The Chinese Cultural Revolution had a profound and lasting impact on Chinese social and national society, on the economy, education and, above all, on politics. Its goal was to transform all aspects of China in order to eliminate tensions between certain sections of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its chairman, Mao Zedong. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay The Cultural Revolution of 1966 was ultimately an attempt by Mao Zedong to retain the power lost after his “Great Leap Forward ". Mao believed that the current communist leaders were leading China astray and implemented the Cultural Revolution as a way to reassert his power as a leading political figure over the Chinese government. Until 1966, Mao (the CCP Chairman) believed that China was moving in a more revisionist direction, focused on expertise rather than ideological purity. Mao's government position was undermined after the failure of his "Great Leap Forward" initiative (1958-1960), which led to an economic crisis. Mao then implemented the Cultural Revolution to reassert his authority within the Chinese government and rid China of capitalist influences. The Cultural Revolution caused great disruption to Chinese society. One of the major impacts has been the almost complete reversal of traditional business patterns. The insistence on "self-reliance" caused entire provinces to sever their old trade relationships, leading to an extremely limited supply of ordinary items. It was only after Mao's death that these trade relations began to be reestablished. Another devastating impact has been seen in many families and homes across China. The family unit came under attack during the revolution, with people encouraged to spy on and denounce their own family members to demonstrate their loyalty. Divorce was also encouraged if disloyalty was identified. However, family tradition was so important in Chinese society that despite the threats of revolution, it remained intact. Another impact of the Cultural Revolution on society was the bourgeois view of love and romantic relationships. This has been frowned upon by the idolization of chaste heroes in films and the suppression of sex education in Chinese schools. Despite these attempts to restrict basic social behaviors, the impositions of the Revolution were neither practical nor lasting. China's education system was almost completely destroyed following the Cultural Revolution. Some impacts included intensified ideological education, abandonment of sex education, and sending children to serve in the Cultural Revolution. However, the main impact on education has been the restriction of academic development. As Mao said: “All work in school aims to change the student's thinking.” After the Red Guards ransacked the schools, they often became bureaucratic offices. In some provinces, up to 700,000 square meters of school land had been lost before 1972. More than 27,000 higher education students had fallen to 5,000 by 1970. Teachers and students were sent to agricultural areas as means of “re-education”. » by the farmers. Most colleges have completely closed their doors. The result of this was the collapse of the education system. The Chinese Cultural Revolution completely disrupted the economy, leading to famine and millions of deaths. All representations ofTraditional practices or the “four olds” – the old customs, the old culture, the old habits and the old ideas – were banned and suppressed during the revolution. This is in addition to the disruption of traditional business patterns, as noted above. The main impact on the economy following this suppression was on traditional crafts. Artisans were sent to factories, leading to a decline in quality and production, with half or more of the products in some provinces failing to reach manufacturing standards. With production consistently falling short of target, there were huge financial losses and the threat of a complete collapse of the Chinese economy. Meanwhile, a secret “black market” economy had developed. Farmers secretly produced pork rather than grain and used part of the profits to purchase grain to meet the state's required quota. This hidden “free market” flourished and eventually resulted in a silent local revolt in rural areas. The economic instructions given to the Chinese were constantly modified and changing. Mao's Revolution had destroyed all coherence in Chinese economic policy. The overarching goal of the Cultural Revolution was political, notably the consolidation of Mao's leadership. Politics was significantly disrupted by power struggles and factional changes within the Communist Party. During the ten years of the Cultural Revolution, Mao staged deliberate attacks, or purges, against 90 percent of his own party. The denunciation of influential members such as Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping as "capitalist roadsters", despite being the most prominent leaders of the conservative faction and the greatest threat to Mao's leadership. Mao publicly denounced political criticism of his leadership, and as a result, many key political members of the CCP and the PRC fell victim to the Cultural Revolution, including Liu Shaoqi, who was removed from government positions and died in prison in 1969. and Deng Xiaoping who was removed from government positions and died in prison in 1969. sent to a re-education program until 1973. Lin Biao, considered Mao's successor, gains influence. However, his criticism of domestic and foreign policy, in addition to his association with the assassination plot against Mao, led to his disappearance from public life in 1971 and his suspicious death shortly thereafter. Additionally, the Gang of Four played a distinctive role throughout the Cultural Revolution. Their far-left political presence within the Maoist faction “cleansed” the class ranks and sought to maintain the theory of “Permanent Revolution”. They played a key role in the party purges following the decline of the Red Guard and held an influential political role throughout the Cultural Revolution until they were denounced and punished accordingly in 1981. Despite the Mao's goals, his control over the Cultural Revolution as a whole was lost. . As a result, power passed to the Red Guards and the army. As a further consequence, there was a lack of central control, causing social anarchy. Ultimately, a military dictatorship developed with Mao's power challenged by the PLA between 1968 and 1971 and members of the Left Faction grew in prominence as Mao's leadership was reduced. Keep in mind: this is just a sample. Get a personalized document now from our Mao Zedong's attempt to reconsolidate his power in the government through his Cultural Revolution had both short-lived and lasting impacts..