Mao's Children in the New China: Voices from the Red Guard Generation, Author: Jiang and Ashley - Essay Example

China has yet to fully recover from this, as an entire generation of its people had their lives interrupted by this regime’s policies. The Cultural Revolution created a lost generation of Chinese people because it put a halt to much of the progress that the country could have made over that time period. This revolution was meant to benefit the working class, but it did so at the expense of the educated people in society. Those who joined the Red Guard were moved to Beijing and had all of their expenses paid for by the government.

The authority of the Red Guard superseded the power of the police departments and the army, which gave these people almost totalitarian authority. Since the members of the Red Guard were peasants, the ideals that were present in society changed as well. Things that were formerly of cultural importance, such as the arts and historical artifacts, were looked down upon under this new regime led by Mao. This led to many things from the history of the country being destroyed, since Mao wished to forget the past and create a new identity for China.

People were encouraged to question authority and their parents, which is something that was never present in Chinese culture in previous generations. What this did, however, was eliminate much of the country’s history by claiming that it was all part of the old way of thinking. Religion was included in this, as Mao would persecute those with religious beliefs. This also changed this generation of people, as they grew up believing that religion was wrong. One of the major things that occurred in China during this time period was the halt that was put to education in the country.

All of a sudden, education was no longer a priority and intellectuals were sent to work in rural areas, rather than being allowed to pursue high paying jobs within the country. Those who were seen as being superior to the