3 - the cultural revolution and its aftermath

Question 1

How did divisions between pragmatists and ideologues lead to Mao launching the CR?

Answer 1

• Liu and Deng’s measures to end the famine were too ‘revisionist’ for Mao and he began to see pragmatists as ‘capitalist roaders’.
• The divide between ideologues and pragmatists became more apparent after the 7000-cadre conference in January 1962.
• Pragmatists argued that ideological compromises were essential and they were critical of mass mobilisation, arguing that economic recovery will only be possible if technical experts were put in charge.
  –> Mao disagreed as he thought China was recovering by 1962 and they were ideologically wrong.
• Mao launched the Socialist Education Movement in 1963 which preached for a collective economic approach to hit back at pragmatists.
  –> However, this campaign was controlled by Liu who dealt with economic crimes through work teams, which made Mao unhappy as it prevented it from becoming a mass mobilisation campaign.

Question 2

How did the quest for permanent revolution lead to Mao launching the CR?

Answer 2

• Mao was worried that the revolution would lose impetus, so was keen on mass mobilisation of the youth and wanted to change society to prevent revisionism.
• Mao believed that Khrushchev betrayed the revolution by being too liberal, so wanted to avoid that mistake.
• Mao was aware that the younger Party members had not yet been tested, so they needed to experience a revolutionary struggle to identify with the Revolution.
• The 1963 Socialist Education Movement was an early attempt to regenerate the revolutionary drive.

Question 3

How did the bureaucracy of China lead Mao to launch the CR?

Answer 3

• Mao feared that the new bureaucracy was becoming an elite, so wanted to purge them.
• Urban intellectuals (bureaucrats) criticised the GLF so the CR was an act of vengeance against them.

Question 4

How did divisions between supporters and opponents of Mao’s policies lead to Mao launching the CR?

Answer 4

• Mao openly accused Liu of choosing the ‘capitalist road’ and Deng of trying to run an independent kingdom at the 1964 Party Conference, but could not attack them head on as they had too much support.
• In May 1966, the Central Cultural Revolution Group was set up.
• In May, the Politburo approved a circular targeting counter revolutionaries in the Party, and Kang Sheng began the wall poster campaign in Beijing University to involve students. Student protests became widespread.
  –> Liu and Deng sent out work teams to direct student criticisms at specific individuals rather than the Party in general, but it was ignored by students.
• After Mao’s swim (July 1966), Mao returned to Beijing and forced Liu and Deng to make self-criticisms before the Party Central Committee for their error in sending in work teams.

Question 5

How did Mao extend his hold over young people?

Answer 5

• By 1966, a copy of The Little Red Book became a social necessity.
• Mao’s personality cult helped manipulate young people (The Diary of Lei Feng (1963) helped emphasise loyalty towards Mao).
• Mass rallied made students feel important as they were responsible for directing the revolution.
  –> Mao was able to call students to ‘Bombard the Headquarters’ in his wall poster in August 1966.
• There was a lack of career opportunities available for students whose families carried the ‘wrong’ class label. Joining a Red Guard unit gave youngsters the chance to prove that they were true communists.

Question 6

What were the features of the mass rallies of 1966?

Answer 6

• On 18th August 1966, in Beijing, the first of 8 mass rallies were held. There were 1m Red Guards present alongside Mao.
• The first rally launched the Red Guards into action and Lin Biao identified the targets to be attacked.
• The PLA provided logistical support - free rail passes were given to students to help them attend rallies and travel further to attack targets.

Question 7

What were the features of the attacks on the ‘four olds’?

Answer 7

• Non-violent actions: Western influences in fashion (including ‘Hong-Kong style’ clothing was targeted) and correction stations were set up on street corners where offenders had their heads shaved. Street names were changed to reflect new values: the address of the British Embassy in Beijing became Anti-Imperialist Street.
• Violent actions: houses were ransacked in search of bourgeois possessions, which were destroyed. Owners of these properties were subject to beatings that often ended in death.
• Religion was targeted, with public worship being banned, and clergymen imprisoned.

Question 8

How did the Red Guards destroy ‘old culture’?

Answer 8

• Red Guards destroyed 2/3 of the 7000 places of historical and cultural importance in Beijing, where they also broke into 100,000 homes in search of ‘old’ artefacts.
• Red Guards spent 4 weeks attacking Confucius’ hometown of Qufu.

Question 9

How did anarchy and the use of terror grow?

Answer 9

• The Baboashan crematorium in Beijing disposed of 2,000 bodies in a two-week period in 1966, and in Guangxi 67,000 killings were recorded from 1966-76.
• In November 1966 new Red Guard units were formed, made up of radical factory and office workers, and other units with students from bourgeois backgrounds.
• In January 1967, the ‘January Storm’ occurred; fights broke out in Shanghai between different Red Guard factions, and ended by Mao and the PLA.
• February Crackdown: after arguments between the PLA and CCRG, the PLA suppressed radicals and called on Red Guards to calm down their activities.
  –> However, Mao called for the CCRG to override the PLA and China fell into even more chaos.

Question 10

How were Liu and Deng attacked?

Answer 10

• In October 1966, they were dismissed from their posts as President and General Secretary following a Red Guard demonstration directed at them. Wall posters were created that denounced them.
• Liu:
  –> He and his wife, Wang, were dragged from their house and beaten by a mob.
  –> Liu had to undergo struggle sessions before being imprisoned in deliberately harsh conditions. He died of pneumonia in November 1969.
• Deng:
  –> He was subject to public humiliation and sent to perform corrective labour in a tractor factory in Jiangxi.
  –> He survived due to his links with Zhou Enlai and was rehabilitated into the Party in 1973.

Question 11

How was Lin Biao attacked?

Answer 11

• Once the radical phase of the CR was over, the PLA and therefore Lin Biao were less important to Mao, however he was removed due to his popularity.
  –> Mao feared he could become a Chinese Bonaparte due to his support in the Politburo.
• Mao started the attack by packing the Military Affairs Commission with his supporters, and undermining the position of his ally, Chen Boda, by arresting him.
• Official version of events: Lin Biao and his son Lin Liguo were planning to assassinate Mao and seize power however the plot was discovered and Lin’s plane crashed while attempting to flee in September 1971.
• Lin had been seen as Mao’s main supporter, and successor, so doubt would be cast on the regime if Lin had been revealed to be a traitor.
• News of Lin’s fall was not revealed until 1972, and in 1973 Jiang Qing launched an extensive media campaign accusing Lin of being a Soviet spy.

Question 12

How was the CCP membership purged?

Answer 12

• Higher ranking members were affected the most: only 9 out of the 23 Politburo members of 1966 held their post, and 70% of regional and provincial officials were purged.
• At a local level, 20% of Party officials were purged, and 3m cadres were sent to cadre schools to ‘rediscover revolutionary values’.
• A Revolutionary Committee was set up in Shanghai, made up of Red Guard, PLA and CCP officials, which became the model for other cities to follow. This reduced the power of the Party and increased the power of the PLA.
• Mao reconstructed the Party by removing Liu and Deng. 50% of the Politburo were PLA members.

Question 13

How were ‘capitalist roaders’ and foreigners purged?

Answer 13

• All urban workers were subject to scrutiny, which disrupted their working life and caused industrial production to fall by 13% in 1967.
• The pursuit of ‘capitalist roaders’ was extended into the countryside as part of the ‘cleansing of class ranks’ campaign in 1968, by the CCRG. It resulted in 100,000 deaths, with the peak from 1968-71.
• Foreign embassies and their staff were attacked by Red Guards. In August 1967, a mob of Red Guards attacked the staff of the British Embassy in Beijing.

Question 14

How was order restored by the PLA?

Answer 14

• In August 1967, Mao authorised the PLA to clamp down on Red Guards as they were damaging the economy and education system.
• Mao sped up the creation of Revolutionary Committees after Shanghai was placed under control of the Shanghai Revolutionary Committee. The last of the 29 provincial committees was in place by September 1968.
• The PLA then purged the Red Guards, and took over their revolutionary activities by launching the campaign to ‘cleanse the class ranks’.
• The PLA was entrusted with re-establishing discipline in schools/universities which had been closed for 2 years. At Qinghua University Red Guards refused to lay down their weapons and 10 died.

Question 15

What were the features of the Rustication Program?

Answer 15

• 5m young people were forced to move from cities to the countryside between 1968-1970.
  –> It dispersed former Red Guards to areas where they would cause less trouble and would remind them that China’s revolution was based on the peasantry.
  –> It reinforced PLA control over the young as many farms were ran by the military.
• Most of the young people had a miserable time, as the peasantry were hostile and conditions were primitive with poor living standards.
• This led to the Red Guard generation becoming disillusioned with Mao.

Question 16

How did Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping return to power after the CR was wound down?

Answer 16

• Zhou revived his call for the ‘Four Modernisations’ (pragmatic program).
• Mao’s mindset changed from trying to spread communism to ensuring China’s survival, so Zhou played a key role in establishing closer links with the West, and facilitated Nixon’s visit to China in 1972.
• Zhou tried to restore economic production after the CR and was endorsed by Chen Yun.
• Zhou persuaded Mao to bring back Deng into government, and Deng was meant to strike a balance between pragmatists and radicals by training Wang Hongwen (Mao’s successor).

Question 17

How did the power of the Gang of Four decline?

Answer 17

• The PLA controlled events after 1968 and resisted any threats to their power from radicals. The GoF fell out after the Lin Biao affair.
• The GoF still had some influence when they launched their anti-Confucius campaign in 1973.
• The GoF called for a boycott of Western technology and a renewal of the Communes. They initially got Mao’s backing but lost it when Mao realised they were jockeying for position to be Mao’s successor, causing Mao to back Zhou.
• The Tiananmen Square Incident in 1976 led to the Politburo dismissing Deng from his post, showing the GoF still had some power, however the demonstrations against the GoF shows their decline.