Son Of The Revolution

Son of the Revolution

The new revolutionary period in China was one of many hardships and questionable ideals that affected every Chinese family in its own way. People were expected to be unquestionably devoted to Mao and the Communist Party, and do what was deemed socially correct by the communist theory. Those that defied Mao's ideals would have a very hard life and could even face death. One struggle deals with Liang Heng's family and the various trials and tribulations they had to face under Mao's regime. The members of the Heng family continued to believe in Mao and his leadership despite the hardships that they suffered because he was deemed to be the savior and the hero of China.

The great Chinese political leader to whom so many people pledged eternal alliance to was a poet, statesman, and the founder of People's Republic of China. Mao Zedong's ideas varied between degrees of unrealistic expectations and utopian visions; this can be seen in the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. Mao had been very literary person using his propaganda writings to convince many of his people that his ideas were correct and should be followed without question. He wrote an array of various propaganda

papers and speeches to convince the people of the partyÐ''s superiority. He mixed classical tradition with his personal political messages in many of his writings. He was worshiped by millions; Mao is also considered one of the twentieth century's most brutal dictators. He alone was responsible for millions of Chinese deaths during his rule because of his certain views and and harsh actions.

One family that lived under the rule of Mao and the party was Liang Heng's family. They were an ordinary Chinese family. There was a mother and a father, who both held respectable jobs and devoted most of their time to the rules of society. There were three children, two girls, and one boy, who all attended a strict school to shape their thought process to agree the correct way to think under the Communist rule. The children were taken care of by their grandmothers due to their parents' being away for work so often. At first they lived a bland and structured life until their mother was deemed a rightist. Being considered a rightist would put a person in one of the worst standings in the Chinese culture that a person could be in this time period.

This was one of the most destructive occurrences of Heng's life, the re-education of his mother and his parent's subsequent divorce following her banishment. Following the divorce of his parent's, the Liang family became the object of scorn due to the rudderless nature of their family unit. The family was ostracized on the social level as well as the political level. Both of Heng's sisters were denied entry into the prestigious Red Guard due to the political scorn imposed on the family. The questionable political allegiance of the Liang family would plague the family members throughout their lives.

Yet, through all of these hardships the Heng family still remained devoted to Mao and the Communist Party. They were so engrossed in what they were taught to be right and wrong, that they didn't even think of what was actually going on around them in society anymore. In certain cases, it

...