One of the worst history of mankind is the Cultural Revolution in modern China. This may be the main reason why the Chinese tourist look so strange to the local people and sometimes cause some discomfort to them. The pictures of that tragedy might not threaten most people like a killing field from the "Rouge Khmer" but the soul and the five-thousand-year spiritual history were forever disappeared.
According to "It was the worst of times." from The Economist, It told us about the biggest wound in its modern history and the coping mechanism from Communist party and those victims by erasing and forgetting about that period. However, there are few people who want to written down the history to make the younger generation learning from the failure. One of them is the son who send his mother to death by accusing her of the opposing reaction towards the party. The future of China may passing through the hardship, if the lesson has never passed to their descendants.
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My Yes/No question is:
Do you think forgetting about the bad memory is better than speaking and fixing it?
My answer is:
No, I don’t.
My ancestors were survived without passing that nightmare of China because they migrated to Thailand before those particular time. The source of that event is a few book from my school library and another movie named "Farewell my concubine". I watched it when I was studying in the university. It was very famous and won the foreign film's Academy award or the Oscar in 90's era. The movie talks about the male actor who was extremely famous as the female Character from Beijing opera. He fall in love with another male character, since they are grew up and work together. He represents the rise and fall of the history of modern China. His life is totally ruined when the Cultural Revolution occurs. Then, the nightmare begin and their lives have never woken up again since then. It is very good movie and I strongly recommend you all.
The life of Mao is like a dream. He became the president of the modern China. Then, his life fall from many wrong decisions. Afterwards, his wife and three can make him to become the icon again through state policy and activities. That dragged millions of Chinese people to death. Sequently the villain had been punished not long time after Mao's death, the communist party decide to erase those tragedy from the history. My China student friends told me that many victims are still survived and live as homeless; even though, their friends finished their college and became the professor. Actually, if it were not happened, they could have lived as the professor, too. That's truly sad story.
Although Chinese government's law regulation has become more relaxed than before, for example one-child policy or the attitude to homosexuality, mentioning about those time is still taboo. I don't know how long they can blind their people from those failure. It is a wound to their social and economy growth; moreover, it may develop to become a cancer for their government. Because they decide to take only a sleeping pill or a painkiller, when their wound was never actually healed.
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Reference
I believe that the Chinese government has to conceal some information because the truth of story in the past might severely affect to China as well as Chinese people. Alternatively, it may impact to some people who still alive.
ReplyDeleteWhen I finish reading your blog post, that lets me think about some history in Thailand. Certainly, there are many history written in books that isn't clear, for many Thai people believe it's fabulous. For example, King Taksin was deranged. Therefore, he was executed and Phra Phutthayotfa Chulalok was crowned to be the first monarch of the reigning House of Chakri of Siam. That's the history of Thailand that Thai students study at school or university. However, many Thai people wonder if King Taksin was deranged. In addition, some people say that King Taksin have sons. Why one of his sons didn't enthrone is still a secret. Hence, I search more information in the internet and I also find out many people tell about presuppositions. For instance, King Taksin tried to escape Thailand's debt given by China; accordingly, he decided to abdicate. I'm become fun and get new perspectives from other people.
DeleteUnfortunately, History turned to be interesting after I've graduated. I read and enjoyed a lot of books and Fan Page from Facebook. So, I can learn other version history than textbooks from school. The internet may have some disadvantages but not academic work distribution. You can access tons of book, archive, historical documents and documentaries. That's a nightmare for leader who want to monopolise the truth in the hand of the state.
I really agree with you that I don't have to buy tons of books. Moreover, I certainly have lots of space in my house. I like to read other people's comment in the internet, especially pantip, because I can know lots of interesting experience from the people facing various situations. Surely, when I want to purchase something such as mobile phones, school uniforms or cleats, I will search information in the internet and read many comments from people who have used them before deciding to buy new ones.
DeleteI think it is safer to discuss China. Or any other country. There are of course reasons for this: censorship is always, without exception, used to stop truths becoming known.
ReplyDeleteWhen countries are at war, the movements of soldiers is censored to keep the enemy ignorant. Parents censor their children's TV watching to keep their children ignorant of sex or whatever.
And the Chinese and other nations censor books and the internet to keep their people ignorant on "sensitive" topics. The result is that on every censored topic, the legal opinion of citizens must be largely worthless, being based solidly on untested, unverified and unaccountable ignorance. In the case of troop movements during war, the worthless opinion of enemies is a good thing. In the case of children being ignorant of sex and so on it's less obvious that this is a good thing, however much the parents think it is good for their children to be ignorant and to believe the most unfounded and uninformed opinions on sex or whatever: I think it's probably much healthier, not to mention honest, for children to know from an early age how sex works, and how to deal with it. If the parents, from some sincere desire to "protect" their children's "innocence" from truth and human reality keep them ignorant of sex and the emotional aspects of human intimacy, then those parents are failing their children and preparing the way for such disasters as teenage pregnancy and worse. That the parents mean to do good and have good motives does not make their ideas or their actions good.
I agree with you that when countries are at war, the movements of soldiers is censored to keep the enemy ignorant. I've also heard the words: when a war begin, the first thing to be killed is the truth. The military has a specific subject to manage with the media, and it's called "psychological operation". This knowledge may also come to Thailand during the cold war period.
DeleteI think China had a right decision to ban the social media from foreign country and built their own. When the people can touch the feeling of freedom. It's really hard to reverse the time back. Once they have experience, no-one can take it from them. They would crave for the freedom. As a matter of fact, the elites who study abroad and later come back to their own country is an exception, for example, Kim Jong Un from Switzerland. Because they take the benefits from the rest of people in their own country.
Union's post usefully helps us check an important critical skill that also came up in the survey, where we had so much disagreement.
ReplyDeleteWhich of the following statements are true, and what sort of evidence do you need to support them?
1. All Chinese love Mao.
2. All Chinese are believed to love Mao.
3. All Chinese are said to love Mao.
4. All Chinese should love Mao.
If you think that any of 1, 2, 3 or 4 are true statements, what is your support for holding that opinion? What sort of support does each statement need?
Conversely, if you think any of the statements are false, what is your support for that opinion?
By the way, there was an excellent story in today's Bangkok Post about the patriotic efforts of a group of students at a famous Thai high school to use a Facebook page to undermine some elements of traditional Thai culture. Did you see it? Was it also reported in the Thai media? (I'm hoping someone follows up, but if not, I have a back up plan.)
The No.2 is true in my view. What Mao and his companies did is like a hypnosis. Before Mao took the power, there was a serious problem about corruption in China. Most of peoples that are a worker level had a very hard time. Thus, rising of Mao brought them hope. They could get rid of many wealthy peoples to Taiwan and built up new China. Since then, Mao has become their icon. Thus, the communist party take advantage from this program their people to love Mao, what Mao did and taught is right.
DeleteThank you Nuke.
DeleteDo you have any solid support for your answer here?
What is the best sort of solid support for your opinion here?