Cultural Revolution in China
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     After the failure of the Great Leap Forward and the split with the Soviet Union, Mao reduced his role in the government. Some other leaders began to take his role. Under the new leader, farm families could live in their own homes. They also could sell crops they grew on private spots. Factory workers could compete for wage increases, bonuses, and promotions.
      The new policies made the Communists, who believed that they weakened the Communist goal of social equality, decide to form its militia units called Red Guards to revive the revolution. Mao launched a new campaign in 1966. He urged Chinese young people to "learn revolution by making revolution." The Red Guard was mostly consisted of high school and college students who responded to Mao's call.
terms
*Red Guards
*Cultural Revolution
    The Red Guards led a major uprising known as the Cultural Revolution. The goal of it was to establish a society of peasants and workers in which all were equal. The new hero was the peasant who worked with his hands. The life of the mind--intellectual and artistic activity--was considered useless and dangerous. To help stamp out the threat, the Red Guards shut down colleges and schools.They targeted anyone who seemed to have special priviledges or who resisted the regime. Exiled intellectuals had to purify themselves by doing hard labor in remote villages. Thousands of them died in jail.
     The resulting widespread chaos closed down factories and threatened farm production. Civil war seemed possible again. The war that was fought between social Communists & the intellectuals who tried to lessen the disasters in the world.
     The turmoil brought the country itself corruption that even Mao himself admitted that the Cultural Revolution had to stop. It was too cruel to see that Chinese people killed Chinese. With Mao's approval, the army dissolved the Red Guards. Zhou Enlai, one of the founders of the Chinese Communist party and perimeter since 1949, began to restore order.
      While China was struggling to become stabler, the Cold War continued to rage in Korea and Vietnam.
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