Isolated from its neighbours by the vast windswept deserts of central Asia and the mighty Tibetan plateaus to the west, by the Jungles of the south, and by the Pacific Ocean to the east, China developed a civilization and cultural tradition independent from the rest of the world, even though it accepted many inventions and ideas created elsewhere. Because of this isolated evolution, the social institutions with which Chinese society are built upon are unique. Included amongst this uniqueness is the development of a code of morality called Confucianism. Confucius believed that both the world and its people were essentially moral, and that it was the duty of superior minds to train themselves in benevolence or humanity (ren) and then to extend this out to all people. Confucianism encouraged the submission of younger generations to their elders, of women to their men, and of all to the ruler of the state. The leader of ancient China, the King, was considered to be personally responsible for the welfare of the world, and he operated upon a "Mandate of Heaven." Thus, this mandate offered the option of legitimate rebellion in Chinese life, if the r

Thuston, Anne F. Enemies of the People: The Ordeal of the Intellectuals in China's Great Cultural Revolution.Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1988

Schwartz, Benjamin. Chinese Communism and the Rise of Mao. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1951

Ogden, Suzanne. China's Unresolved Issues: Politics, Development and Culture. New Jersey: Simon and Schuster Co., 1992

In April 1959 Mao, who bore the chief responsibility for the Great Leap Forward fiasco, stepped down from his position as chairman of the People's Republic. The National People's Congress elected Liu Shaoqi as Mao's successor, though Mao remained chairman of the CCP. Moreover, Mao's Great Leap Forward policy came under open criticism at a party conference at Lushan, Jiangxi Province during what was called the era of "100 hundred flowers." This was to be a period of time in which 100 flowers of thought were to be allowed to bloom, and intellectuals could openly criticize the CCP's policies. One of the most vicious attacks upon Maoist policy was led by Minister of National Defense Peng Dehuai, who had become troubled by the potentially adverse effect that Mao's policies would have on the modernization of the armed forces. Peng argued that "putting politics in command" was no substitute for economic laws and realistic economic policy; unnamed party leaders were also admonished for trying to "jump into communism in one step." After the Lushan showdown, Peng Dehuai, was deposed. Peng was replaced by Lin Biao, a radical and opportunistic Maoist. .

Jinmen and Mazu. This was accompanied by an aggressive propaganda assault on the United States and a declaration of the Communist's intent to "liberate" Taiwan. Chinese control over Xizang had been reasserted in 1950. The socialist revolution that took place thereafter increasingly became a process of oppression for the Tibetans. Tension culminated in a revolt in 1958-59 and the flight to India by the Dalai Lama, the Tibetans' spiritual and temporal leader. Relations with India, where sympathy for the rebels was aroused, deteriorated as thousands of Tibetan refugees crossed the Indian border. There were several border incidents in 1959, and a brief Sino-Indian border war erupted in October 1962 as China laid claim to Aksai Chin, nearly 103,600 square kilometres of territory that India regarded as its own. The Soviet Union gave India its moral support in the dispute, thus contributing to the growing tension between Beijing and Moscow.

The activist phase of the Cultural Revolution, considered to be the first in a series of cultural revolutions, was formally brought to an end in April 1969. This end was formally signalled at the CCP's Ninth National Party Congress, which convened under the dominance of the Maoist group. Mao was confirmed as the supreme leader. Lin Biao was promoted to the post of CCP vice chairman and was named as Mao's successor. Others who had risen to power by means of Cultural Revolution machinations were rewarded with positions on the Polit Bureau; a significant number of military commanders were appointed to the Central Committee. Despite this formal cessation, historians refer to the Cultural Revolution as a decade long experience extending all the way into 1976 and until the death of Mao Ze Dong himself.

Mao felt that he could no longer depend on the formal party organization, convinced that it had been permeated with "capitalist" and bourgeois corruptors. He turned to his minister Lin Biao and the PLA to counteract the influence of those who were allegedly "'left' in form but `right' in essence." The PLA was widely extolled as a "great school" for the training of a new generation of revolutionary fighters and leaders. Maoists also turned to middle-school students for political demonstrations on their behalf. These students, joined also by some university students, came to be known as the Red Guards . Millions of Red Guards were encouraged by the Cultural Revolution group to become

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 4782
Approximate Pages = 19 (250 words per page double spaced)