Some Thoughts on the Influence of the Party Culture on Different Generations

(Minghui.org) After reading the Minghui editorial, “Attention Practitioners Who Have Moved Out of China in Recent Years,” I realized that the Chinese generations born after or shortly before the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) took power in 1949 have been influenced by its Party Culture.

Those born in the 1940s were in school when the CCP seized power, so they were repeatedly bombarded with the ideology of devoting their lives to the Party at the expense of fulfilling one’s family responsibilities. Instead of learning about traditional moral values from their parents and teachers, this generation was told that “cooperatives” and “people’s communes” were more important than families.

Those born in the 1950s grew up in various political campaigns targeting business owners, landlords, and intellectuals, which severed people’s ties with traditional Chinese culture. Although this generation could still encounter some traditional culture and relics from the pre-CCP era, the influence of class struggle and political correctness was overwhelming. During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), this generation became “Red Guards,” who played a leading role in the looting, beating, and killing of innocent people. In the following “Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement,” over 10 million young adults were sent to the countryside for re-education. As a result, this generation was deprived of formal education and normal lives, and had to survive in the chaotic society.

Those born in the 1960s were still young when the Cultural Revolution started in 1966. Many of the traditions were lost and this generation could only learn from relics that survived the Cultural Revolution. Fortunately, a movement of Learning from Lei Feng (a role model known for his altruism) was launched in the 1960s and extended until the early 1970s. Although there were some questionable facts about Lei in this movement like the CCP’s other propaganda campaigns, it did help restore moral values to a certain degree.

Spending their teenage years in the “Criticize Lin Biao (a top Chinese politician whom the CCP claimed to have attempted to flee following a botched coup against Mao Zedong) and Confucius Campaign,” this generation was lucky to see the college entrance exams resumed in 1977, thus allowing them to sit in the exams and apply to colleges. Some of them even went abroad to further their studies in the 1980s. Many of these people studied hard as students and were thus relatively less polluted by the Party Culture. In the mean time, their education in science made some of them very narrow-minded and not open for new ideas.

Those born in the 1970s are heavily polluted by the Party Culture because they were exposed to the CCP’s corruption, gray income, personal freedom, and competing for success in their formative years. Materialistic comfort became a trend for this generation. Being selfish and self-centered is a norm and “responsibility” is something taunted. As a result, this generation has further drifted away from traditional values.

The youngest generation born in the 1990s or later came to this world after Falun Dafa was introduced to this world in 1992. Because of their young age, their indoctrination by the CCP is not so deep. The CCP did not oppose Falun Dafa in its early years of dissemination, given its tremendous health benefits. But as Falun Dafa became more popular, the CCP feared losing control of people and launched a nationwide campaign against the practice in 1999. In its attempt to eradicate Falun Dafa, the CCP even included defamatory propaganda against Falun Dafa in school textbooks, poisoning the young minds and inciting their hatred towards Dafa and its principles of Truthfulness-Compassion-Forbearance. This generation also faces various temptations in society, from violence to sexuality and all kinds of degenerated elements.

China, also known as the shen zhou (land of the divine), has deep and profound traditional culture. But the CCP has nearly wiped out all traditional culture and replaced it with communism’s class struggle, falsehoods, and violence. All generations, regardless of their ages, have been polluted by the Party culture and face challenges in escaping the CCP’s grip. By getting to know Falun Dafa and safeguarding traditional values, however, people would have a chance of breaking away from the CCP, and finding our true self.

Editor's note: This article only represents the author’s understanding in their current cultivation state meant for sharing among practitioners so that we can “Compare in studying, compare in cultivating.” (“Solid Cultivation,” Hong Yin)