Leslie Cliburn

Dr. Howard
His395
Paper 4- Question 1
November 10, 2016
Chinas Cultural Revolution: New Relationships
The Cultural Revolution in China affected many relationships in every aspect of life.

Some relationships during this revolution were destroyed as within families while others were

created based on the Communist Party affiliations. These relationships were effected primarily

due to the fact that being associated with the Communist Party was ones main duty. Heng

elaborates on this when he said There was no room for a personal life outside the one assigned

to you by the Party, and the Partys values had to govern your private life or you would be

punished like Uncle Yan and Mother.1

Liang Hengs early childhood life is a great example on how the Cultural Revolution destroyed

relationships within the family. As a child Heng rarely saw his parents because of their

Communist Party affiliation. His dad would stay away for months at a time working with the

newspaper while his mom only came home on Sundays to attend meetings which illustrates how

the party came before the family.2 Hengs relationships with his family was later effected to a

harsher degree when his mom was accused of being a Rightest. The Communist Party had

launched the Hundred Flowers Movement which in essence was a trap to catch those who had

ideals that differed from the Communist Party platform. After Hengs mom listed her opinions

which were deemed as criticisms to the party she was coined as a Rightest and forced to move

1 Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro, Son of the Revolution (New York: Random House,
1983), 29.

2 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 4.

to a suburb of Yuan Jia Ling for labor reform.3 At first Heng and his sisters were heart-broken

and upset that their mother had been removed from their home. She would visit them once a

month and each time she left Heng and his sisters cried and longed to go away with her.4 Even

though they were saddened over the loss of their mother these feelings of sadness would not last

long as the love for the Communist Party would prevail. Heng explains this when he said The

Party had made us strangers to the woman who loved us more than anyone else in the world. It

didnt make sense, but it was reality.5 Furthermore, Hengs sister showed how she favored the

Communist Party over family when she stated that she wanted the Party to be here true father

and mother, because only then could she become a true Revolutionary and work for the glory of

Socialism.6 These examples show that party affiliation during the Cultural Revolution was more

important that individual family relationships. Relationships among family members were

literally torn apart and families showed their love for country and party over each other.

Although family relationships were torn apart during Chinas Cultural Revolution, some

relationships were built. Heng was able to form new relationships during his early childhood

with the peasants because of the Cultural Revolution. After learning about Chiang Kai-shek and

his plans to launch an attack on mainland China, Hengs family was forced to flee to the

countryside temporarily.7 Heng explains how he enjoyed living with the peasants in the country

because they were able to be children and run around playing without a worry in the world. Heng

3 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 8-9.

4 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 14.

5 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 29.

6 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 38.

7 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 19.

makes not of how work was not even really work because he considered it as play time.8 At

nighttime the children did not read or complete homework so they would use their imagination

and pretend they were ghosts. Heng mentions how the peasant children were good at scaring him

during the night with their ghost-like tactics.9 Overall, Heng enjoyed his stay in the country and

he certainly made new relationships with family members who he did not have much connection

with due to the fact he lived in the city while they lived in the country. He also forged new

relationships with the peasant children that would have never happened if Heng and his family

had not moved to the country. Another relationship that was formed during the Cultural

Revolution was the relationships established through classmates. Red Guard units were created

to help protect the party leaders. These Red Guard units were popular among college and middle-

school students.10 These students formed relationships based on the fact they wanted to help the

Communist Party and wanted to get rid of the capitalists. The Red Guard units also formed a

bond based on the fact they wanted to criticize the Four Olds which were: old thought, old

customs, old culture, and old morals.11 Hengs sister belonged to the Red Guard and the

explained the way these units worked together was by searching peoples houses of any material

that may be against Communism and they also destroyed old poetry in the temples.12 The

Cultural Revolution in essence created new relationships based on having a party affiliation with

the Communist Party.

8 Heng, Song of the Revolution, 23.

9 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 25.

10 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 66.

11 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 68.

12 Heng, Son of the Revolution, 70.

In conclusion, the Cultural Revolution in China both ended family relationships while creating

new relationships. It is safe to say all of these relationships were destroyed or created based on

the love for the Communist Party. This was all supportive of creating a socialist society because

socialism involves a strong connection between the communities. Everyone in China who

supported Mao and the Communist Party needed to be on board for socialism to work properly.

With that being said, some relationships had to be destroyed in order for socialism to progress or

otherwise the end result would have been continuous war between the Communists and

Capitalists. The Communist Party ultimately succeeded in doing its job and goal of creating a

socialist country in China.

 Works Cited

Liang Heng and Judith Shapiro, Son of the Revolution (New York: Random House, 1983).