Guide to The Cultural Revolution
Last year, during the spring of 2012 I went to China to teach English as a foreign language. As I am sure many of you know: China is a large country with an incredibly long history dating back to 2000 B.C.’s Xia dynasty (if you’re a believer). During my time in China I came across several different periods from Chinese history that shaped the China that we know today. One of these periods is known as “The Cultural Revolution”. If you do a quick search you will find a definition of this time period. But the answer never really answers all of my questions:
“A political upheaval in China 1966–76 intended to bring about a return to revolutionary Maoist beliefs. Largely carried forward by the Red Guard, it resulted in attacks on intellectuals, a large-scale purge in party posts, and the appearance of a personality cult around Mao Zedong. It led to considerable economic dislocation and was gradually brought to a halt by premier Zhou Enlai.”
If you are already well versed in this revolution- then this article is not for you. If your historical knowledge is as limited as mine is, then read on. Basically I just wanted to be able to answer the simple questions of the Cultural Revolution.
What occurred during the revolution:
This is the most important question to look at. During this time period communist popularity seemed stagnant. In an effort do revitalize communist support Mao tried to gather support from the country’s youth, but more importantly, it’s working class citizens. This is because Mao believed that communism was losing footing due to an overwhelmingly undermining Bourgeoisie class whose main goal was to develop capitalism. Another of Mao’s major ideas for the Cultural Revolution was to steer away from the four olds: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. Anybody who supported these old ideas, or considered not communist enough, was subject to ridicule and/or violence. As a result, much of China’s historical artifacts such as art, temples, literature, and of course China were destroyed. Similarly to China’s “Great Leap Forward”, there was another mass migration of the country’s educated, to the rural areas of the country.
Who was involved with the revolution:
There were a lot of players during the “Cultural Revolution”. Mao Zedong was obviously one of the most important figures because of his decisions. However, many people would argue that Mao’s latest wife Jiang Qing was really calling the shots during the Cultural Revolution. Jiang Qing, was also a member of the ‘gang of four (Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen). The Gang of four is accredited for being the most important figures during the Cultural Revolution, especially after Mao’s death. The Red Guards were also very important for the Cultural Revolution. They Red Guards served as Mao's propaganda army. They were Mao’s young idealistic supporters. These are the people that you always see in the surviving propaganda artwork carrying Mao’s little red book of sayings and wearing red arm bands. They were also the people who were conductiong most of the acts of violence.
Where did the revolution take place:
China. Mao's Red Guards first pillaged temples, churches, and mosques. They would later go on to destroy confucian writings and raid PLR arms. Jiang Qing even had hopes of replacing the entire army with Red Guards. Mao's Red Guards cause so much destruction that even Mao saw the madness that they were creating. This is why we see the large migration of youth into the country. To slow down the destruction caused by the Red Guard.
When did the revolution happen:
The Cultural Revolution occurred from 1966 through 1976. This is basically right after China’s other major movement: “The Great Leap Forward”, which was from 1958 to 1961.
Why did the Cultural Revolution happen:
Some people have debated the ideas of why Mao would want to start the Cultural Revolution. However, the most popular theories are the ones stated above. Basically he didn’t want to see Communism soften. China’s communist neighbor to the North saw their communist state develop more socialist ideology, which was not acceptable to Mao. Others say that Mao just wanted to secure his own position in history as a great revolutionary figure. Mao was concerned with losing his own power within the communist party, especially after the failure of the Great Leap Forward. Because of this failure, Mao was believed to have been marginalized and possible ousted by his political peers.
Mao wanted to keep China pure to communism. One of the main ideas in Karl Marx’s communism is the idea between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat. Mao thought that the government was being filled with elites and there weren’t enough people with his type of thinking in the central government. This also explains why we saw so many educated people go to rural areas of China. So they could get a taste of what “real” China was like.
How was the revolution carried out:
As we’ve stated earlier, one of the big effects of the Cultural Revolution was the mobilization of the youth. This youth is what we defined as the Red Guards. Red Guards basically mobilized without any social or political barriers. The communist party and the Army were both denied from interfering with their activity. People during this time were criticizing anyone with authority. Teachers, elitists, bosses, and even parents were being shunned or worse. People were encouraged to attack counter revolutionaries.
Mao’s little red book of sayings is commonly still seen in propaganda posters that exist today. This red book had sayings from Mao Zedong and people were forced to have these books. Mao’s book of sayings held little gems of insight such as:
"U.S. imperialism, and European and domestic reactionary forces, represent real dangers, and in this respect are like real tigers. However, because the goal of Chinese communism is just, and reactionary interests are self-centered and unjust, after struggle, they will be revealed to be much less dangerous than they were earlier perceived to be."
The cultural Revolution is just one of several of Mao's lasting legacies. It’s interesting to see how important Mao is in China’s political landscape even today. He is a historical figure that, as a foreigner as a bit enigmatic to me. Mao is a character who is greatly celebrated but also seen as a destructive figure to China's culture. The great Leap Forward and The Cultural revolution were both important periods during Mao’s reign. Despite these mistakes committed by Mao, he is still considered a hero, and of course, a revolutionary.
