Mao Zedong:
Reign of Death
Historical Lenses and History’s Value
Historical Lenses & History's Value
History is not always viewed with a narrow scope. Depending on the lens used, viewpoints about a subject can be swayed. It’s important to look at a subject through multiple lenses so that you can truly understand an event. Understanding history is important. Knowing the who and where is the easy part. Understanding the why, is what makes us want to look at the world differently and understand how to change it for the better.
Mao Zedong
My Topic
To the Chinese people, he was a hero and inspiration. To the outside world, a cold ruthless dictator who caused the death of millions of Chinese citizens. Is he the villain or the hero?
Historical Lenses
Three Historical Lenses
Economic
Social
Political
Social Lens
The social lens focuses on people. How they interacted with each other, who they were, their ideas, and their perception of the world.
Social
- Mao was viewed as a savior to his people. As leader of the People’s Republic of China, Mao used mind tactics to keep the Chinese people in a cloud of admiration of him. Using current events taking place during the height of WWII and using the strong dislike the Chinese people had for the Japanese, Mao was able to call out the patriotism of his people. Strong propaganda was used to convince the Chinese people that by going against his viewpoints, they lacked patriotism and pride for China (Morning Sun, 2003).
- Despite Mao’s death in 1976, and the deaths of millions of Chinese people, Mao’s legacy is still celebrated, even today. The propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party continues. President Xi Jinping continues to remind the citizens of China of Mao. When they are reminding of Mao’s “greatness”, they will be less inclined to fight the current administration’s efforts to follow in Mao’s footsteps, children are told of his triumphs. President Xi Jinping visited Mao’s burial site in 2019 to pay his respects (Asian News International, 2019). This political theater was broadcast to the entire country, propaganda like this, aimed at China’s youth, is why Mao’s legacy will be one of “greatness” not death.
Economic Lens
The economic lens focus on what has been called the root of all evil, money. It looks at the financial aspects of an event in time.
Economic
- While it cost the lives of millions of people, this push in production may be the reason China is at the forefront of production today. Many widely used products in the United States are made in China.
- After WWII, Mao began his push to bring China to the forefront of industrialization. He encouraged his people to abandon traditional farming in favor of smithing leading to a great famine. This famine led to the starvation and death of an estimated 45 million people (Slavicek, 2013).
Political
The political lens highlights the relationship between a leader and their people. What laws are established. The ins and outs of how policy affects people during a historical event.
- With a group of like-minded individuals, Mao helped form the Communist Chinese Party in 1921 (Slavicek, 2013). To gain support for a revolution against the current regime, Mao Zedong used an emotional appeal to the lower classes of China, calling out the corruption in the military and promising a brighter future under the rule of the newly formed Chinese Communist Party (McCord, 2018).
Political
- Once in power, Mao pressed his policies into overdrive.The starvation of the Chinese people during Mao Zedong’s “Great Push Forward” was not the final pain they would endure. Mao also insisted what he referred to as a “Cultural Revolution”. His goal was to transform the Chinese culture into a complete communist culture. Any attempts to speak out against these policies were silenced by the Red Army, Mao’s radical followers. Out criers were sent to work in labor camps until their death, most often by starvation or exhaustion (Slavicek, 2013)
Historical Narrative
Mao's vision was to push China into the modern age and industrialize the nation. Later, his goal was to transform the Chinese culture into a complete communist culture. Depending on what lens you focus through, you can see Mao Zedong's reign through different viewpoints. From an economical lens, his reign paved the way for China to be the leader in production in the 21st century. From a social lens, through the propaganda aimed at his people and the subsequent indoctrination of children, even after his death, Mao is still seen as a hero to the Chinese people. From a political lens, President Xi Jinping, the current leader of the People's Republic of China, is eerily similar to that of his predecessor. His policies echo of Mao's influence, some of which have led to multiple protests and the subsequent imprisonment of protesters.
Historical Narrative
Conclusions
- Despite Mao’s death in 1976, and the deaths of millions of Chinese people, Mao’s legacy is still celebrated, even today. The propaganda by the Chinese Communist Party continues. President Xi Jinping continues to remind the citizens of China of Mao. When they are reminding of Mao’s “greatness”, they will be less inclined to fight the current administration’s efforts to follow in Mao’s footsteps. From an early age they learn of a man who turned China into a glorious empire. They don't hear of the millions who starved to death, the ones who were worked until exhaustion killed them. They are told a different story. This is why Mao is still honored and loved. A story can change based on who is telling it. This is why the Chinese people are headed in a dangerous direction. A direction that can only lead to suffering and death.
Our Lives
- As Americans, I feel that we live with a belief that we are immune to propaganda. There is a belief that it is easily recognized and therefore ineffective. But the truth is quite the opposite.
Our Lives
- Universal Helthcare. Just the idea can send some Americans into a rage. There is a fear of long wait times, poor medical care, higher taxes, etc. Despite evidence that our lives would only imporve, Americans resist. This is due to propaganda. My topic in this course was Mao Zedong. He produced propaganda that convinced an entire starving population that all was okay and to just work a little harder, millions died. Medicine is a multibillion-dollar industry. We may have fall victim to the same type of manipulation the Chinese people experienced, just a different topic and a little less deadly.
Does History Repeat Itself?
Does History Repeat Itself
Does History Repeat Itself? (My Opinion)
My Opinion
I believe that history does repeat itself. When you are ignorant of the past, you will make the same mistakes. Throughout the course I studied Mao Zedong. In doing so I learned of the current leader, Xi Jinping. Like Mao, he uses propaganda, controls the media, and those who stand up against him and his policies are sent to prison. He is a prime example of history repeating itself.
Does History Repeat Itself? (Evidence From the Course)
Evidence From the Course
In this course we learned of the difference between history and heritage. Heritage is a community ideal. It highlights the good while ignoring the difficult parts of the past. History gives the raw facts. Most people tend to confuse the two. When this happens, the bad parts of history are forgotten, and repeated.
Are Citizens Obligated to Know History?
Are Citizens Obligated to Know History?
I was raised to believe in doing your civic duty. Whether that was voting or sitting on a jury. When we vote, there's more involved than just choosing the president. Often we can be voting on local and state laws. Knowing and understanding history is important. Knowing the history of laws, why they were introduced, what happened after they passed, helps us make better decisions about our current laws and who we want to represent us as a country. Our country is currently in a downward spiral. It's almost reminiscent of the civil was. Neighbor against neighbor. Brother against brother. Only now, people are focused on your political party. Are you red or are you blue. They lose sight of what is going on outside of that. People are less likely to research a political candidates political platform and more concerned with what letter they choose. R or D. If citizens were to concentrate more of what they are voting for, and less on the alphabet, we could rise above our differences and move into the future.