Cultural Revolution Flashcards
(33 cards)
when is the CRG set up
may 1963
set up by party leadership in response to Mao’s call for an attack on revisionist ideas in culture
Jiang Qing Wu Han drama
feb 1965 Jiang Qing is sent to criticise Wu Han’s play about Hai Ru (published in ‘59) which parallels Mao’s purging of Peng Dehuai, characterising him as an emperor
nov - Jiang Qing commissioned an article which labelled the play as anti-socialist
when does mao begin to distance himself from beijing party leadership
by 1965, Mao believed Liu Shaoqi and his allies could not be trsuted with defending and extending the revolution - they should be purged (but not wise as they were loyalists to mao)
mao distances himself from beijing leadership and lives in shanghai.
peng zhen drama
1965
SRs open a new front when an article attacks a play written by Wu Han whilst also attacking Peng Zhen for allowing the play to perform.
peng zhen (mayor of beijing) forbade any bejiing newspaper to reprint the article. he was a close friend of the playwright
feb 1966 - peng was overruled by zhou enlai who argued the issue should be debated and it was broadened by a document issued by the PLA and Jiang Qing. Kang Sheng and Chen Boda convinced the Politburo that Peng mishandled the matter and should resign
March 1966 - Peng Zhen is purged as mayor of Beijing
significance of the peng zhen drama 5
- This marked the opening salvo of the Cultural Revolution, reflecting Mao’s strategy to reassert control over the CCP by targeting perceived ideological opponents. The attack on Wu Han’s play illustrates the use of cultural artifacts as political weapons
- Peng Zhen’s protection of the play highlights tensions between moderate and radical factions within the CCP, underscoring the ideological divide between pragmatists (like Peng Zhen, Liu Shaoqi, and Deng Xiaoping) and Maoist radicals, who prioritized ideological purity over practical governance.
- Zhou Enlai’s role highlights his position as a pragmatic mediator within the CCP, balancing Mao’s radical agenda with party stability.
- The involvement of the PLA and Jiang Qing signals the militarization and personalization of the Cultural Revolution, as Mao leveraged loyalists (Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng, Chen Boda) and the PLA to outmaneuver moderates.
The Politburo’s decision to target Peng reflects Mao’s growing influence and his ability to manipulate party mechanisms to purge rivals - It demonstrates the use of ideological accusations (e.g., “revisionism”) to justify political purges, a tactic central to understanding Mao’s methods
when did mao take over the CRG
May 1966 - they criticised the CRG for being to bureaucratic. included Chen Boda, Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Kang Sheng - allies of mao
when did the politburo launch the cultural revolution
may 1966
launched the CR against a “bunch of counter-revolutionary revisionists” and “the bourgeoisie who have sneaked into our party”
when was lin biao speech in 66
may 1966 lin biao encourages the young to be involved and setting the tone it was a revolution from below. was responsible for intensifying mao’s cult of personality
= end of may - term red guards coined
jun 66 CR
disturbances and protests against the party leadership at universities in beijing. spread to high schools in the city
students wearing red guard arm bands and the little red book , they began to attack teachers. there was also criticism moving towards the party itself
liu shaoqi and dxp try to regain control by sending owrk teams into schools and colleges, but protests mount, classes at schools are suspended
mao and yangtze river
july 66
72 year old mao now returned to national politics with his publicity stunt of swimming in the yangtze river to prove his youth
aug ‘66 x8
- mao’s 4 olds speech; customs, habits, traditions, ideas
- red guards multiply, slogan being “destruction before construction”
- mao launches attack on Liu (leader of CCP) at the party’s central committee meeting = beginning of liu’s purging
- liu and deng forced to make self-criticism at the CCM about sending work teams into universities. did not satisfy mao so promoted lin biao to successor, replacing liu
- mao published large character wall where he incites the RG to “bombard the headquarters”, ie to attack party leadership
- folllowed by rallies in TS, attended by about 13 million RG
- 18th august rally of 1mil RG waving little red book
- END OF AUG violence was spreading, schools and unis were closed. RG were free to humiliate, beat, and kill targets eg professors. aimed to eradicate four olds and traces of western influence eg american clothing, hong kong hairstyles
september ‘66
RG started attacking party officials
Mao and allies in the CRG were angry that the ccp had been resisting the CR.
conservative mass organisations which recruited workers and students whose parents were party cadres.
red guard units began to be incr radical, creating splits in the movement
october ‘66
mao had won the power struggle as liu and deng made strong self-criticisms to a conference of provincial party secretaries
november ‘66
factional rivalries continue to appear among red guards.
WRGH drama
WRGH shanghai drama in 66
NOV 66 militant office workers began to form their own RG units. In shanghai, a Workers Revolutionary General Headquarters WRGH was set up to coordinate radical groups in the city.
the shanghai CCP leadership tried to obstruct this but it was out of their control. they instead supported the conservative mass organisation; The Shanghai Red Detachment
Mao declared the workers had the right to establish their own mass organisations, the Shanghai CCP leadership was forced to make a public self-criticism
dec ‘66
deng and liu disappear from public view (liu forever)
free travel for RG on railroads = around 12 million journeyed to Bejiing on their own “long march” to see their “great helmsman”
fighting between rival factions in shanghai
jan 1967
- shanghai paralysed by a strike, food supplies low and fighting between rival RG units
- 3 JAN Rebels seized control of main newspapers in shanghai = party authority collapsed
- 5 JAN January Storm in shanghai leads to overthrow of party leadership in city. WRGH announced overthrow of the Shanghai Party Commission and declared they would run the city eg docks, factories
during jan, rebels seized power in 7 other provinces incl Beijing
february adverse current
feb 1967
key members of the politburo harboured doubts about CR as they thought the RG had been overstepping boundaries.
mao was pressured to impose limits and ordered the RG to stop travelling and return home. th PLA is tasked with restoring order = paves way for reb crackdown
feb crackdown
1967
PLA launches crackdown on radical units, the RGs had gone too far.
Regional military commanders in Sichuan and Wuhan used armed forces to suppress radical RGs and arrested their leaders. this was of their own initiative, showing an absence of political leadership.
Lin Biao and others within the military thought the PLA should be exempt from struggle meetings and rectification. however, the CRG did not want to exempt any of chinese society.
mao u turn on feb crackdown
1967
Mao confirmed his suspicions that the poliburo were challenging his authority - after Feb, the politburo ceased to function.
the PLA officers who cracked down on radical RGs were denounced as “ultra-rightist” and were court marshalled for being too repressive.
july 67
in Wuhan, 600 people were killed in clashes between conservative workers called the Million Heroes, and the radical WRGH. Mao and SR sided with the WRGH.
AUG 67
Mao issues a statement which said the process of “dragging out capitalist roaders in the PLA” was non-strategic, as he realised the PLA were being undermined as a disciplined and effective fighting force. the punishment of PLA was blamed on the May 16 Group who were a small radical group used as a scapegoat
RG take over the foreign ministry for 2 weeks and burn down the British Diplomatic Compound in Beijing.
sept 67
Mao now believed the CR had gone too fare, now it was time to rebuild the party and PLA.
main focus turned from destruction of old order to creating a new system
Mao ordered the RGs and workers factions unite and form “grand alliances”. he called for progress setting up new revolutionary committees.
by end of 67
a far-reaching purge of RG underway.
under the pretext of clamping down on the May 16 group, 10 million people fell under suspicion, 3 mil of whom detained for questioning.
at foreign ministry, 2000 officials were purged
