I Believe Paper

I believe that education allows us to learn more about ourselves and to develop new views and ways of thinking, all of which were threatening to the leaders of the Chinese Cultural Revolution and the Taliban. Education can be dangerous to leaders, as they cause people to progress and strive for independence. This threatens the authority of the rulers, as well as their goals for society. Therefore, the governments of both the Cultural Revolution and the Taliban made efforts to control those under their rule, and in part of this, they eliminated all educational institutions.
During the Chinese Cultural Revolution, "intellectuals" were labeled as "reactionary", and deemed enemies to the Revolution. Many such educated young men and women were banished to the country to be "re-educated". They had been exposed to too many foreign ideas and information; they needed to be taught the beliefs and values of the rural Chinese, people unaffected by the outside world and still living by the traditional Chinese customs and morals. Mao and his army of Red Guards wanted to control the Chinese people, and they knew that they would have a difficult time doing this if the people were allowed to receive information and knowledge from the external world. Therefore, they adopted the practice of isolationism, and shut themselves off from the outside world. Countless "reactionary", or foreign, books were confiscated and destroyed. The Chinese people were only permitted to read certain, approved-by-Mao, books. Education exposes you to various ideas and new experiences. Through reading, you are able to learn about the lives of others and encounter new situations that you might never have "experienced" otherwise. Reading teaches you more about yourself, your inner beliefs and dreams. Education helps you to reach your full potentials. The leaders of the Chinese Cultural Revolution knew this, and this is why they were so adamant about banning "reactionary" literature and closing down schools.
In Balzac and the Little Seamstress, Luo, the violinist, and the Little Seamstress are all entranced by the Western messages and themes entwined in the illegal books they acquire. The violinist claims that through the story by Balzac, he has discovered "awakening desire, passion, impulsive action, love, all the subjects that had, until then, been hidden". After reading the book, the three of them thirst for new stories and ideas, and plot to steal Four Eyes' suitcase of books. For the violinist, the stories provide with an escape from his current situation. He enjoys the language and beautiful wording of the stories, the romanticism possessed by them and the new worlds they open. For Luo and the Little Seamstress, life and literature combine and erupt in a passionate romance. Luo uses the Balzac books as a means by which to "civilize" the Little Seamstress and raise her from her status as a peasant. The Little Seamstress grew up in the country, and received no education while growing up. Therefore, she is illiterate. Luo wants to educate her, and chooses the Balzac books specifically as a tool by which he means to accomplish this task. The Little Seamstress thoroughly enjoys these stories, viewing them as both a source of entertainment and one of new ideas. Yet, in the end, the knowledge the Little Seamstress receives from her "re-education" is not one that Luo intended. She claims that Balzac taught her one thing, that she is more than just her beauty, and that she is capable of accomplishing more. The Little Seamstress then leaves Pheonix of the Sky, and decides to attempt to make a living in the city.
Education opens up new worlds to us that we may have never before imagined. The "reactionary" literature acquired by the three main characters in Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress had a tremendous impact on their beliefs, as well as on themselves. The ideas and experiences contained in the literature changed them, and caused a "revolution" in their own lives. The Chinese Communist government during this period knew the power of literature and education, and of the ideas they contained. The government felt that although the bourgeoisie had been overthrown, it was still trying to use their ideas to corrupt others and capture their minds in order to attempt to stage a comeback. Therefore, the goal of the government was to use the new ideas to change the entire outlook of society. They criticized the "reactionary bourgeois" and academic authorities, and eliminated the education system. Many intellectuals were sent to rural camps. These people included almost anyone with skills above that of the average person. In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, the narrator and Luo were considered "dangerous intellectuals" simply because they possessed a middle school education.
The government also sought to transform education and literature, anything that did not correspond to their socialist ideas, in an attempt to facilitate the development of a socialist system in China. Countless books, like those by Balzac, were destroyed by the Red Guards. Furthermore, by December 1967, 350 million copies of Mao's Red Book had been printed. The Red Book was written by Chairman Mao, and supposedly covered every situation, problem, or event that one could encounter in life. This book was a form of control in the Cultural Revolution, and it was practically a bible to the Red Guards. It was attempt by Mao to control the population and unite them against those who opposed the Revolution.
Education is a crucial part of a person's upbringing, and is necessary if that person is to thrive and survive in society. It teaches us essential moral lessons, and should not be underestimated in its importance. Yet, education also causes us to progress forward and to desire freedom and independence. This can be seen as a threat to the sovereignty of the government leaders, as was the case during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. The government labeled countless books as "reactionary", and burned them, banning them as illegal literature. These books contained ideas that the leaders disagreed with or feared would spark new beliefs and ways of thinking in the masses. In their efforts to control those under the rule, the government of Communist China also eliminated all educational institutions to prevent the teaching of ideas and information they did not like. The Chinese Cultural Revolution lasted for about ten years, and created almost an entire generation of illiterate people.