The Cultural Revolution as Seen in To Live

                In this section of To Live, it becomes easily apparent just how successful Mao was at instigating his Cultural Revolution.  First off, it is clear that Chairman Mao was seen as a very important figure and was practically worshiped by many Chinese citizens.  His face is plastered all over China.  Although, as viewers, we do not see the full extent of this, we can hear the factory workers talk about who painted the “Mao’s in the factory,” showing that, at this time, it was commonplace to have Mao’s face painted all over.  The full extent of this “cult of Mao” is shown during the wedding, when the bride and groom are dressed in military apparel and the family picture is taken in front of a picture of Mao, behind the “boat of revolution,” and with copies of the Little Red Book in each of their hands.  Although many people would call this brainwashing, it is clear that the people genuinely respected Mao as their leader, especially the Red Guard, of which the husband is a part.

                Later, we also get a glimpse of the Four Alls Campaign.  The protagonist is forced to burn his puppets for fear of being labeled a “reactionary,” and this time even offering to use them as propaganda does not save his puppets.  This is just a small part of this massive campaign, as gleaned from the stories of whole museums and works of Art being burned.