Unit 4: Why did the communists attempt to change Chinese culture? Flashcards
Why did the Communists attempt to change Chinese culture?
To establish a new proletarian culture to ensure the revolution’s survival.
What was agitation propaganda?
Where touring groups would visit rural areas in China to showcase plays where the common message would be how the good (peasants and workers) triumphed over evil (landlords) to influence public opinion.
How was Tiananmen Square remodelled?
It was extended to accommodate over 500,000 people.
With no trees or benches to get in the way of people attending rallies.
What were the Ten Great Buildings?
Buildings designed to showcase the new China for the 10th anniversary celebrations in 1959 that were constructed in 1958-59.
What are three examples of the Ten Great Buildings?
The Great Wall of the People
Beijing Railway Station
Workers Stadium
What is the Land Reform of 1950?
Aimed to get rid of Confucian culture.
The power of the landlords broken and peasant interests safeguarded by the state.
What was the role of Jiang Qing?
In the Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG)
To help Mao remove and destroy Chinese culture.
Imposed censorship on theatre performances for evidence of revisionist content.
In opera, removed feudal characters and replaced them with heroic revolutionary peasants.
What did Jiang refer to herself as after Mao’s death?
Chairman Mao’s dog - ‘whoever he asked me to bite, I bit’
Where were unwilling creative artists sent?
Re-education labour camps
What was the main result of Jiang’s control?
To completely stifle creativity.
How many operas did Jiang commission?
Eight opera ballets, which symbolised the triumph of heroic workers over their class oppressors.
What happened to paintings?
Peasant women were trained by the party to produce wall paintings promoting the Great Leap Forward.
During the Cultural Revolution, ex-professional artists were sent to coach them further to demonstrate that proletarian art
