In the aftermath of the Chinese Civil War, the beginnings of dramatic and brutal social change in China were evident in Mao’s attitudes towards the urban poor. Those deemed socially unproductive, beggars, rickshaw pullers, hawkers and prostitutes were sent to re-education camps. The ultimate goal of the regime was to socially re-order urban life and to eliminate politically unwanted and seemingly socially useless or deviant labour. Explaining History helps you understand the 20th Century through
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Explaining History Podcast
For more than a decade, the Explaining History Podcast has helped listeners around the world make sense of modern history. What began in 2012 as a simple experiment—short, accessible episodes explaining major historical events—has grown into a long-running library of carefully researched, thoughtful explorations of the 20th and 21st centuries.
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