3.2: Red Guards & Red Terror

Question 1

Confucious

Answer 1

Confucius - Chinese philosopher whose ideas about respect for ordered had help maintain the previous status quo, but now needed to be destroyed

Question 2

Attacks on ‘Four Olds’

Answer 2

old culture, ideas, customs…
targeted traditional nuclear family, western/ethnic fashion, religion…
struggle sessions, street bonfires burning bourgeoise possessions
Lin Biao speech 18 Aug 1966 Rally: vague, mentioned ‘Confucianism’
Mao> youth’s family

Question 3

Growth of Anarchy & Terror

Answer 3

intellectuals beat up, ‘airplane position’
Ministry of Public Security facilitated systematic brutality
targeted ‘bad’ classes
Guangxi province: 67,000 killings 1966-76

Question 4

Cultural Destruction

Answer 4

aug-september 1966
2/3 of the 7000 places of historical importance
broke into 100,000 homes in search for old artefacts
tried to attack ‘forbidden city’ (stopped by Zhou)
vandalised Confucius’ home

Question 5

Red Guards 1966-67 timeline

Answer 5

18 Aug Rally: Lin Biao orders destruction of ‘Four olds’, savage brutality became systematic
‘January Storm’ 1967
‘February Crackdown’ 1967
Feb-august 1967: CCRG could override PLA & polit
army so undermined could not defend
crackdown on revolutionary groupls

Question 6

Red Terror

Answer 6

RG looted homes
attacked western influences
temples ransacked, historical places destroyed
resentment towards landlords & nationalists
spread by People’s Daily ‘it’s excellent’

Question 7

Confucius Temple

Answer 7

shandong
RG encouraged by Chen Boda attempted to destroy
2000 graves defaced, 2700 books destroyed, 929 paintings & 6618 cultural artefacts
other RG attacked for not being efficient enough

Question 8

‘January Storm’ & ‘February Crackdown’

Answer 8

January: factions between Red Guards put to rest by PLA, Shanghai Rev Committee to control city
January storm 100,000 Red Guards attack 20,000 Scarlet Guards (a different less radical group)
‘February Crackdown’ 1967: PLA suppressed radicals, Polit called on Red Guards to calm down

Question 9

Social Chaos

Answer 9

surgeons cancelled operations: feared using western methods
street lights changed for a short while (green=stop)
children ordered to inform on their parents
urban/peasant clash
students attacked teachers, education stopped 1966-68

Question 10

Political Chaos

Answer 10

Mao at his birthday in 1966 raised a glass to toast ‘To the unfolding Civil War’