Little Red Book

            Before the Cultural Revolution many Chinese belief systems flourish included Buddhism, Taoism, Islam, etc.  When Mao Zedong introduced the Cultural Revolution in 1965 he put a stop to all religion and made the people look to him as the greatest leader or even a god. Also during this time Mao Zedong ordered that the red guards were to destroy anything to do with old china. This included the belief systems. In one case almost all Buddhist statues were destroyed along with over 6,000 monasteries in Tibet. Many agree that the Cultural Revolution was one of the darkest times for culture and religion.