Tammy Erickson: Generations in China

China illustrates the dramatically different experiences and formative events that influenced those growing up in the 1940s through the 1970s

By Tammy Erickson

Posted on Across the Ages: March 28, 2009 11:53 AM

Many thanks to all who joined the discussion several weeks ago regarding generations in India. I hope those of you who grew up in China will share your formative experiences and the resultant conceptual models that influence your view of today's world. Let me offer an initial overview, based on my research.

Individuals born from about 1928 to 1945 (Traditionalists)

In the 1940's and 1950's, while teens in India were living through the advent of the independent Indian state and those in the U.S. were experiencing the birth of the consumer economy, teens in China were also living through a major transition. The second Sino-Japanese War, the largest Asian war in the twentieth century, ended, ending the 14-year-long Japanese invasion. In its wake, civil war raged between the Nationalist and Communist parties. In 1949, Chiang Kai-shek and the Nationalist Party fled to Taiwan and, on October 1, the Communists established the People's Republic of China (PRC) on the mainland.

Communist leader Mao Zedong initiated major economic reforms—a socialist "Big Push" to industrialize China, replacing landlord ownership and peasant workers with the development of heavy industry and the construction of new factories. Throughout the 1950's, Mao's campaigns to suppress former landlords and capitalists intensified; foreign investment in the country essentially ended. In 1958, Mao launched a new initiative, the "Great Leap Forward"—an unprecedented process of collectivization in rural areas: the formation of communes, the abolition of private plots, and the creation of a massive auxiliary network of small-scale industries, such as backyard iron smelters to produce steel—all designed to shift the nation from an agrarian to industrial economy. Agricultural output plunged, resulting in widespread malnutrition. By 1960, the country was in the throes of an economic and humanitarian disaster; 30 million people perished.

For teens coming of age during these years, it was a time of conflict and confusion as traditional ways of life were uprooted in pursuit of modernization. Hard physical work and poverty was a fact of life for most. This generation learned that affiliating with the "right" people was essential for survival, advice they undoubtedly offered to their children.

Individuals born from about 1946 to 1960/1964 (Boomers)

The 1960's and 1970's were the years of the Great Proletariat Cultural Revolution. Under Mao's socialist orthodoxy, both traditional Chinese and Western culture were repressed, social institutions collapsed, schools were abolished, public transportation came to a nearly complete halt, temples and churches were vandalized, and "liberal bourgeoisie" and intellectuals purged. Sino-Soviet relations deteriorated, ending Soviet technical assistance and further isolating the country. Living conditions remained extremely difficult.

Unlike teens in the United States and in India who formed cynical views of authority based on the corruption they saw in their leaders, teens in China were a major force within the Cult of Mao. With no schools to attend, they joined the Red Guards and gained whatever knowledge they had from the Chairman's Little Red Book. Many demonstrated in support of Mao and joined in terrorizing ordinary citizens. Members of this generation in China grew up with the belief that loyalty to the state and institutions would be rewarded, questioning authority was unacceptable, education was unnecessary, and anything "foreign" or "old fashioned" was unwanted. They were dedicated to a single way—"the" way of doing things.