"It is your duty, as the future of China, to destroy all foreign goods, intellectual objects, and ideas. Destroy the four olds and establish the four news."
--Mao, Zedong. Speech made in 1966
Due to the massive amount of damages done to artifacts and goods, China was only 1% of the world’s economy during the Cultural Revolution. Before the Cultural Revolution, China’s industrial value was mainly increasing, but during the Cultural Revolution, China’s industrial value dropped 8% within the first two years. Immediately after the Cultural Revolution, the economy grew by 7.6% and 11.7% in the two following years.
Food consumption decreased from 204.5 kg per capita in 1956, to 191.5 kg per capita in 1976, and cotton consumption decreased from 29.2 feet per capita to 23.7 feet per capita. Yet the Chinese population had increased 27.41%, thus decreasing the quality of daily life.
"The outbreak of the Cultural Revolution operated against the production, so supply of materials were decreased relatively. Although the common people got the conventional wage, they lacked the material badly... But the Cultural Revolution made the mentally suffering. For instance, there were no book, no music and no art. It was these things rather than the lack of material that still remain in the mind of the people for unforgettable memory."
--Zuen Chen. From a published interview
An interview with a person who EXPERIENCED the Cultural Revolution (Part 1/3):
What did you eat during the Cultural Revolution?
Everyone only has a limited amount of food, and other daily supplies. I had a family of 4 people, so my family could only buy 2 pounds of meat every month. Other supplies such as oil, eggs, fabrics were very rare. Having a cup of milk in that time was like a symbol of wealthy.
How was your living environment during the Cultural Revolution?
My house was only 25 meters squared [269.10 ft squared]. It has no kitchen, no bathroom. There were no appliances for cooking, no stove, no washing machine, so all cooking and washing has to be done by hand. There was only 1-2 set of cloth for every season. All cloth were mono colored, singled styled. I can only bath once a month, and preparing for a bath would take up to 2 hours, since I had to boil the water in small pots and I needed to make space for the bath tub.
(S/he would like to remain anonymous)
Everyone only has a limited amount of food, and other daily supplies. I had a family of 4 people, so my family could only buy 2 pounds of meat every month. Other supplies such as oil, eggs, fabrics were very rare. Having a cup of milk in that time was like a symbol of wealthy.
How was your living environment during the Cultural Revolution?
My house was only 25 meters squared [269.10 ft squared]. It has no kitchen, no bathroom. There were no appliances for cooking, no stove, no washing machine, so all cooking and washing has to be done by hand. There was only 1-2 set of cloth for every season. All cloth were mono colored, singled styled. I can only bath once a month, and preparing for a bath would take up to 2 hours, since I had to boil the water in small pots and I needed to make space for the bath tub.
(S/he would like to remain anonymous)
Not only did the Cultural Revolution effect China's economics, it also shaped citizens' thoughts and effected their education. See more in...
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