With a recorded history of nearly four thousand years, Chinese civilization is one of the oldest and until modern times its development had been highly indigenous, due in part to the independent spirit of the Chinese people and China's isolation from the other great civilizations. Yet with the beginning of the so-called "Age of Discovery," being the time in which China was visited by European explorers in t

Second, although the Cultural Revolution began in 1965, its genesis can be traced back to 1959 when certain outspoken leaders spoke publicly against the policies of Mao Tse-tung. After being dismissed from the party, these outspoken leaders went on to become cultural icons and were often quoted by party intellectuals, writers, artists and playwrights. Third, the failure of particular policies set up by Mao Tse-tung helped to tarnish his image which after his death in 1976 was formally rebuilt through propaganda and deification. Since 1964, many efforts have been made "to place Mao above Karl Marx, Engels, Lenin and Stalin as the only one who creatively developed Marxism to new peaks" (Chang 68).

some of the ideals and values contained in Mao's "Little Red Book," "the future Bible of Chinese youth, the talisman and touchstone of Mao's personality cult" (Lee 256) are still extant in today's China.

As Gordon Thomas sees it, when Mao Tse-tung "launched the Cultural Revolution, he mobilized the youth of China by showing them that each one was an important and vital link in the chain of command known as Communism and thereby set up certain cultural values that are still practiced by Chinese youth today" (157). Thus,

he 16th century, the country began to shift from an ancient state into one of the most modern nations on earth.

In addition, Mao also remarked that Chinese values must be determined by "each person (following) his own truth and thus act in accordance with it instead of blindly following other people's definitions of right and wrong" (Chang 218). To these traditional Chinese notions, Mao joined a select group of Chinese leaders that were just beginning to realize the potential behind certain Western concepts based on individual values and ideals. For example, Mao stated that "There is no higher value than that of the individual" which is then increased by "the truly great person (who) expands upon the best and creates for all society a theme that sets the course for cultural values and excellence" (Chang 221).

Earlier in his life, Mao Tse-tung had noticed that Chinese culture was quite backward and understood that special talents and values would be needed to overcome this trait. According to Mao, the Chinese, "over five thousand years of history, (has) accumulated many undesirable traits, customs and values which cannot be removed or purged without enormous effort and dedication" (Chang 216).

Each of these steps in China's transformation was truly a great struggle which "in the final analysis represented an intellectual and cultural decision as to what extent old China had to be jettisoned in order to make room for. . . Western elements" (Lee 56). However, the Chinese reluctance to yield to change has often been used as proof of China's backwardness, lack of initiative and the inability to invent and respond creatively to the challenges of the time.

However, when Mao speaks of individualism, he is not referring to the Western viewpoint; in essence, Mao was attempting to show that in order for solidarity to exist, every person must join the majority or else be seen as an outsider or, even worse, a supporter of democratic ideals. The suggestion that "each person must follow his own truth" instead of adhering to

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Approximate Word count = 2198
Approximate Pages = 9 (250 words per page double spaced)