MISTY POETS PROJECT

Danyall Saeed, Elaine Ma, Nick Besley, and Maddie Alderfer (Group 1)Period 6May 29, 2014

1. Mao Zedong- Danyall Saeed2. Great Leap Forward & the Five-Year Plan- Elaine Ma3. Bei Dao- Nick Besley4. Metaphorical Images- Maddie Alderfer5. Purpose and Theme- Nick Besley and Danyall Saeed

Mao Zedong

Danyall SaeedPeriod 6May 29, 2014

“Chairman Mao”

Early LifeBorn December 26, 1893 in a village in Hunan

Province, China

He was lucky enough to be born into a wealthy peasant family Was able to get an education, but was ridiculed

often because of his background

Mao started reading political literature when he got a job at a library He was appalled by Chinese absolutism, and so he

began supporting the communists

Political Takeoff

After he enrolled in Hunan Province’s best university, he was able to take political control of the school by winning several electoral positions Made a Students’ Army to defend the school

against the army if they ever tried to take over

Graduated and met Chen Duxiu, with whom he founded the Communist Party of China in 1921

Eve of RevolutionFirst saw revolution when General Tan overthrew

Governor Zhang of Hunan Province in 1920

However, since Tan was a Nationalist, Mao and his fellow communists began to plot against him Joined the Nationalist Party to gain position while

still remaining Communist Communists- Left wing of party Nationalists- Right wing of party

Together, they were able to take control of northern China by defeating the feudal lords

Civil War and Takeover

After the conquering of the north, nationalist General Chiang Kai-Shek massacred all communists in Shanghai, sparking a split between the party

Mao, being general of the Communists, was able to spark a peasant revolution in many cities to rebel against the monarchy and nationalist control

After initial setbacks, he put together a string of victories, driving the remaining nationalists to the city of Changchun Chiang Kai-Shek and his nationalist supporters fled

to Taiwan and established a nationalist state

Reign as Chairman

Assumed leadership and established the People’s Republic of China on October 1, 1949

Started industrializing China with Soviet help Began two Five-year plans (second of which

was “The Great Leap Forward”) which were aimed at ending dependence on agriculturalism

Sparked rebellions against anti-revolutionaries Had many people who opposed communism

killed or thrown in jail for life

Late LifeBegan the “Cultural Revolution” in 1959

Object was to root out any element of culture that was not Chinese or communist

Many people were driven to suicide who opposed Maoist policies or communism Communist mobs destroyed everything in their path in

many cities

Mao died on September 9, 1976, at age 82 Regarded as the face of the new China, who

brought it out of the agricultural ages and into the modern world

Portrait still hangs over Tiananmen Square in Beijing

Websites

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/mao_zedong.shtml

http://www.historylearningsite.co.uk/mao_zedong.htm

The Five-Year Plan and the Great Leap Forward

Elaine Ma

Period 6

May 29, 2014

“Five Year Plan”

The Five Year Plan was China’s attempt to boost their industry and become a world class power

Mao Zedong came in power in 1949 when China was many years behind industrial nations, he wanted to change this

Same level of development as Stalin’s Russia where communism was feared in the western world and the most populous nations turned to communism

“Five Year Plan” continued…

The Soviet Union was the only country who wanted a treaty with China

December 1949, Mao and Stalin met in Moscow to sign the Treaty of Friendship, Alliance, and Mutual Assistance

This provided China funding and technical assistance to modernize industry in the country

Russia provided 10,000 engineers to China and $300 million dollars over 5 years

“Five Year Plan” continued…

Stalin’s Five Year Plans success and Russian engineers influenced China greatly

Introduced their own Five Year Plan in 1953

This plan tackled steel, coal, and iron production (heavy industry was major reform)

Similar to the Russian model, each factory/mine was given a target to achieve

Failure to achieve the target meant failing your people

Five Year Plan Industrial Development

“Great Leap Forward”

The Great Leap Forward took place in 1958

A second Five Year Plan that lasted 1958-1963

Mao’s attempt to modernize the economy by 1988 (Able to rival America)

Targeted industry and agriculture, China reformed into a series of communes

Encouraged communes to set up “back-yard” production plants which added a considerable amount of steel to China’s annual total

“Great Leap Forward” continued…

By the end of 1958, 700 million people had been placed into 26,578 communes

People worked for the commune, not themselves. The commune provided everything needed (Health care, schools, entertainment, nurseries, etc.)

Major construction built in record time with questionable quality

“Great Leap Forward” continued…

Major increase in figures for steel, coal, chemicals, timber, cement, grain, cotton, etc.

Party officials ordered impossible targets that couldn’t be completed, resulting in prison

People overworked in dangerous conditions, use bare hands if machines break

“It is possible to accomplish any task whatsoever.” (Mao on the Great Leap Forward)

Bei Dao

Nick Besley

Period 6

May 29, 2014

Bei Dao

Bei Dao was born in China in 1949, two months before communist China began. His real name is Zhao Zhenkai. Bei Dao name is a pen name meaning “North Island”. As a teenager, he attended one of the best schools in China. during that time, he joined the Red Guard to criticize those who took advantage of their privileges. While he was in the Red Guard, he started writing poetry and became known as one of the Misty Poets. Today, he lives in Scandinavia, away from the rest of his family in China.

Main Theme of “Answer”

Denying support of the government’s choices

In stanza 2, Dao writes about the ice age ending, which means the imperialism in China. He questions why “is there ice everywhere” meaning he is asking why there are still troubles with the country.

Also, he says “The Cape of Good Hope has already been discovered” which means the imperialism is over and questions why they go farther. The communists already got control of their country, why do they go farther to control it autocratically like the former monarchs?

Metaphorical Images / Symbols in “Answer”

Maddie Alderfer

Period 6

May 29, 2014

Metaphorical Images / Symbols

1. “Look- the gilded sky is swimming with undulant reflections of the dead.” The sky is reflecting what is happening on the earth. The sky is filled with pictures of the dead, showing how common death was during that time.

2. “They say the ice age ended years ago. Why are there icicles everywhere?” This could be referring to the Tiananmen Square massacre. Compromise had already been reached, so why is there still fighting among the nation? Basically, independence had been won from the imperialist nations, so why is there still inequality in a Communist government.

Metaphorical Images / Symbols

3. “You’ve trampled a thousand enemies underfoot. Call me a thousand and one.” This relates to the Tiananmen Massacre because troops had killed nearly one thousand students that day. The speaker suggests that he should be killed considering he stands for the same thing that the “trampled” others did.

4. “I don’t believe the sky is blue” This line describes the dull grayness of the Chinese life and literature and contributes to the rules of literature set by the Communists. This could literally mean that nothing in the speaker’s life is colorful, including the sky because of all the conflict that is happening.

Metaphorical Images / Symbols

5. “If the land should rise from the sea again, we’ll choose again to live in the heights.” The sea represents the Communist government and the conflict it brings along to the nation. And if the citizens would ever break free of the Communist government and gain independence, they will choose to live the better, free life like they used to have.

6. “A glittering constellation pricks the vast defenseless sky.” The constellation is a symbol for hope. Dao describes it as “the eye of the future, gazing back” because in the future there will be peace. The constellation is far away representing how peace may not come quickly but it will come eventually. It represents hope because it is the only thing in the dark sky glistening.

Purpose and Theme

Nick Besley and Danyall Saeed

Period 6

May 29, 2014

Purpose of “Answer”

The purpose of this poem was to question the methodology of the government as to why they had to go so far to enforce a uniform, communist culture. The speaker denounces his support by saying “I do not believe”. He wonders why the government has to intrude on the lifestyles of common people when they have already taken control of the country and enforced communist policy. He openly states that he does not believe in communist policy multiple times and renounces the fact that it has begun to control every aspect of their lives.

Theme of “Answer”

Themes An authoritarian government leads to rebellious

people A government can stop a physical rebellion, but

it cannot stop a mental one Forcing an ideology down the throats of people

causes them to be driven to misery