What do you think?
Rate this book
Revolución Cultural: Una guía fascinante de la Revolución Cultural y Mao Zedong (Historia de Asia)
Two captivating manuscripts in one book:
The Cultural Revolution: A Captivating Guide to a Decade-Long Upheaval in China Unleashed by Mao Zedong to Preserve Chinese Communism
Mao Zedong: A Captivating Guide to the Life of a Chairman of the Communist Party of China, the Cultural Revolution and the Political Theory of Maoism
The Cultural Revolution, known in full as the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution,” was launched by Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Communist Party of China, as a means of quashing capitalism in China. He wanted to ensure that the desire for a communist government would remain strong in the country long after his death. Like other previous leaders who attempted to continue to rule after their death, his attempt did not work out quite the way he had planned.
Over the course of a decade, from the summer of 1966 to 1976, Mao Zedong implemented a number of changes that have led him to be known as one of the most brutal tyrants of the modern age. It is estimated that between 500,000 to two million Chinese people, although numbers can go as high as twenty million, died as a direct result of Zedong’s Cultural Revolution. It also resulted in millions of people being imprisoned, displaced, and tortured in an attempt to cement Mao Zedong’s reputation as the leader of the communist world.
Some of the topics covered in part 1 of this book include:
Mao Zedong’s Early Life, Rise to Power, and the Government Upheaval That Changed China during the First Half of the 20th Century
The Suspicion Behind the United Face
The Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward, and the Events Leading to the Cultural Revolution
fighting the Capitalism of the West
The Introduction of Revolution
The Red Guards
July 20th Incident
Border Clashes with the Communist Soviets
Lin Biao – The Successor and Opponent
Health Issues and Slipping Grip on the Revolution
The 10th Congress and the Shifting of Power
Mass Killings in China and Devastation in Northern China
End of the Cultural Revolution
Lasting Effects
And much, much more!
Some of the topics covered in part 2 of this book include:
Early Life
Political Awakenings
Beijing
May Fourth and the New Culture Movement
The Communist Party of China’s Growing Pains
The Northern Expedition
Communists at Large
The Long March
The People’s Republic of China
The Great Leap Forward
The Cultural Revolution
What Did Maoism Stand For?
And much more!
The Cultural Revolution: A Captivating Guide to a Decade-Long Upheaval in China Unleashed by Mao Zedong to Preserve Chinese Communism
Mao Zedong: A Captivating Guide to the Life of a Chairman of the Communist Party of China, the Cultural Revolution and the Political Theory of Maoism
The Cultural Revolution, known in full as the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution,” was launched by Mao Zedong, the chairman of the Communist Party of China, as a means of quashing capitalism in China. He wanted to ensure that the desire for a communist government would remain strong in the country long after his death. Like other previous leaders who attempted to continue to rule after their death, his attempt did not work out quite the way he had planned.
Over the course of a decade, from the summer of 1966 to 1976, Mao Zedong implemented a number of changes that have led him to be known as one of the most brutal tyrants of the modern age. It is estimated that between 500,000 to two million Chinese people, although numbers can go as high as twenty million, died as a direct result of Zedong’s Cultural Revolution. It also resulted in millions of people being imprisoned, displaced, and tortured in an attempt to cement Mao Zedong’s reputation as the leader of the communist world.
Some of the topics covered in part 1 of this book include:
Mao Zedong’s Early Life, Rise to Power, and the Government Upheaval That Changed China during the First Half of the 20th Century
The Suspicion Behind the United Face
The Five-Year Plan, the Great Leap Forward, and the Events Leading to the Cultural Revolution
fighting the Capitalism of the West
The Introduction of Revolution
The Red Guards
July 20th Incident
Border Clashes with the Communist Soviets
Lin Biao – The Successor and Opponent
Health Issues and Slipping Grip on the Revolution
The 10th Congress and the Shifting of Power
Mass Killings in China and Devastation in Northern China
End of the Cultural Revolution
Lasting Effects
And much, much more!
Some of the topics covered in part 2 of this book include:
Early Life
Political Awakenings
Beijing
May Fourth and the New Culture Movement
The Communist Party of China’s Growing Pains
The Northern Expedition
Communists at Large
The Long March
The People’s Republic of China
The Great Leap Forward
The Cultural Revolution
What Did Maoism Stand For?
And much more!
- GenresHistory
204 pages, Paperback
First published March 18, 2020
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
October 10, 2021
excellent overview pointing to additional details if greater depth is desired
June 5, 2021
Oh Really,
I suspect a lot of these "Captivating Guides' are refurbished doctoral dissertations. They range from mediocre to pretty good. This one is somewhere in the middle. I do have a problem with this one. After the author told of the millions who died from starvation in Mao's famines (didn't get into the political imprisonment and executions.) s/he went on a long moral equivalency screed about McCarthyism ln the US. I'm pretty familiar with that period and there were no fatalities.
I suspect a lot of these "Captivating Guides' are refurbished doctoral dissertations. They range from mediocre to pretty good. This one is somewhere in the middle. I do have a problem with this one. After the author told of the millions who died from starvation in Mao's famines (didn't get into the political imprisonment and executions.) s/he went on a long moral equivalency screed about McCarthyism ln the US. I'm pretty familiar with that period and there were no fatalities.
April 23, 2020
This book is in two parts: (1) The Cultural Revolution, instituted by Chairman Mao, and (2) the story of Mao Zedong, the man who brought communism to China. Because the Chinese don't seem to value individual life, various numbers are given for the death counts exacted by Mao and the communists over the years of his rule (essentially from 1949 until 1976).
In the first section, the author stuns the reader with the information that the Cultural Revolution, instituted to keep China communist, was the reason that between 1/2 million and 2 million Chinese people died (in only 10 years, between 1966 and 1976).
Over the years, I've read about many countries trying to modernize and bring their country into the Industrial Revolution, or whatever. When the leaders try to do it in a short period of time, the results are often traumatic. Looking at the starving associated with the Great Leap Forward and the horrors for the poorest of the citizens during the Great Famine, it is obvious that Mao wasn't a leader with an understanding of what he was doing or compassion for his citizens. Mao was anti-intelligence and learning.
Learning about Mao's personal habits was a shock. Mao was undisciplined in taking care of his health and didn't consult with physicians about his venereal disease(s). The best fact in the book, however, was telling the average life expectancy in China (at the time) to be 44 years! This was while Mao was 70+ and trying to keep hold of his leadership role.
The second section really zeroes in on Mao's character and inspirations. After reading about the turbulent history of China with foreign countries, Mao decided to shape himself into the "hero that China needed, ready to undo the humiliations inflicted by foreign powers and the injustices wrought by its long line of corrupt monarchs, court officials, feudal lords, oligarchs, and military leaders." (p. 134)
Before you get too excited about Mao's expertise in turning his country around from an agrarian society to an industrial arms-making country, please note. Because of Mao's grandiose plan to become a military superpower, an estimated 45 million starved to death during the (years 1958 - 1961) in the Great Famine (compare that with the following fact: In all the major wars from 1900 to 1987, there were 34 million deaths). (p. 123)
The first book of this set was very interesting; I would rate it 5 stars. However, the second part of this book was too much uninteresting information (it expanded on the first book, in many ways). I barely made it through that part. I would rate it 3 stars. Thus, the overall rating would be 4 stars. I hesitate to downgrade such a scholarly and well-explained story (22 pages of primary and secondary sources), but Mao was a fairly loathsome character who looked down on his citizens and did exactly what his dynasty-forefathers did (expansive, multiple homes, numerous lovers and courtesans, lavish meals, etc.).
In the first section, the author stuns the reader with the information that the Cultural Revolution, instituted to keep China communist, was the reason that between 1/2 million and 2 million Chinese people died (in only 10 years, between 1966 and 1976).
Over the years, I've read about many countries trying to modernize and bring their country into the Industrial Revolution, or whatever. When the leaders try to do it in a short period of time, the results are often traumatic. Looking at the starving associated with the Great Leap Forward and the horrors for the poorest of the citizens during the Great Famine, it is obvious that Mao wasn't a leader with an understanding of what he was doing or compassion for his citizens. Mao was anti-intelligence and learning.
Learning about Mao's personal habits was a shock. Mao was undisciplined in taking care of his health and didn't consult with physicians about his venereal disease(s). The best fact in the book, however, was telling the average life expectancy in China (at the time) to be 44 years! This was while Mao was 70+ and trying to keep hold of his leadership role.
The second section really zeroes in on Mao's character and inspirations. After reading about the turbulent history of China with foreign countries, Mao decided to shape himself into the "hero that China needed, ready to undo the humiliations inflicted by foreign powers and the injustices wrought by its long line of corrupt monarchs, court officials, feudal lords, oligarchs, and military leaders." (p. 134)
Before you get too excited about Mao's expertise in turning his country around from an agrarian society to an industrial arms-making country, please note. Because of Mao's grandiose plan to become a military superpower, an estimated 45 million starved to death during the (years 1958 - 1961) in the Great Famine (compare that with the following fact: In all the major wars from 1900 to 1987, there were 34 million deaths). (p. 123)
The first book of this set was very interesting; I would rate it 5 stars. However, the second part of this book was too much uninteresting information (it expanded on the first book, in many ways). I barely made it through that part. I would rate it 3 stars. Thus, the overall rating would be 4 stars. I hesitate to downgrade such a scholarly and well-explained story (22 pages of primary and secondary sources), but Mao was a fairly loathsome character who looked down on his citizens and did exactly what his dynasty-forefathers did (expansive, multiple homes, numerous lovers and courtesans, lavish meals, etc.).
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews