A book about the history of China in the 20th century after the fall of the Qing Dynasty. China's problems and conflicts grows with the instability of the government and foreign imperialism. The Poppy War was a direct result of foreign influence which led to the coup of the Qing. The Cultural Revolution was after Mao Zedong came into power. To maintain his absolute power after his mistake with the Great Leap Forward reform, he inspires young students to do his dirty work. A totalitarianism policy developed with the help of 11 million young students all over China, known as the Red Guards. They idolized Mao and tried to literally erase China's old culture. As Mao stated, the Four Olds: old habits, old ideas, old customs, and old culture.
As his picture stills hangs outside the Forbidden City in Beijing, I can see Mao is still idolized and held great influence in China. His body is still preserved. Interesting. Considering with such a terrible act he imposed upon the Chinese society yet still idolized even after the end. What a revolutionary...