Essay Questions

What was the Cultural Revolution?

Led by Chinese leader Mao Zedong, the Cultural Revolution was a decade-long sociopolitical movement which aimed to totally remove Capitalist and traditional elements of Chinese society and replace them with Maoism (a Marxist system of though designed by Zedong himself). He did this by killing tens of millions of people who believed in Capitalist and tradition, destroying old artifacts and monuments, closing schools, and destroying religious sites and artifacts. Because of this, the Chinese economy was harmed tremendously. In fact, the Chinese Communist Party even admitted that the Cultural Revolution was "responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Party, the country, and the people since the founding of the People's Republic."

After the tremendous failure known as The Great Leap Forward, Mao's leadership was less radical. But still wanted China and its people to be more conforming, so he started the Cultural Revolution.

How did Mao Zedong come to power?

Mao Zedong and his Communist Party came to power after they won the Chinese Civil War (the third, and most important part of which lasted from 1945 to 1949) which was fought against Chiang Kai Shek and his nationalist party. Because Mao was the head of the Chinese Communist Party, it is only natural that he took power in China.