Confucianism Replaced  Chinese Communists replace Confucianism with new philosophy  Combines the works of Marx and Mao  Replaces Confucian analects with Quotations from Chairman Mao or the Little Red Book  Calls for loyalty and service to China above all else

A Classless Society  Communist Party does away with private property  Succeeds in theory, but in practice, party and PLA members have more access.  1980s: Deng’s capitalist reforms create greater inequality and widen divides between rural/urban Chinese

Family Life  Traditions and veneration of elders survives despite Communist persecution  New marriage law (1950)  Men and women are equal  Children no longer assigned marriages  Many Chinese still rely on an older acquaintance to find a mate

A free and independent marriage is good, there is great happiness in unified production A Free and Independent Marriage is Good, There is Great Happiness in Unified Production (1953)

Family Life Cont.  One Child Policy  Encouraged families to only have one child in order to slow population growth and aid modernization  Enforced by economic incentives  More successful in cities than in the country

Changing Roles For Women  1950 Constitution introduces equal rights for women  Most Chinese women work outside the home  Some gender inequality still exists

Education and Tech  Communists made Mandarin Chinese the official language and simplified the writing system  Emphasized literacy and the value of schools to teach students correct Communist thinking  Resources are being put towards science/tech