LIFE IN MAO’S CHINAHumanities10Bianca Siregar

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

By analyzing 2 reforms implemented by Mao, explain the affect Mao’s rule had on the lives of

Chinese people, 1949-76.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

INTRODUCTIONMao Zedong declared the People’s Republic of China in October 1949 in the Gate of Heavenly Place in Beijing. From that moment China, has become the world’s second communist state following the Uni-Soviet. China now has become the most developing countries in the whole world. It has also become the fastest growing economy. Every country of the world is now using the product that was made in China, and it’s really affecting the world in all aspects from economy to its society. I have chosen my two focuses in this assessment, which are the Marriage Law (1950) and the Cultural Revolution in 1966. I think these two topics were giving a lot of change in the citizen’s life; the marriage law brings out positive changes in the cultural and social moral that affecting the families and society. And the Cultural Revolution has changed of how people think about the system of their country and how they work to serve the country itself.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

WHAT IS MARRIAGE LAW 1950?

The year 1950 was a time when a traditional Marriage was gradually released and translated to into the modern one. Before the changes, Divorce was an easy thing to get. The sale of women, the selling of bride into prostitution and the killing of unwanted female babies were all happened all over in the country. The moral and social level was in the low level.

Man, as the leader of the family was the one who took out and handle about everything. On that point they could do the polygamy without any punishment . There was none of the law which controlling those kind of activities . The government of China that time wasn’t aware enough into its aspect.

The 1950 law aimed at correcting many of the practices of the previous feudal society. It prohibited child betrothal and interference with the remarriage of widows and emphasized free choice of partners, monogamy, equal rights of both sexes, respect for the old, and care of the young woman.

The rule "All marriages are to be based on the free consent of men and women.” After the marriage law was changed the citizen’s of China, brought out into the good-condition happy family. All the moral , cultural, and ethics was implied and made good impacts for the family’s life.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

EFFECT ON MARRIAGE LAW 1950Positive

+ This law was abled for woman that time to get the gender equality with men

+ There is age

+ Even if the couples were reaching into the divorce level, there will be a property ownership for both woman and men

+ Democratic marriage was achieved and there is right equation for both the man and woman

+ The marriages were registered at the state institutions, so if there was any problems or there’s something that should be handled like example, the government could take action to help it’s people

+ The family relations were remained stable based on the law “ Children, parents and grandparents had to live in harmonious relations and care for each other

+ Free choice of partners

+ Monogamy. Both man and woman could only have one husband and wife

Negative

- For Man ,i think they might not feel equal ,like how they used to be. Some of them might feel unfair about the new law.

- The man have to divide their property to the woman after the divorced was happened

- When marriage has come to a decision of divorce, both and woman should bring out the problem to the government or the court so it would be much complicated for them

- A man could only have one wife

- If the man was divorced to a woman, he has to keep a good family relations to his ex-wife’s family. If they already have a child, he still have to take care and divide his property and keep being responsible to his wife and child and wife

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

WHAT IS “THE GREAT CULTURAL

REVOLUTION”! After the 5 years of Great Leap Forward, Mao stepped down from the government because people of China claimed him because of the hunger and the lost life. They couldn’t trust him for taking any more action to the people, so was Mao resigned. As the replacement, Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping took off the control of the country by being the state chairman and general secretary. Mao was not happy for what was happened so he would want to take the control back. He thought that communist in China, would only run properly if he were the one who be the leader and controlling everything. However, that moment when Liu Shoqi was ruling the country, China was started to recovering in all aspects such as economics, social, and politics because Liu Shaoqi gave more freedom and openness to it’s people. In 1966, Mao decided to launch a full-scale “Cultural Revolution” to purify China of all “counter revolutionaries” and foreign influences. He wanted to change the 4 idea ; Destroy the four olds, ideas, cultures customs, habits

Mao’s quotations from the chairman Mao Zedong which known as the little red book was published and distributed to the army groups and all the youth that time. Supported by the communist Party, students and young people formed gangs called the Red guards, which filled China’s city streets with noisy demonstrations, marches, and protest. The movement was also included many attacked to Chinese Intellectuals and professionals.

That moment, there was no more education because all of the school and universities were closing down. These revolutions were bringing business and industry to a standstill and even made the city government condition remain unstable. As result, thousands of people had been killed, millions more had been beaten and terrorized. Some of them were persecuted in violent in abuses like torture and rape . In fact the Buildings, homes and other property were destroyed. After the 1950s, other national priorities took attention away from the new law. The 10 years of the Cultural Revolution were a chaotic period that led to a lessening of moral standards and a reassertion of old ideas and customs. The red army was destroying anything that are connecting with the western world. These movement were also killed at least thousands of people. Some of them were also escaping to Hong Kong.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

EFFECT ON THE GREAT CULTURAL REVOLUTION

Positive

+ People especially young adults were working together to build their own country

+ The movement made all the people using all the product from China so the economy level might be developing.

+ The culture “model revolutionary works” in opera and ballet but new emphasis on workers . Adding the senses of the national culture

+ Raising of national awareness

Negative

- No developing level of education at those years.

- The knowledge and life skill of the citizen were not in the good quality

- Young people were threaten to be the followers.

- The voice of the people weren’t listened by the government. They couldn’t give their contribution to build the country.

- People couldn’t get open and have the freedom of emerging their knowledge by being open to the world

- People couldn’t have the freedom by saying what they think and make a change of what was happened.

-The condition of the country was not safe.

-Lessening of moral standard

- Lost of families, lost Lives

-Destruction of the country and city property. Economical disadvantages.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

CONCLUSIONI think with those two changes in the country system brought up both positive and negative effect on the country as listed in the previous slide. The marriage law brought up a better system in the community of the people which was also made the condition of family in a peace. With the marriage law, Mao taught the people that they have to be respectful each one another with all of their rights . The most important thing that came up after the marriage law was the completed gender equality which has been one of the citizen’s needed from many years before.The Great Cultural Revolution has massively impacted the people of how they served they country as a part of communist county. And also at that moment, Mao isolated them from the open world that was abled them to be open minded and make some changes to the country and those situations. I think, Mao was making their lives better and worse at the same time.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011

WORK CITIED

"Cultural Revolution." Revolution #252, December 11, 2011. 29 Aug. 2004. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://rwor.org/a/1251/

communism_socialism_mao_china_facts.htm>.

"Chinese Marriage since 1950s." Chinese Culture. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://chineseculture.about.com/library/weekly/

aa112200a.htm>.

"Mao Zedong." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Wiki., Dec.-Jan. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/

Mao_Zedong>.

"New Marriage Law (1950)." Chinese Posters. 30 Sept. 2011. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://chineseposters.net/themes/marriage-

law.php>.

"New Marriage Law." Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Web. 06 Dec. 2011. <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Marriage_Law>.

Tuesday, December 6, 2011