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March 6, 2008
Mao Through Many Lenses
Mao Through Many Lenses
Mao Zedong is probably the most famous communist leader of China. Mao had a profound influence on China's economic and political development and you need to understand him to understand China today. We will explore Mao's legacy by looking at a number of different resources on the Internet.
Mao's Economic Legacy
1. Read the portion of the BBC article that deals with Mao's economic policies (scroll down to find this section). Also, look at the graph at the start of the article. What does this graph say about economic progress during Mao's rule?
2. Read about one of Mao's most infamous economic policies, the Great Leap Forward.
3. Read about the philosophy related to work and compensation in China.
4. Use all of this information to answer the economics questions on the sheet that you downloaded.
The Cultural Revolution
1. Read this BBC description of the Cultural Revolution, it will give you a sense of the purpose and magnitude of the Cultural Revolution.
2. Read about the Red Guard. These militants helped to carry out the Cultural Revolution. What is the Red Guard's relationship to equality?
3. Scroll down once you click on this link. Click on the link called "Ask Chairman Mao for the Answers." What is Mao trying to accomplish by having millions of people read this book?
4. Click on this link and scroll down to where it says, "English Lessons: A Picture of Chairman Mao and A Black Boy in America." What is Mao trying accomplish with this type of lesson? Again, how does this relate to equality?
5. Click on this link and then click on the link called "A Song-And-Dance Epic." Watch a few clips from this musical. What is Mao trying to accomplish with this type of propaganda?
6. Lastly, click on this link and click on the Propaganda Posters link on the left hand side. Then click on the Cultural Revolution Posters link. Scroll through the posters and use the information on the posters to answer the questions.
Posted by kmurr at March 6, 2008 10:42 AM