THEME 4 - Religion and Culture

Question 1

What was the purpose of culture according to Mao?

Answer 1

Mao believed culture served a clear purpose in politics. He wanted to impose new proletarian culture on China to protect the gains from the revolution. He though that artists should be ordinary people to reflect common peoples concerns.

Question 2

What is meant by the term Proletarian?

Answer 2

Non-property owning working class who sell their labour to the bourgeoisie

Question 3

What architectural projects were made to show progress in culture?

Answer 3

• Ten great buildings built
• Tiananmen square was remodelled to accommodate over 500,000 people
• This was to show communist power and set reminders of the political purpose of cultural change.

Question 4

What were the ‘Ten Great Buildings’ and why would they be significant for the PRC?

Answer 4

Ten buildings that showed the “new” China. They were all constructed in 1958-59 ready for the 10th anniversary of 1949.
Places included; Beijing’s new railway station, State hotels, guesthouses and Worker’s stadium

Question 5

Who did Mao regard as the greatest obstacle to the new culture?

Answer 5

To impose new culture, old attitudes needed to be destroyed and destroyed. Mao regarded intellectuals as the greatest obstacle to progress from Confucian culture.

Question 6

What impact did the Land Reform of 1950 have on traditional values?

Answer 6

It created a huge blow to traditional values as it encouraged the new attitudes and values. The power of landowners had bee broken so peasants now had a potential for a brighter future.

Question 7

What was the main aim of cultural policy before the Cultural Revolution?

Answer 7

Mao and the communist government wanted to undermine traditional peasant customs and discredit confucianism

Question 8

How did the collectives (and communes) help the CCP alter culture?

Answer 8

The collectives and communes gave the party more control of peasants. Communes often had political meetings where new values were enforced by watching propaganda films.

Question 9

What were the ‘Agit-prop touring groups’?

Answer 9

Short for Agitational Propaganda, Agit-Prop touring groups put on plays that showed the communist regime in a beneficial light to convince peasants of the new culture. The performances were often like pantomimes, encouraging audience participation

Question 10

Why was June 1966 a turning point for culture in China?

Answer 10

Chen Boda wrote an editorial in the People’s Daily newspaper that urged Red Guards to hunt down the agit-prop touring groups as they were seen as too priviledged and a “four old”.

Question 11

What did the Red Guards do to culture during the Cultural Revolution?

Answer 11

They hunted down the four olds. This included closing museums and libraries as well as burning books, destroying
and musical instruments and paintings.

Question 12

Who was put in charge to establish the new proletarian culture?

Answer 12

Mao’s 4th wife, Jiang Qing, was put into place to be in charge of Cultural Policy.

Question 13

What was Jiang’s role within the Cultural Revolution?

Answer 13

She ruthlessly carried out policies to “purify” Chinese Culture. She believed she had a good insight on the entertainment industry from her previous job as an actress.

Question 14

Which works were permitted during the Cultural Revolution?

Answer 14

Jiang did not permit any pieces of art or literature that did not fit her criteria. Most cultural influences were banned.
Only works related to contemporary Chinese terms were permitted. This included updating old traditional tales to more modern ones. Creative artists were often unhappy with this lack of freedom, however, many were sent to a re-education camp.

Question 15

How did Jiang Qing use the Cultural Revolution to better her political position?

Answer 15

She took advantage of her power to clear any personal vendettas against people she disliked from her job as an actress. This included other actresses and people who knew secrets of her life as an actress.

Question 16

What were the outcomes of Jiang’s control of culture

Answer 16

Cultural freedom was completely stifled with how creative it was. Jiang decided to make her own 8 opera ballets which showed revolutionary ideology that were shown instead.

Question 17

What comment did Nixon make about the culture he saw on his visit?

Answer 17

Nixon was pleasantly suprised by his viewing of the “Red Detachment of Women” ballet that he watched.
Deng, on the other hand, disliked the revolutionary culture and preferred less violent and hostile meanings. He was later purged, twice.

Question 18

What evidence is there of success in controlling culture based on the films made during this period?

Answer 18

Many of Jiang’s ballet’s were turned into movies and, although there was little choice overall, some recieved up to 7.3 billion viewings.

Question 19

How were paintings impacted during the Cultural Revolution?

Answer 19

As censorship of art grew, the quality and quantity of creative art dropped as there was a lack of freedom of expression.

Question 20

What evidence is there to suggest Jiang Qing’s attempts to create a new culture had failed by Mao’s death in
1976?

Answer 20

No proletarian body was established by the time of Mao’s death in 1976. Instead, culture had almost been eradicated as freedom of creativity was drained from literature, art and film due to Jian’s tough control over culture and media.

Question 21

What was the Communist view of religion?

Answer 21

Stated in the common program, it was stated that China would be free from religion.
Communists viewed it as device used by the bourgeoisie to give false hope of a better future.

Question 22

What did Mao believe about religious influence in China?

Answer 22

Mao particularly hated the Christian influence on China as he saw it as an attempt for the west to colonise China/

Question 23

What was the official view on religion of the CCP?

Answer 23

It was seen that religion was no longer needed as the oppressors to the working class had been removed. Religion was put under national authorities that could still allow them if they had shown loyalty to the state.

Question 24

Why was Buddhism a problem for the CCP?

Answer 24

• It had been practices in China for over 1,000 years and had deep roots in areas of China.
  -The region of Tibet had a large Buddhist population and it was much more independent that other parts of China. Mao feared they would potentially become independent or join with India. They also wanted to use Tibet as a buffer zone to the west.
• The traditional values of Buddhism, although sharing some values, conflicted Mao’s idea of mass mobilisation.

Question 25

How did the CCP deal with Buddhism?

Answer 25

The CCP wanted to crush any essence of Tibetan culture or religion. They banned practicing in public and the language was replaced by Mandarin.
The PLA supressed any demonstrations and the leaders were dragged from monasteries and beaten.

Question 26

What evidence is there of success in dealing with Buddhism?

Answer 26

• Dalai Lama fled to India.
• Tibet was particularly targeted by the famine
• Monasteries in Tibet were targeted in the Cultural Revolution
• Destroyed much of Buddhist culture and secured Tibet as a buffer zone.

Question 27

What evidence is there of failure in dealing with Buddhism?

Answer 27

There continued to be agitation from Tibet throughout the years following the initial suppression
- Buddhism remains as the most widely practiced religion in China today

Question 28

Why was Confucianism a problem for the CCP?

Answer 28

Confucianism had long been part of China’s philosophy for 2,500 years. Many of China’s intellectuals blamed the heavy reliance on Confucianism and obedience as China’s downfall.
Confucianism focused on traditional authority with family which contrasted communist ideals heavily.

Question 29

How did the CCP deal with Confucianism?

Answer 29

Communist propaganda denounced confucian ideas and associated it as one of the “four olds”.
Red Guards were encouraged to ransack Qufu, the home of Confucianism.
There was an active policy against confucianism in 1973 by Jiang Qing.

Question 30

What evidence is there of success in dealing with Confucianism?

Answer 30

As it was already criticised before communism, it was an easy target to eradicate. Many held confucianism accountable for holding back modernisation.

Question 31

What evidence is there of failure in dealing with Confucianism?

Answer 31

Some confucian values towards family were too deeply engrained into Chinese tradition to be completely removed.

Question 32

Why was Christianity a problem for the CCP?

Answer 32

Christianity had grown in popularity after catholic missionaries had come in the early 19th century. However, their ideas heavily contrasted that of communism.
- Mao did not like that they focused on a figure head such as the pope.

Question 33

How did the CCP deal with Christianity?

Answer 33

Many church buildings closed down and had their property confiscated.
New “patriotic churches” were created to allow Christianity to continue to function under Mao’s rules. They had state priests and clergymen.

Question 34

What was The Self Patriotic Movement?

Answer 34

A movement in 1953 to for churches to become “patriotic churches”. Many protestant churches joined and catholics soon followed suit.

Question 35

Why was Islam a problem for the CCP

Answer 35

Ideologically, Islam offered a set of values that went against the communist state such as gender equality
Strategically, the north westerns states of Xinjiang had high amounts of muslims. Mao was scared that they would join with the surrounding muslim countries

Question 36

How did the CCP deal with Islam?

Answer 36

Military conquests occurred to relocate many Han Chinese to the areas to try to reduce the amount of Muslims.
Many mosques were closed and Islam was put under the Chinese Islamic Association.
Muslim leaders were often humiliated in struggle sessions.

Question 37

What evidence is there of failure in dealing with Islam?

Answer 37

There was a revivial of Islam in 1976

Question 38

What evidence is there of success in dealing with Islam?

Answer 38

The Uighur Muslims continue to this day to be subject to restrictions based on their location and oil reserves on the North West Border.

Question 39

What evidence is there of success in dealing with Christianity?

Answer 39

The power of the Christian church was significantly reduced by persecution and now only exists in reduced capacity in China.

Question 40

Why was Ancestor Worship a problem for the CCP?

Answer 40

It was also deep rooted in China and showed a relationship between the living and the dead. It was a key element of Confucianism.

Question 41

How did the CCP deal with Ancestor Worship?

Answer 41

Communists condemned it as a superstition that was not acceptable. It was controlled inside the communes but was never eradicated.

Question 42

What evidence is there of failure in dealing with Ancestor Worship?

Answer 42

After Zhou Enlai’s death in 1976, there were heavy crowds in Tiananmen square that mourned his death through ancestor worship. This showed how, despite the efforts to remove it, it was still a deeply engrained part of Chinese Culture.