Chinese Cultural Revolution

-- a glance at the graphic novel A Chinese Life by Li Kunwu and P. Otie

Chinese Cultural Revolution

• To secure his leadership, Chairman Mao Zedong launched the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution in 1966 to renew the spirit of revolution in China and to get rid of his opposition.
• He challenged Chinese youth to join a paramilitary group, the Red Guard, and encouraged them to attack all traditional values, denounce the bourgeois, and publicly criticize communist party leaders who opposed him.
• This socio-political movement left China in chaos and violence, with estimates of 250,000 to several millions of people dead by the time Mao died in 1976.

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Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

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By George Santayana

The following slides will give you a glimpse into the Chinese Cultural Revolution from the graphic memoir, A Chinese Life, written and illustrated by Li Kunwu. When you read each slide, write and complete three sentences with:

I see…. I think … and I wonder ….

A Chinese Life�Li Kunwu and P. Otie

• In 1966 at the age of 11, the author, Little Li, faced an unprecedented movement called the Cultural Revolution in China.
• On this page, what do you think might be in Little Li’s young mind? What questions might he have?
• What were the most important things in your life when you were 11 years old?

p.93

The Little Red Book

• What is Little Red Book? What is the significant of this book in this period?
• Why do you think millions of Chinese youth loyally executed the Cultural Revolution for Mao?
• What political conditions can encourage this kind of following? Could this happen in the US? Why or why not?

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p.94

p.95

p135

Destroy the Four Olds

• At the beginning of the Cultural Revolution, Mao issued orders for his Red Guard to destroy "The Four Olds": old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. However, the ideas, culture, customs, and habits that specifically constituted the "Four Olds" were never clearly defined.
• From these pictures, what kinds of things do you see that the movement destroyed? Research on your own and find what other things were destroyed during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
• Why do you think Mao wanted to destroy the Four Olds and cultivate the Four News?

p.127

p.127

p.128

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p.129

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Punishing the Anti-Revolutionaries

• From these pictures, who are the anti-revolutionaries that the Red Guard thought needed to be punished and re-educated? Why?
• How did the Red Guard punish these anti-revolutionaries?
• Why do you think these ordeals all happened in public and in front of large crowds?

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p.159

p.138

The Red Guard were responsible for much of the violence and abuse of the Cultural Revolution. However, what do you notice about the Red Guard members in these pictures? What was their motivation for joining the Red Guard? How did the Chinese youths, like Little Li, get swept up in the Cultural Revolution?

p.118

p.117

Chairman Mao’s death ended the Cultural Revolution

• In the picture below, Little Li expresses his feelings after Mao’s death. Why do you think he feels confused and contradictory?
• As shown in the picture on the right, the Chinese government eventually declared the Cultural Revolution a failure and later prohibited people from discussing it. Do you think it is right to prevent people from discussing it? Is there any danger in doing so?
• The Red Guard saw Mao as a great leader, but history showed that he led the country to disaster. Do you think this could happen in any other country? Does the history of the Cultural Revolution teach any lessons about following the wrong kind of leader？How can we prevent it?

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All pictures in this presentation come from the graphic novel A Chinese Life written by Li Kunwu and Philippe Otié, illustrated by Li Kunwu, and translated from the French edition by Edward Gauvin, copyright 2012 by the SelfMadeHero

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My sincere thanks to Xiao Li for sharing the story of his life with us.

Maan Broadstock