Bella Bao

1/8//2020

History 10

Reform and Opening: China’s Turning Point

The individual is a small component of making up the historical event, but an event
sometimes plays an essential role in impacting a person. Reform is the universal form of social
change. The history and reality show that "Reform" is the way for a country or a nation to
survive and develop. In essence, reform is a process of adjusting the relationship of interests,
changing the old constitution, and establishing a new one. Reform and opening-up is a great
awakening in the history of the communist party of China, and also, they are the source of
vitality for the development of China. Therefore, China's reform and opening-up become a
critical turning point for China at the end of the 20th century, giving China an opportunity to
transform from a politically dark situation into a flourishing nation.

China's reform and opening-up were proposed at the Chinese turning time. At the end of
the 1970s, China's development was facing a plight - High urban unemployment, a stagnant food
supply, deteriorating urban housing conditions, declining wages, widespread rural poverty, and
very slow production growth plagued China(4). The end of China's cultural revolution brought
tremendous turmoil into the entire society, which led the environment to be extremely corrupt
and dark. Moreover, the public's thinking was rigid; the educational fields got destroyed by the
cultural revolution so that the college entrance exam was abolished and more illiterate were
exposed in society. As a result, Deng Xiaoping, in order to establish a better nation, who set
himself against the old society and appealed mass to proceed reform and open up. Deng
Xiaoping insisted, "if we do not Reform the disadvantage of the current regime, the problems of
the past might still appear in the future. The only way is to reform those abuse through planned
and organized innovation so that people will believe in the leadership, the party, and socialism.
People could see endless hopes of our nation." The future became very bleak, and the status quo
should be changed immediately. Therefore, China's reform and opening-up have been pushed to
the front position.

The fundamental reason that China's reform and opening up could overcome numerous
difficulties and achieves the great success is that this strategy always put the public first, so that
the mass has benefited, inspired, and seen the hope. The government promoted reform and
opening up to improve people's well-being. The central socialist construction was to seek
happiness for the masses and make them gain a better life. The reform first started in the
countryside. "Before the reform, households were divided into collective production units, in
which families worked together as a team. As it was difficult to monitor the performance of each
person, yields were equally divided among households, disregarding the different degrees of
effort individuals put in. This lead to low incentives for the farmers to work hard.(1)" Also, if the
farmer was a young and strong man, who could get 100% of salaries per day. The middle-aged
woman could get 80% of wages. However, if who is an old-aged woman, she could only get 60%
of wages. The government paid people salaries based on their age and gender; no matter how
much workload a person did, who should always get paid by the fixed salaries. Therefore,
farmers lost much passion on working; as soon as it was a time to finish working, they always
hurried home. The team leader evaluated the farmers that when they went to work, they dragged
their feet. But when it was time to go back home, they always went off like an arrow(2). To solve
this problem, the Household Responsibility Contract System was published. It was a system that
"the land of the Commune was equally divided and given into each family. Each would be
responsible for the tilling of the land. When the harvest season arrived, each household was
obliged to give part of their harvest in order to meet the state quota. (3)" In this case, the farmers
worked for themselves, and they were responsible for their own earnings and losses. Also, this
system changed the rural old management system, liberated agricultural productivity, and
aroused the enthusiasm of the majority of farmers. Thus, the farmers invested more in working
and which led the labor force and productivity to increase, but also people in the countryside had
enough food to eat. With the household responsibility system boomed,
"By 1984, 24 million households subscribed to the system. Farmer's income rose from
$47 to $105 within the decade. Production rose 5% every year during the 1980s (3). With
the year of 1978 as the reference point of 100, the crop output increased from 77.10 in
1970 to 148.21 in 1987; the crop output saw an increase of 48.21% in 9 years (1)."
Those data and information fully embodied that the Rural Reform and the Household
Responsibility Contract System had a significant influence on China's history, at the same time,
which altered Chinese fate as well. Moreover, according to the interview of my grandfather, he
recalled that people in the town also had an opportunity to work in the city; they got jobs such as
building workers and factory workers. For his individual and his family, they had plenty of food,
and the living standard enhanced(2). As a result, not only could people earn more money but also
the cities were developed. The slogan "to be rich is glorious(3)" led to the country's economy got
well-developed. With the reform and the open up got deep into the popular sentiments
constantly, masses' lives were getting better over time. Also, strong agriculture became a driving
power for establishing a flourishing nation.

The cultural revolution caused several problems, especially in educational fields. At the
end of the 1970s, most of the schools were closed, and the Chinese Communist youth movement,
Red Guards, destroyed the school's equipment. This kind of social turmoil had a terribly chilling
effect on the intellectual and social life of the country, even worse to the leadership; it began to
slow the economy(8). Thus, Deng Xiaoping announced the reintroduction of the College
entrance exam. The return of the exam made a profound influence on China; it was the critical
signal for abolishing the cultural revolution and also a starting point for reform and opening up.
To society, which definitely improved the social atmosphere. The rule of the college entrance
exam was strict and fair, “Competence and performance were made the criteria for university
enrollment and therefore, the criteria for access to a higher position in state and society. (4)”
Through attending the exams once a year, an increasing number of intellectuals were selected in
public. The exam contributed to altering one’s fate, such as one’s status or positions. For
instance, the potential students in the countryside could work through their efforts to enter the
universities and got an ideal job after they graduate. In this case, the reintroduction of the exam
not only led to students to regain confidence but also made students have a clear perspective of
education and knowledge importance. This critical decision cultivated a vast majority of talented
people who became core power for supporting economic and social development. Moreover, to
the individuals, the exam promoted students' enthusiasm for studying; it reminded students that
the only way to gain success is to being hard-working(2). As a result, teenagers transformed
from confusion, restlessness, and discouragement to positivity, calmness, and upward; social
order was restored, and Chinese society was put back on the right track as well. From then on,
the college entrance exam was always an essential factor in maintaining social progress and
economic development.

In forty years, the necessities of life, such as clothes, food, shelter, and transportation,
which also made significant changes to China. Firstly, in clothes, before the reform and opening
up, the economic development level was low, and the supply of the comedies severely lacking as
well. People were required to show the ticket to buy the clothes and also they are produced in
limited quantities (5). The clothes of that time were different from now. At that time, the color
and style were monotonous; all of the people were wearing grey Mao suits and blue Liberation
Army uniforms. Moreover, due to limited quantities, one person could only get a few clothes,
and even each cloth can only wear for half a year (2). However, nowadays, a great diversity of
clothes appeared in the stores. The clothes are not the only things for people against the cold, but
also, it is the stage for them to show grace and personality. In this case, the reform and opening
up lead a family from no warm clothes to wear to having varied clothes; this achievement owed
to Deng Xiaoping's wise policies. Secondly, in the aspect of food, before, the people in the
countryside did not have enough food to eat, they lived for coarse food and rarely had meat.
However, since rural lands have reformed and Household Responsibility Contract System was
implemented, it is no longer a problem for people to full(2). Each family could have meat or
seafood for every day; the policies of reform transformed people from misery to livable and
flourishing. Thirdly, people's lives also got a powerful impact, especially their residences. In the
countryside, people used to live in a rough bungalow; now they reside in a two-floor house.
Also, inside the house, there was the transformation from a mud-brick wall to white walls.
Nowadays, mountains of people could afford for household appliances and fine furniture(5). At
that time, because of the high price of the air conditioner, almost no family could pay for it, so
that the masses' lives were extremely arduous with cold winter and humid Summer. However,
the live standard gained great advances for the past few decades(2). Thus, Deng Xiaoping's
policies contributed to becoming the turning point of an individual and a family. Fourthly, there
was also the remarkable alteration in transportation. The most apparent advancement was the
widespread use of the vehicle, such as cars, trains, and airplanes, which offered people a
convenient and favorable condition of traveling. Besides, the muddy road transformed into a
smooth road, and the motorways were built as well. Since China started to reform, the nation's
transportation. Finally, the transmission equipment was well-developed. Before, people could
only through letters or telegrams to contact. However, with the invention of smartphones, the
problem of long-distance communication was solved. People were able to contact each other by
the video-calling(5). Also, at that time, people really appreciated Deng Xiaoping so that they
named the next generation after Deng Xiaoping. In the past 40 years, China's significant
alteration can not without Deng Xiaoping's wise policies. Chinese society has gone from
isolation, poverty, backwardness to openness, prosperity, and vitality.

In conclusion, China's reform and opening-up is the most distinctive feature of

contemporary China, which is of considerable significance and impact. From China's national
conditions, it has provided theoretical, ideological, institutional and practical guarantees for the
country and people to rise, allowed them to become vibrant and strong. The reformation, to a
large extent, correcting masses' rigid and wrong thinking of the Cultural Revolution. The reform
and opening-up has opened up a new road for the development of China's socialist
modernization, which also played a major role in promoting the eradication of poverty, bringing
people a better living environment in different aspects. It was of great historical significance to
the socialist revival and the development of Marxism and provided a new model and experience
for governing the country and resolving domestic social contradictions. Based on the interview
of my father, China’s reform and opening up, to individuals or families, which brought them a
profound impact.
 Bibliography

1) “China's Rural Reform.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 30, 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China's_Rural_Reform​.
Annotation: It talks about China's Rural Reform, which focus on talking about the
situation before the reform and after reform.

2) Bao, Hongchi.Telephone interview by the author. Connecticut. December 15, 2019

3) “Household Responsibility System: Changing the Face of Rural China.” Household

Responsibility System: Changing the Face of Rural China, January 1, 1970.
https://searchinginhistory.blogspot.com/2014/08/household-responsibility-system.h​tml
Annotation: ​It talks about China's Rural Reform, especially ​Household Responsibility
System and its advantages.
.
4) Mühlhahn, Klaus, Klaus Mühlhahn, Klaus Mühlhahn, John K. Fairbank, Mühlhahn,
Klaus Mühlhahn, Klaus Mühlhahn, et al. “Reform and Opening: China's Turning Point.”
China Channel, February 8, 2019. ​https://chinachannel.org/2019/02/07/reform-opening/​.
Annotation: it is a resource because which includes comprehensive content. It talks about
how reform and opening up made great influence to China.

5) “改革开放四十年（the 40-Year Reform and Open up).” Accessed January 8, 2020.

https://wenku.baidu.com/view/45a9ece71fd9ad51f01dc281e53a580217fc5071?channel=a
ggregation​.
Annotation: the change in 40 years since “the reform and opening up” was proposed. It
talks about the alteration in basic necessities of life。

6) “改革开放.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Accessed January 8, 2020.

https://zh.wikipedia.org/wiki/改革开放#農村改革​.
Annotation: it talks about the history of ​ interior reform and the exterior opening ​and its
timeline(from 1978 to now).

7) “China's Rural Reform.” Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, January 30, 2019.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China's_Rural_Reform

8) Szczepanski, Kallie. “Who Were China's Fierce Red Guards?” ThoughtCo. ThoughtCo,
October 22, 2019. https://www.thoughtco.com/who-were-chinas-red-guards-195412.