Family under Mao Flashcards
How was family rooted in Confucian culture?
Through the San Gang:
One of which was the loyalty of child to parent.
How did Mao aim to destroy the traditional family?
Collectivisation would physically destroy the family structure as well as removing the economic ties, and prohibiting ancestor worship was an assault on religion along with the deep emotional relationships that brought family together.
Even couples were separated to different quarters, only allowed to see each other for conjugal visits.
The support network of the extended family was taken over by the state, and Mao and the CCP took over the role of parents.
How did the famine destroy the family?
Parents were no longer able to provide for children, often having to make decisions to let some die so the others would survive. Many wives were sold, and later in the 1960s did not want to return to old families.
Children were often sold into slavery, and others were just abandoned in the streets, both male and female.
