Harold Wilson once stated that "He who rejects change is the architect of decay". Thus, as illustrated through Wilson's saying, improvement can only be attained with new branches of thoughts. This universal aspect can be vividly demonstrated through Pomfret's "Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China" and Seybolt's "Throwing the Emperor From His Horse: Portrait of a Village", as they effectively portray how China started from being strictly communist to gradually loosening into economic expansion.
[...] Through reading Seybolt and Pomfret's books, I learned that communist reforms have taken complex turns, ultimately leading to the direction of economic expansion. Despite the fact that communist reforms have undergone many twisted turns, the Chinese's unwavering determination of improving their lifestyles could still be seen in China nowadays, heightening the overall clash between preserving tradition and expanding modernity in the historically important places: Nanjing, Beijing and Dazhai. For example, as I looked at the old Nanjing wall and contrasting modern shops, I couldn't help but recalled Ye He, one of the five classmates from “Chinese Lessons”, who acquired success by making Hunan road a fascinating modern street. [...]
[...] They were still striving to improve their everyday life. Overall, China has been thoroughly shaped by the complex twists in communism reforms. Through the unwavering strong will of its people, China was getting a step closer to success even though the clash between tradition and modernity intensified. As China was reaching economic prosperity, Pomfret ended his book by stating metaphorically “It's been a cold spring. The flowers will be blooming again for a long time.” Although I agreed with him [...]
[...] Thus, with the gradual passage of time, Chinese youngsters began to pursue for freedom, democracy and economic reform as a means of improving their lifestyles. An example would be Book Idiot Zhou, where for “several days a week, he taught Marxism, Leninism, and Maoist thought and railed against exploitation by the capitalist class” but for the rest of the time he “spent as a budding entrepreneur, employing dozens at rock-bottom wages.” (p. 148) Therefore, with increasing numbers of Chinese favoring economic expansion as a route to a better life, changes became inevitable. [...]
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