole new spectrum. I
know that Mao has a lot of other things that he needs to address, so I already proposed a plan with my
fellow colleagues. The famine has caused our crop production to decrease from 200 million to 143 million,
this lead to many terrible things to our beloved country. Lack of food caused the population and birth rate to
decrease, while the death rate skyrocketed. I am so depressed even mentioning this! But we will rebound
and learn from the past!
Collectivization, the plan that Mao devised to speed up industrial and farming progress raised several
questions in my part. How would the peasants cope with the extended working time? What would the
chemistry be between peasants sharing the same farm? I understand though why Mao decided to use
collective farming because the famine has caused us a great bit of trouble, so with collective farming, we
would be able to catch up with other countries to be just as developed. If I were in Mao’s shoe, I would do
the same, but with some modifications. I never told anyone my concerns on this certain topic because, well,
let’s just say I’m a bit old and paranoid. My concern was that the peasants who work their heart off to help
our country would only receive the same amount as the ones that slack. To me, that’s not the right way to
treat the less privileged.
I travelled to the countryside yesterday to refresh myself and that was when I knew the famine has struck
The Beginning of the Disaster
January 23rd 1959

Great
Leap
Forward
of.icially
failed Poor
peasants
working
their
heart
off.
I
pity
them.
Collectivization, the plan that Mao devised to speed up industrial and farming
progress raised several questions in my part. How would the peasants cope with
the extended working time? What would the chemistry be between peasants
sharing the same farm? I understand though why Mao decided to use collective
farming because the famine has caused us a great bit of trouble, so with collective
farming, we would be able to catch up with other countries to be just as developed.
If I were in Mao’s shoe, I would do the same, but with some modifications. I never
told anyone my concerns on this certain topic because, well, let’s just say I’m a bit
old and paranoid. My concern was that the peasants who work their heart off to
help our country would only receive the same amount as the ones that slack. To
me, that’s not the right way to treat the less privileged.
I travelled to the countryside yesterday to refresh myself and that was when I knew
the famine has struck hard. I see peasants eating white-clay that can damage their
intestines. Their living co

Off
with
Capitalism!
Off
with
Capitalism!
Mao’s
launch
of
the
Cultural
Revolution
will
wipe
out
the
entire
Rightist

and
Capitalist
spirits
in
the
air
of
China.
We
are
all
witnesses
of
Mao’s
revolution.
He
has
rejuvenated
China
and

gained
the
trust
of
the
fearless
army
and
the
most
powerful
people
in
the
world.
I
was
very
honored
and
thankful

when
he
informed
me
as
one
of
the
most
intelligent
party
member
because
I
know
that
there
are
some
party

of.icials
being
replaced
to
put
it
nicely.
These
people
were
replaced
by
Mao’s
successors
that
are
faithful
and
can

keep
up
with
his
current
thinking.
My
heart
pumps
as
fast
as
a
.ighter
jet
every
time
someone
rings
the
doorbell,
the

thought
of
some
juvenile
Red
Guard
with
a
cross
face
standing
on
my
doorstep
gives
me
even
higher
blood

pressure.
The
Red
Guards,
oh
my,
is
a
group
of
energetic
young
lads
that
are
destined
to
make
us
professor’s
life

harder.
These
Red
Guards
are
ruthless!
They
beat
teachers
that
are
Rightists
and
publicly
humiliates
them!

Humiliation
for
God’s
sake!
Humiliation
left
these
teachers
to
the
edge
of
the
cliff,
suicide.

Mao’s
massive
mobilization
of
China’s
youth
has
caused
many
senior
citizens,
my
colleagues
an
ordeal.
I
remember

when
I
was
at
Tiananmen
Square
the
other
day
with
my
wife
to
see
Mao
when
suddenly,
11
million
Red
Guards

stormed
in.
They
were
in
total
control
and
denounced
the
Capitalists.
The
vivid
image
still
remains
in
my
brain
as
I

recapped
back
to
what
happened
to
the
Capitalists.
They
were
forced
to
kneel
on
charcoal
and
broken
glass.

Students
chopped
off
their
hair
while
beating
them,
taking
out
all
the
dignity
inside
these
poor
Capitalist.
For
once,
I

felt
pity
for
the
Capitalists.

Yes,
I
feel
very
honored
that
Mao
has
trust
in
me
but
what
Mao
is
trying
to
do
to
teachers
and
parents
is
just

intolerable.
Young
innocent
kids
in
schools
are
required
to
recite
Mao’s
messages,
encouraging
them
to
attack
the

headquarters
and
even
to
rebel
against
their
parents
and
close
relatives.
I
don’t
get
it
but
what
could
I
do?
If
I
dare

to
speak
a
word
of
complain,
I
would
end
up
being
just
like
those
Capitalists.
I’m
not
a
coward
don't
get
me
wrong,

but
the
risks
are
just
too
great.

Off
with
Capitalism!

August
31st
1966

The
11
million
Red
Guard
in
Tiananmen
Square.
A
wave
of
red.

The
Red
Guards
torturing
the
gang
leaders.


The
Red
Guards
are
berserk!
Right
now,
no
one
and
nowhere
are
safe.
We
are
living
in
a
warzone,
with
chaos

looming
every
second.
Working
in
the
Peking
University
is
like
working
in
the
middle
of
hostile
enemy
camps

since
Mao’s
troop
are
mobilized
in
the
University.
Burdened
by
such
hostile
move,
I
have
to
take
the
back
door

home
and
have
soon
became
a
regular
witness
of
beatings
involving
my
fellow
colleagues
and
young
Red
Guards.

The
whole
city
was
in
ruins.
Schools,
factories,
and
monuments
were
destroyed
in
Red
Guard’s
rampage.
These

Red
Guards
did
not
know
how
to
stop
as
I
received
a
letter
from
my
cousin
who,
unfortunately,
got
his
house

destroyed
by
the
Red
Guards.
Whenever
I
peer
out
my
window,
I
can
see
Red
Guards
ransacking
houses
and
on

top
of
that,
punishing
innocent
civilians
in
the
most
heart-‐wrenching
way.
This
is
terrible,
Mao
needs
to
get
his

thoughts
straight
or
else
our
nation
will
bound
to
deteriorate.

Mao
and
the
.ierce
Red
Guard
reeducated
the
whole
China
and
changed
many
things
that
I’m
familiar
with.
The

Red
Guards
attacked
the
idea
of
the
Four
Old
and
altered
it.
Excuse
my
deteriorating
memory
but
I
think
the
Four

Olds
includes
old
idea,
old
customs,
old
habits,
and
old
cultures.
Jus
think
about
how
China
has
changed!
The

Chinese
cultures
we
are
familiar
with
are
wiped
clean!
Even
our
lifestyles
are
forever
changed.
It
seems
to
me
that

the
Red
Guards
are
like
the
Secret
Police
of
Joseph
Stalin’s,
destroying
everything
at
will
under
the
command
and

instruction
under
their
master.

Guards
of
Hell
May
1st
1967
Education!
The
most
important
aspect
of
life
to
children
are
forgone
because
of
the
Red
Guard’s

rise
of
power.
I
had
times
when
there
was
no
student
in
my
class
at
all!
Ridiculous!
No
wonder

the
illiteracy
rate
in
China
has
raised
to
41%.
Even
if
children
want
to
learn
and
go
to
school,

there
wouldn't
be
enough
teachers
because
the
leaders
in
China
has
eliminated
quali.ied
teacher.

School
was
canceled
nationwide
because
of
the
chaos
and
instead,
the
children
are
forced
to

attend
political
meetings
and
other
revolutionary
non-‐sense.
My
childhood
friend
Liu
Jia
was

recently
jailed
just
because
he
was
a
teacher!
I
don't
know
what
the
future
lies
for
me
but
I
sure

know
now
that
being
innocent
isn’t
enough
to
save
my
life.


Every
time
I
go
outside
for
a
walk
(which
I
don't
do
that
often
anymore
because
of
the

chaos
outside)
I
have
to
remember
to
carry
the
Little
Red
Book.
When
I
received
my
own

Little
Red
Book
at
.irst,
I
thought
it
wasn’t
very
important
because
after
all,
it’s
just
a

book
like
any
other
until
I
saw
what
happened
to
the
market
yesterday.
I
was
with
my

wife
yesterday
in
the
market
and
saw
many
Red
Guards
surrounding
a
poor
middle-‐aged

man.
I
could
still
hear
the
Red
Guard’s
curse.
Their
accent
was
heavy,
penetrating

through
the
poor
man’s
skin
like
bullets
of
a
powerful
Magnum
gun.
I
.igured
out
later

that
the
middle-‐aged
man
forgot
to
bring
his
Little
Red
Book
with
him,
showing
that
he

has
no
respect
for
Chairman
Mao
and
is
not
a
loyal
supporter.
Of
course
I
didn’t
know

that
before
this
happened
so
I
was
sweating
like
it
was
summer
even
though
it
was
a

chilly
winter
night.
I
took
my
wife’s
hand
and
.ired
across
the
crowd
and
into
my
home,

fearing
that
I
had
caused
suspicion.
This
winter
night
will
forever
be
engraved
in
my

heart.

These
Little
Red
Books
are
more

important
than
its
size
suggests.

My
friend
Liu
Jia
getting
tortured

by
Red
Guards.

Death
of
a
Diligent
man
November
14th
1975
He
has
died…
The
one
man
that
I
have
trusts
in
to
drive
China
to
success
has
died.
The
man
is
Lin
Biao,
the
defense

minister
as
well
as
Mao’s
second
in
command
was
found
dead
in
a
plane
crash
near
Mongolia.
No
one
knows
what

happened
but
I
have
inklings
that
Mao
was
responsible
for
his
death.
Everyone
knows
the
relationship
between
Mao

and
Lin
Biao
has
deteriorated
when
Lin
Biao
lusted
for
power.
The
death
of
Lin
Biao
just
makes
China
even
more
chaotic

and
absurd.
Lin
Biao
made
sense,
unlike
Mao
who
I
soon
found
out
to
be
an
incompatible
leader
from
all
the
judgments

he
made,
the
Red
Guards
being
the
most
notorious.
I
am
one
of
many
loyal
supporter
of
Lin
Biao.
He
was,
to
me,
a
very

in.luential
.igure
during
this
period
of
hard
time.
Without
him,
I
would
probably
be
dead
under
Mao’s
wrath.
Of
course,

many
people
soon
started
to
have
doubts
in
Mao
and
legitimacy
questions
of
the
current
state
of
our
nation.
Boy
oh
boy
Mao
and
his
wife
Jiang
Qing
really
do
make
a
sneaky
up
to
no
good
pair.
After
Lin
Biao’s
death,
that
woman

Jiang
Qing
manipulated
Lin
Biao’s
image
to
make
him
sound
like
the
main
culprit
behind
all
the
mistakes
made.
But

what
can
we
powerless
citizen
do
other
then
nods
our
head
and
keep
a
loyal
look
on
our
face?
It’s
depressing
how
far

we
have
fallen,
from
being
hopeful
at
the
beginning
to
being
feeling
like
everyday
is
living
hell.
If
only
Lin
Biao’s
Project

571
to
assassinate
Mao
have
succeeded,
I
wouldn't
have
to
listen
to
all
the
non-‐sense
of
Mao’s.

I
wasn’t
surprised
when
there
was
a
power
struggle
of
the
government
after
Lin
Biao’s
death.
Many
people
lusted

for
power
with
two
very
powerful
group
going
head
to
head
for
the
government
spot.
The
Right
is
the
side
I
support

because
I
became
very
good
friend
of
Deng
Xiaoping
after
he
got
reelected.
The
Right
is
lead
by
Zhou
Enlai
and
the

Left
was
lead
by
Jiang
Qing
and
the
radical
politician
in
Shanghai
called
the
Gang
of
Four.
The
name
itself
to
me

already
posed
as
a
threat,
sending
chills
up
my
spine.
I
still
remember
vividly
all
the
disagreement
the
two
sides

have
made.
The
Right
proposed
the
plan
Four
Modernisations
that
was
aimed
to
modernize
China’s
industry,

defense,
and
farming.
It
opens
up
many
trade
windows
with
other
countries
like
Japan
to
purchase
more

machineries.
These
machineries
then
can
help
us
industrialize
faster
then
the
speed
we
are
at
right
now.
My

thoughts
on
this
plan
were
nothing
but
admiration
because
I
know
that
the
Rights
will
send
China
back
on
track

with
this
beautifully
devised
plan.


The
Left
shouldn't
be
taken
softly
because
a
majority
of
people
still
supports
Jiang
Qing

and
Mao’s
decisions.
People
should
snap
out
of
this
and
realize
that
Mao
and
Jiang
Qing

aren’t
living
up
to
the
promise
he
swore
when
he
said
China
would
propel.
Anyways,
the

Gang
of
Four
consists
of
Jiang
Qing,
Wang
Hongwen,
Zhang
Chunqiao,
and
Yao
Wenyuan.

They
were
harsh
policies!
My
brother
who
lives
in
Shanghai
had
told
me
all
the
wicked

stories
the
Gang
of
Four
did
to
innocent
citizens.
How
can
we
hand
the
government
spot
to

the
ruthless
Gang
Of
Four?
The
thought
of
them
running
our
government
is
just…
unimaginable!
Oh
how
I
wish
Lin
Biao
had
never
died.

R.I.P Lin Biao, a great man, and a great leader.
Zhou Enlai, the leader of the Right

The
Death
of
a
Country’s
Soul
September
12th
1976
This
week
will
be
marked
in
Chinese
history
as
the
week
of
transformation,
a
week
of
change
and
letting

go.
Mao
has
died;
the
leader
who
ruled
our
country
for
the
past
decades
has
died.
I
disliked
Mao
after

some
of
the
decisions
he
made
but
it’s
never
good
to
see
a
familiar
face
that
helped
me
in
my
early
years

die.
I
have
to
thank
him
for
some
of
the
good
decisions
he
made
to
our
nation
like
making
woman
equal
to

man.
Of
course,
everyone
was
in
deep
sorrow
and
the
whole
country
was
in
a
state
of
melancholy.

Nobody
had
hope
that
China
will
go
on
and
be
successful
but
I
beg
to
differ.
Without
Mao,
it
marks
the

end
of
his
revolution
and
China
could
.inally
start
over
again
under
new
hands.
Watch
out
other

countries,
we
will
strive
and
become
one
of
the
most
powerful
countries
in
the
world!
China
seemed
to
be
sweeping
out
all
the
old
spirits
out
of
the
country.
After
Mao’s
death,
the
Gang
of

Four
.inally
got
arrested.
It
sure
was
about
time
after
all
the
misery
they
have
caused.
I’m
starting
to
be

very
hopeful
of
this
new
China
under
Mao’s
successor
and
China’s
new
paramount
leader,
Hua
Guofeng.

Even
though
Hua
hasn’t
done
much
yet,
but
the
capture
of
Gang
of
Four
do
set
a
good
.irst
impression
to

me.
I
have
to
admit
though
I
was
pretty
shocked
that
Hua
would
be
prompted
as
the
new
leader
because
I

knew
how
powerful
the
Left
are
and
how
reasonable
the
Right
are.
My
theory
is
that
the
Right
suffered
a

setback
when
their
leader
Zhou
Enlai
died,
hence
shifting
most
of
the
momentum
to
the
Left.
I
can't

believe
how
close
the
Left
was
to
lead
our
country.
Thank
god
that
did
not
happen.
It’s
splendid
that
the

Politburo
gave
the
position
to
Hua
instead
of
the
Left
who
later
on
got
arrested.
It’s
no
wonder
the

Politburo
chose
Hua
because
after
all,
he
does
have
command
and
connection
to
the
powerful
army.


I
was
just
with
my
brother
the
other
day
for
a
tea
party
and
through
our
deep
talks
about

politics;
I
found
out
that
many
people
opposed
Hua.
Their
ideal
successor
was
actually
Deng

Xiaoping
and
it
triggered
my
memory
all
the
way
back
when
Deng
Xiaoping
was
locked
up.
It

just
doesn’t
make
sense
to
me
why
people
want
Deng
Xiaoping
back.
I’m
not
saying
he
is

incapable
of
this
role
don’t
take
me
wrong,
it’s
just
very
frustrating
how
everyone
wanted

Deng
Xiaoping
gone
when
Mao
was
in
power
and
now
that
Mao
has
died,
they
want
Deng
to
be

the
successor.
I
honestly
don't
understand
the
logic
of
some
people
sometimes.
Anyhow,
Hua
is

our
new
successor
and
we
have
to
have
faith
in
him.
I
believe
that
he
will
strive
and
prove
to

everyone
that
he
has
what
it
takes
to
be
Mao’s
successor.
China
has
been
under
looked
for
a

long
time,
time
to
rise
to
the
occasion.

Our new leader Huo Guofeng, elected by the Politburo
The notorious Gang of Four ﬁnally jailed for all the
misery they have caused.

Citations
Ewing, Kent. "Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan and Hong
Kong News and Business." Asia Times Online :: China News, China Business News, Taiwan
and Hong Kong News and Business. Asia Times, 4 June 2011. Web. 13 May 2013.
Coutsoukis, Photius. “China History.” China. 2011. 16 Mar 2008
http://workmall.com/wfb2001/china/china_history_index.html.
Mitter, Rana. A Bitter Revolution: China. Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2004.
Simons, Craig. “40 Years Later, China Seeks Top hide Troubled History Of Cultural
Revolution.” 17 SEP 2006 1-4. 01 MAR 2007
http://www.coxwashington.com/hp/content/reporters/stories/2006/09/17/
BC_CHINA_REVOLUTION17_COX.hml.
"Gang of Four." Encyclopedia Britannica. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 May 2013.
Phillips, Rainbough. "The Teacher Holocaust." The Distributed Republic. N.p., 01 May 2005.
Web. 13 May 2013.
Kong, David Chi Shing, and Keith Kin Fun Leung. 20th century World History. Hong Kong:
Macmillan New Asia 2004.

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