1. How far could the historian make use of sources 1 and source
2 together to investigate the main motives and consequences
of China’s Cultural Revolution? (20)
China’s Cultural Revolution was a landmark event in contemporary Chinese history which
shifted the balance of power in favour of the more radical elements in the CCP. Mao
frequently displayed his revolutionary fervour in policies and speeches to the masses, which
is highlighted in Source 1 wherein he writes to outline his support for the Red Guards of a
University. The Cultural Revolution also fundamentally affected everyday life for the average
Chinese citizen, unfortunately in most cases only adding to their existing struggles. This
reality is shown in Source 2, which was written by a young man whose father was brutally
tortured for nothing more than a false accusation with very little evidence. Both of these
important pieces of historical evidence give insight into the attitudes of the senior
Communist figures (Mao) at the time, but also provide a glimpse into how harrowing life
could be for those at the bottom of the social hierarchy, which is why they are so
paramount for historical inquiry into the Cultural Revolution to examine how it affected life
for all in the country, not just one group.
Beginning with Source 1, such a personal letter of Mao really helps to give an insight into his
ideological fervour and his willingness to spread this to Chinese citizens, especially the
youth. He emboldens the Red Guards hatred of such groups like “all landlords, bourgeois,
imperialists, revisionists” by stating “I enthusiastically support you” with regards to rebelling
against them and reactionaries. This encouragement of hatred of these specific groups is
almost certainly a call to violence given the zeal in which followers of Mao were instructed
to follow his every word during the Revolution and beyond, and a historian studying this
source would likely notice this. The source also exhibits Mao’s strategic intent to mobilise
and radicalise the youth of the country with Maoist ideology, and the letter makes this clear.
His intent to accomplish this is backed up by other historical events, such as education
reform and the “Five Loves” primary children were taught as well as his mass mobilisation of
Chinese youth, more specifically University students who he incited to commit violence
against their “counter revolutionary” teachers. All of this corroborates the fact the source is
a useful tool in investigating Mao’s motives and tactics for the Cultural Revolution, and it
gives a more personal look into his thoughts over another piece of historical evidence like a
pre-rehearsed speech.
However, whilst it does a very good job at giving a personable insight into the motives of
Mao’s political ideology, the effectiveness of using this letter as a crux for historical inquiry is
not limitless. Due to the author being Mao, the very architect of the policy that is being
investigated, this must be taken into account when considering the reliability of the source.
It is clearly not an unbiased view of someone looking objectively into the positive and
negative effects of the Revolution- it is an emotional, ideologically charged call to action. It
only outlines Mao’s motives for the Cultural Revolution, and it fails to mention any of the
consequences on ordinary Chinese citizens. As it is “straight from the horse’s mouth” so to
speak, Mao will evidently not mention any failures or shortcomings of the Revolution as it
was his return to power over China and he needed to keep revolutionary energy among the
2 together to investigate the main motives and consequences
of China’s Cultural Revolution? (20)
China’s Cultural Revolution was a landmark event in contemporary Chinese history which
shifted the balance of power in favour of the more radical elements in the CCP. Mao
frequently displayed his revolutionary fervour in policies and speeches to the masses, which
is highlighted in Source 1 wherein he writes to outline his support for the Red Guards of a
University. The Cultural Revolution also fundamentally affected everyday life for the average
Chinese citizen, unfortunately in most cases only adding to their existing struggles. This
reality is shown in Source 2, which was written by a young man whose father was brutally
tortured for nothing more than a false accusation with very little evidence. Both of these
important pieces of historical evidence give insight into the attitudes of the senior
Communist figures (Mao) at the time, but also provide a glimpse into how harrowing life
could be for those at the bottom of the social hierarchy, which is why they are so
paramount for historical inquiry into the Cultural Revolution to examine how it affected life
for all in the country, not just one group.
Beginning with Source 1, such a personal letter of Mao really helps to give an insight into his
ideological fervour and his willingness to spread this to Chinese citizens, especially the
youth. He emboldens the Red Guards hatred of such groups like “all landlords, bourgeois,
imperialists, revisionists” by stating “I enthusiastically support you” with regards to rebelling
against them and reactionaries. This encouragement of hatred of these specific groups is
almost certainly a call to violence given the zeal in which followers of Mao were instructed
to follow his every word during the Revolution and beyond, and a historian studying this
source would likely notice this. The source also exhibits Mao’s strategic intent to mobilise
and radicalise the youth of the country with Maoist ideology, and the letter makes this clear.
His intent to accomplish this is backed up by other historical events, such as education
reform and the “Five Loves” primary children were taught as well as his mass mobilisation of
Chinese youth, more specifically University students who he incited to commit violence
against their “counter revolutionary” teachers. All of this corroborates the fact the source is
a useful tool in investigating Mao’s motives and tactics for the Cultural Revolution, and it
gives a more personal look into his thoughts over another piece of historical evidence like a
pre-rehearsed speech.
However, whilst it does a very good job at giving a personable insight into the motives of
Mao’s political ideology, the effectiveness of using this letter as a crux for historical inquiry is
not limitless. Due to the author being Mao, the very architect of the policy that is being
investigated, this must be taken into account when considering the reliability of the source.
It is clearly not an unbiased view of someone looking objectively into the positive and
negative effects of the Revolution- it is an emotional, ideologically charged call to action. It
only outlines Mao’s motives for the Cultural Revolution, and it fails to mention any of the
consequences on ordinary Chinese citizens. As it is “straight from the horse’s mouth” so to
speak, Mao will evidently not mention any failures or shortcomings of the Revolution as it
was his return to power over China and he needed to keep revolutionary energy among the
