The paradox is if market is better than central plan, then the biggest factor cause of destruction of cultural legacy would be open and reform. Such as raider dig old graves and sale the loot to black market, or real estate guys destroy ancient buildings to build new house. Motivation of money should overwhelm the motivation of ideology as liberals claim.
Nah, Mao and the cultural revolution absolutely destroyed a lot of the traditional culture, be it religion, architecture, art etc. The fact that some of it was preserved is a blessing for future generations.
That's is true but also I fully believe that the narrative of wanting to completely eradicate Chinese culture is kmt propaganda
Two things can be true at the same time. Was it "culture" that they were trying to destroy or restrictive ways of doing things, that could be better attributed to "customs" and "habits". "Culture" was the word that it was translated to in the West, but custom and habits is a better description. Remember the "4 Olds ( 四旧)"?
When mao died and the new leader took over I guess. I know they did try to erase examples of the past but not all of it.
No. It happened under Mao as well. The Red Guards were too extreme for even the PLA. So the PLA started to suppress them, running from 1967 to 1968. So while the Red Guards (rallied by Mao) really did want to destroy things, it was increasingly the PLA that stopped them. Point being, there was no black and white here. But the Red Guard really was hell bent on destruction for a long time.
