This teacher resource guide introduces the Cultural Revolution as well as various political, economic, and social developments that took place in China after Mao Zedong's death. After the failures of the Great Leap Forward, Mao focused on regaining his power and political legitimacy, and looked for ways to continue the socialist revolutionary zeal in China. What resulted from this was the period known as the Cultural Revolution, during which Mao's cult of personality was established and expanded as a political tool and the young, disgruntled Red Guards were sent to the countryside to purge older generations and intellectuals. However, the Cultural Revolution should not solely be understood as the time of chaos and anarchy. It is during this time that the Chinese government undertook several enormous infrastructure projects such as the construction of the Beijing Metro and began to reestablish diplomatic relations with the United States.
After the death of Mao Zedong in 1976, Deng Xiao