PeLin - MoLi’s daughter

MoLi’s daughter, PeLin, works as an archaeologist in XiAn where she meets and marries the German archaeologist Leonhard König. She is a strong minded young woman who has ideals and hopes for her country. She publishes articles criticising many of China’s main newspapers which lead to her execution by the Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution.
PeLin’s tragic death once again brings her family in great danger. MoLi risks her life helping PeLin’s daughter and her sister escape China. The two of them arrive safely in Hong Kong but MoLi is jailed...(read more)

The Cultural Revolution from - discovering China, projects by students for students

The Cultural Revolution (CR, abbreviation), it might sound unfamiliar for most people. It broke out more than thirty years ago in China, and few people know what the CR meant and why it happened. What can be said for sure is that it made a big impact on almost all people in China including young students and it had impact even on a lot of people in the world.
This section lets you learn the some aspects of the CR such as its history and impact. I tried research as reflective as I could. I hope it will bring you a opportunity to think about what is the CR.

History
TheCulturalRevolution
The CR started in Oct, 1966 and ended in Oct, 1976. Indeed, The CR was threatening China for ten years. In the beginning, destructive groups such as Red Guards and The CR Authority grasped the power, and China drove into the severe confusion. But passing the time, the people got to doubt the CR. And finally, ten-year tragedy came to an end in 1976.

Background
Although the CR involved a lot of the people, noone knows the definite cause of the CR. There are a lot of background behind the CR. That was concerned with not only China but also the world. And they were involving each other complexly. Here, you can know a part of background of the CR.

Impact
TheCulturalRevolution
The CR had a great impact on a lot of the peole and each field like economy. Especially, a great number of students were used as Red Guards, and they lost their own time. And the CR had impact on the other countries.

The Aftermath
In the early of 1980s, the CR was formally considered as wrong and Gang of Four was judged on trial. During the CR, the number of the people who were persecuted to death were uncountable, and the damage on the mind of the Chinese is beyond words. We have to face the past and think of what is needed for future so as not to cause such a tragedy.

The Victims of the Cultural Revolution

Wang Guangmai
She was beated by Red Guards, being pointed out her past experience of going abroad.
The Cultural Revolution ran from 1966 to 1976, a period of ten years. During the years, the number of the people labeled unjustly and persecuted were literally uncountable. Over four hundred thousand people were relocated to the countryside for hard labor. In Beijing for example, 8,500 people were exiled to their legal address on the family registry, 1,700 people were killed, and more than 30,000 households were raided. From 1967 to 1972, it was said that over 500 officers were killed, and countless others driven to death by means of torture or left in a state of insanity.

Liu Shoqi

Liu Shoqi is a perfect example of a leader misunderstood and misrepresented by the Cultural Revolution. He assumed the role of Vice-chairman in 1949, but because he criticized the Great Leap Forward, Mao criticized him for this throughout the 60's. In October 1966, he was regarded as a "Reactionary bourgeoisie Authority".

In May 1967, the criticism campaign targeted him for his supposed ill thoughts. In October 1968, Jiang's group adopted a decision that "Liu should be exiled from the party forever and all his duties be relieved." Liu, who had already been suffering from a severe sickness, was worsened by this news. From this time, he refused to answer any interrogations, showing mute protest.

In November 1969, he died a wrongfully accused man, simply because he opposed one of Mao's policies. Wang Guangmai, his wife was also persecuted by the criticize campaign. Her visit for Indonesia with Liu was criticized as "unorthodox". In September 1967, Wang was arrested and imprisoned formally. With Jiang's watchful leadership of Kang Sheng, the special group to investigate Wang, they forced her to confess to various crimes like being a spy of the United States and performing special tasks for Japan and the National Party. Persecuted cruelly, her mother was also killed in prison.

After twelve years in confinement, she recovered her honor in 1979 after with of the Gang of Four. Many people during this time also had their honor restored to them, after it was discovered how the Gang of Four had manipulated and fabricated the truth.

The Field of Literature

The field of literature also suffered under the maze of the Cultural Revolution. In the field of literature, about 2,600 people suffered persecutions for having in their possession, or distributing censored material. A famous writer by the name of Lao She was one such victim. He was forced to undergo brainwashing, and went to Beijing on October 23, 1968. In the afternoon on the first day he arrived, Red Guards brought him in with other literary scholars. He was forced to watch books burn, as well as the Beijing Opera. There he was beaten and threatened throughout the day. He killed himself the following day on 24, August 1968. This is just one example of how terrible events effected people both educated and uneducated throughout the country. It was certainly a terrible time for every Chinese person.

Red Guads redguard

A lot of students marched along cities as red guards, shouting out their slogans.

And lets not forget the Red Guards. The Red Guards committed a lot of crime using violence. But because they believed Mao and followed his instruction, they themselves were victims of oppression. They had no real choice about it, either they followed orders, or they faced harsh punishments. The Red Guards were usually young students, therefor they could be easily molded and manipulated into thinking whatever Mao wanted them to. Mao and his regime often used many brainwashing tactics especially in the prisons. In the prisons, Mao's ideas were given to each prisoner on a regular basis to make their thinking more "correct".

The Pain of the Cultural Revolution

However, the Cultural Revolution, no matter how many people it effected, should never have taken place. It separated brother against brother and made each other divided, gouging the hearts of man, and making them violent and intolerant toward one another. In that sense, the pain of the Cultural Revolution cannot be recovered easily, and still now a lot of people agonize over this period of history. One can never replace a lifetime of memories or terrible experiences, but one can move on and learn from these experiences. As many people suffered and died during this time, it becomes a lesson to everyone to cherish and respect life while one has it. Reference
"Encyclopedia of the Cultural Revolution." Doglin Chen. (China Book)
"Brief History of the Cultural Revolution" Xi XuanEJin Chunfsming translated by Gorou Kisida and the others (Chuou Koron-sha)