Mao topic 3- cultural revolution Flashcards
(130 cards)
1
Q
In what way was the CCP divided?
A
Ideologues and pragmatists
2
Q
Which division of the Party did Mao belong to? Why is that?
A
Ideologues, he was uncomfortable with the measures taken to alleviate the problems of the Great Leap Forward since it was against his ideology
3
Q
Which division of the Party were Liu and Deng a part of?
A
Pragmatists, the restoration of private trade and dismantling of the communes are more pragmatic
4
Q
Even with the eradication of the ruling class, why was Mao still concerned?
A
Their attitudes are still aparent in the assumptions and behaviours of people in general due to their views having embedded to the education system, arts and culture
5
Q
How did Mao view the people with capitalist attitudes?
A
He believed he needed to eradicate all of them in the Party, even if other officials are willing to tolerate a broader Party membership with intellectuals
6
Q
What was held on January 1962?
A
7000 cadre conference
7
Q
What did Mao intend to do with the 7000 cadre conference and how did the reality differ from his intentions?
A
He wanted to try to rally support inside the CCP against further drift from socialist ideas, but Liu hinted at Mao’s mistakes, which eventually led to his withdrawl from public
8
Q
Which event led to Mao’s withdrawl from public?
A
70000 cadre conference
9
Q
Which 4 members of the CCP advocated a shift from socialist ideology to solve the economic crisis?
A
Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Bo Yibo
10
Q
What did the pragmatists in the CCP criticse? (Mao’s thinking)
A
That mass mobilisation was more harmful than beneficial, technical experts should be put in charge and policies should be imposed from above
11
Q
What did the pragmatists advocate in terms of foreing policy?
A
To come to peace with countries like USA or USSR, since they couldn’t afford any confrontation from either of those countries with a dreeadfull economic state
12
Q
Who did Mao believe should be the ones in control of change in the rectification campaigns?
A
The peasantry
13
Q
Why did Mao keep stressing on mass mobilisation?
A
It was key to continue and protect the revolution by having people getting involved in campaigns to fight to defend the changes
14
Q
What was launched in 1963 to preach the virtue of collective economic approach?
A
Socialist Education Movement in 1963
15
Q
What did Mao hope for by launching the Socialist Eduation Movement?
A
REnew a sense of class struggle among peasants and to allow them to identify and attack corrupt Party officials in struggle sessions
16
Q
What was the role of Liu in the Socialist Education Movement?
A
The campaign was centrally controlled with Party work teams restoring discipline, many were executed for economic crimes
17
Q
How would mass mobilisation help continue revolution throughout the new generation?
A
The younger members of the Party did not go through Long March, so they had to get directly involved and experience the revolutionary struggle to make them identify with it
18
Q
Why was Mao concerned about the bureaucrats?
A
The new bureaucrats had been created to run Communist China, and they were becoming self-satisfied elite, motivate only by the privilege of pwoer
19
Q
Why did Mao keep the bureaucrats despite their threats?
A
They were the only ones educated enough to run the country
20
Q
How did the bureaucrats threaten the revolution?
A
They were most critical of the Great Leap Forward and Cultural Revolution
21
Q
Who did Mao want to be at the centre of the revolution?
A
the peasants
22
Q
What had to be done to root out corruption within the Party ranks?
A
a new rectification campaign
23
Q
Who were Mao’s main supporters?
A
Lin Biao (leader of PLA), Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng and Chen Boda
24
Q
Who were Mao’s main opposition?
A
Liu Shaoqi (head of state), Deng, Chen Yun and Bo Yibo
25
What was the first step of the Cultural Revolution?
To get rid of the pragmatists
26
At what point was Liu seen as Mao's opposition?
after the 7000 cadre conference, he was accused of choosing the 'capitalist road'
27
What was Deng accused of doing?
trying to run an independent kingdom
28
Why weren't Liu and Deng purged at the start?
They had too much support in the Politburo and the wider Party
29
When was the attack of Wuhan launched?
1965
30
Why was Wu Han's play so significant?
The play is a parallel of the Lushan Conference, Wu Han's boss was Peng Zhen, one of closest allies, and was responsible for culture, which makes it possible for Mao to discredit Liu for association
31
When did Mao attack Peng Zhen?
March 1966, when Liu was absent from the Politburo, his supports, Zhou and Deng abadoned Peng due to their fear of losing their positins
32
What was set up in May 1966 to direct the Cultural Revolution? Who was it dominated by?
Central Cultural Revolution Group set up, mostly dominated by Mao's supporters and the Gang of Four
33
What was launched in May 1966 to target the counter-revolutionaries in the Party?
wall posters campaign
34
Who directed the wall posters campaign?
Kang Sheng
35
How was the wall poster campaign a failure for Liu and Deng?
Their efforts to moderate the criticisms did not work
36
How was the wall poster campaign a failure for Mao?
He wanted the attack to be from below but not the imposition of discipline from above
37
Why did Mao focus on the young people during the Cultural Revolution?
Since it would help ensure long-term survival of communism and young people were very enthusiastic, as showcased during the antis campaign and Great Leap Forward
38
What did the personality cult of Mao establish?
Mao as the heroic figure who led the revolution in contrast to the Communist Party who supervised and suppressed the people, the Party was portrayed as a threat to Mao's achievements
39
Where and when was the first rally by the Red Guards held?
18 August, in Tiananmen Square 1966
40
In what ways were the mass rallies helpful in accumulating enthusiasm towards the revolution?
It made the students feel important because they were given the responsibility to direct the revolution themselves, and also due to the fact that Mao claimed he needed their support to defeat the reactionary elements
41
What is an example of the successes of accumulating support from the young people?
In August 1966, his call to students to 'Bombard the Headquarters' was greeted enthusiastically by them
42
How did joining the Red Guards benefit the young people?
More youngsters from middle-class backgrounds were given the chance to prove thier loyalty and therefore deserved better job opportunities
43
How did the unpopularity of the Party encourage the young people to join the Red Guards?
They were treated poorly by the Party when they were pressurised to relocate from the cities to the countryside after the Great Leap Forward, so they saw it as a chance to get back at Party cadres
44
What happened in the first rally in Beijing in 1966?
Mao wore an army uniform to demonstrate his closeness to the PLA, and Liu, Deng and Zhou stood from a considerable distance from Mao in civillian clothes
45
Who addressed the crowd during the first rally?
Lin Biao
46
What happened after the first rally?
The Red Guards started to attack the 'four olds', identified targets were attacked, and the students were given official approval for whatever action they took
47
What was used in this rally to launch the Red Guard into action?
the hyterical hero-worship of Mao, and having staged the rally on such a colossal scale created a sense of unity
48
How many Red Guards attended the eight rallies? What did it prove?
Millions, proved the enthusiasm of the young people and the active organisation role of the PLA
49
Who instructed the Red Guards to attack the 'four olds'?
Lin Biao
50
What were targeted during the attack of the 'four olds'?
Anything that represents past values (Confucius and Co.), fashion trends that were influenced by the West, religion, traditional families
51
What did the Red Guards do in the attack of 'four olds'?
Houses were ransacked in search of bourgeois possessions, and were destroyed, books written by bourgeois authors were burned
52
How did Mao managed to get the Red Guards to attack traditional families?
Young people were urged to treat Mao and the newly cleansed CCP as their true parents, childre would inform the Red Guards of parents who clung on to old attitudes
53
Who was in charge of the nation's culture?
CCRG, and Jiang Qing
54
Was the attack of the 'four olds' successful?
To some extent, it was extreme and violent, but changes made were temporary since traditional views were engrained
55
What is an example of event that showed that traditional attitudes were still prevalent?
When many people mourned for Zhou Enlai's death in 1976
56
What did the limited restrictions of the Red Guard lead to?
They were given free rein to attack figures of authority, it was expanded to anyone whose lifestyle suggested wealth, privilege or an adherence to old or foreign ideas
57
How did the attacks by the Red Guards grow?
when officials in the Ministry of Public Security passed names of members who were of the bad classes to the Red Guards
58
Around how many people were killed as a result of the executions caused by the Red Guards and the growth of terror?
There were around 2000 bodies in Babaoshan crematorium in a span of two weeks, more than 60k deaths in ten years (1969-76)
59
What caused the further growth of terror among the Red Guards?
the formation of new Red Guard units in factories and office and new units of students from non-Party bourgeois cause
60
What did the growth of terror lead to? At what point did Mao intervene?
There was chaotic infighting in Jan 1967, that was when Mao intervened with the help of the PLA to end the 'January Storm', and the city was placed under the surveillance of Shanghai Revolutionary Committee
61
How did the Cultural Revolution start to worry more sections of the Party? What happened as a result?
the PLA was anxious to be exempted from the struggle sessions, but the CCRG wanted the same criteria to apply to all institutions, PLA later started to suppress Red Guards radicals in the February Crackdown (this was supported by the Politburo)
but Mao later called for CCRG to override both the Politburo and PLA, and China drifted further into factional disputes and chaos
62
What happened in the February Crackdown?
Leading Politburo also supported the actions of the PLA, and sent the Red Guards to calm the radicals' activities
63
How did Mao intervene with the February Crackdown?
He called the CCRG to override both the Politburo and the PLA, leading to further chaos
64
How did the Red Guards attack culture?
They destroyed 2/3 of the 7000 place of historical and cultural improtance in Beijin and broke into 100k homes to search for 'old' artefacts
65
When were Liu and Deng dismissed?
October 1966
66
When did Liu die?
November 1969
67
When was Deng let back into the Party?
1973
68
What was Lin Biao's role to the Communist Party?
He played a pivotal war in the Communist victory in the civil war and replaced Peng as defence minister in 1959, he abolished ranks and guided the PLA, making them a more radical force
69
Did Mao approve of Lin?
Yes, he was Mao's designated successor (stated in 1969 Amendment of the Constitution)
70
In what ways can it be argued that Lin's role politically is passive?
He was usually swept along with the tide of events, his position was not entirely due to personal ambition, he would just do what Mao told him to do, he blamed his poor health for any responsibilities
71
Why did Mao attack Lin Biao despite having chosen him as his successor?
He was becoming to popular, and Mao feared that Lin might use his political and military support to become a Chinese dictator, his suspicion was increased when Lin had fallen out with Jiang Qing over the extent of her interference in army matters
72
How did Mao start his attack on Lin Biao?
He started underminnning the position of some of Lin's allies, starting with Chen Boda, where he was arrested and forced to make a self-criticism for factional behaviour (treason)
73
How did Mao organise the military to attack Lin Biao?
He packed the Military Affairs Commission with his supporters, and relocated Lin's allies in the Beijing military region elsewhere
74
What was the official version of the fall on Lin Biao?
That he and his son were planning to assassinate Mao and then seize power in a military coup, and when this was discovered, Lin attempted to fleed to Russia, but his plane was crashed on the way
75
What were the consequences of the attack of Lin Biao?
Since Lin Biao was seen as his successor, it was hard to reveal the news of his death without hurting the credilbility of the regime due to Lin's role in the CCP
76
When was the news of Lin's death? What was done to discredit Lin?
1972, Jiang Qing launched a extensive media campaignt to discredit him of being a Soviet spy
77
How did the attack of Lin negatively impact the regime?
People started to doubt their relationship with Mao, increased scepticism, and also reopened the question for Mao's successor which caused factional rivalry
78
How did the regime try to avert the negative impact of Lin's death?
they didn't release the news of Lin's fall until 1972, and the following year, Jiang Qing launched an extensive media campaign to discredit Lin by accusing him of being Soviet spy, who was masquerading as a man of the radical left
79
What was the public called on to do to discredit Lin?
'criticise Lin Biao and Confucius', implying that Lin was a modern reincarnation of Confucius and his reactionary ideas
80
How did the fall of Lin mark a turning point in the relationship between the public and Mao?
Mao was increasingly regarded with scepticism, and those who had been close to Lin were purged
81
What was 'Bombard the Headquarters'?
the widening of the attack on the leadership of the CCP to a broader purge of its membership at all levels
82
Who were affected the most during the purging of CCP membership?
higher-ranking members: only 9 of the 23 Politburo members of 1966 held on to their posts
4 of the 6 regional first secretaries were purged, as were some 70% of provincial and regional officials
2/3 of the members of the Central Committee that met in 1966 had been purged by the next time it gathered in Pct 1968
83
How many party officials were purged at a local level?
20% of Party official were purged and 3m cadres were sent to May 7th cadre schools where they were to discover their revolutionary zeal through a combination of political study and hard physical. labour alongside the peasantry (usually involved torture and beatings that were fatal)
84
What was the January Storm (1967) and how did Mao react to it?
when militant factory and office workers formed their own Red Guard units and overthrew the Party leadership in Shanghai, setting up a People's Commune that was to be run by freely elected representatives
Mao initially supported this but later set up a new revolutionary committee comprising Red Guard, PLA and existing CCP officials to run Shanghai (became a model for other cities to copy)
85
Why did it later become clear that the balance of power had swung to the army?
in the subsequent shake-up of provincial Party branches, 25 of the 29 first secretaries lost their jobs, most of them serving PLA officers
86
In which Central Committee meeting did Mao announced the victory of the Cultural Revolution?
October 1968; also expelled Liu from the Party and government
87
When did the Party declare the Cultural Revolution to be over? What happened in the meeting?
April 1969 9th Party Congress; they adopted a new Party constitution, stressing the importance of Mao Zedong Thought and the continuation of class war
88
What were 2 obvious changes following the 9th Party Congress?
1) the increased influence of the PLA - 2/3 of the delegates to the Congress were members, as were 45% of the new Central Committee and half of the Politburo
2) the extent of Mao's control over the new Party; so many veteran embers had been purged and replaced by less experienced newcomers that his ability to manipulate it was greater than ever
89
What was a 'capitalist roader'? Why was being a capitalist roader considered a serious offence?
anyone perceived as clinging on to a capitalist mindset
it was levelled at pragmatists in Party leadership e.g. Liu, Deng and Bo Yibo because of specific policies that they advocated, but it was also a convenient general label to justify attacking any enemy bc waging class warfare was important to Mao
90
Which areas were the attacks on 'capitalist roaders' mainly focused on?
urban areas where the staff of every factory, office, shop and school were subjected to scrutiny
91
How did the scrutiny in the urban areas negatively affect people's lives?
it had damaging effects on the thousands of individuals involved and this disruption to working life led to a serious fall in industrial production, which was down by 13% in 1967 and still further in 1968, before quickly picking up again once the persecution of the workforce stopped
92
What campaign led to the extension of the pursuit of capitalist roaders into the countryside? What was the result?
'cleansing the class ranks' in early 1968 by the CCRG (even after the Red Guards had been disbanded)
it accounted to over 100,000 deaths
93
What campaign was launched to remove all attitudes that were preventing economic progress?
'one strike and three antis' in 1970. Mao intervened to halt it in 1971
94
What evidence was there to show that the CCRG had caused the increasing numbers of death?
records of deaths in rural counties shows that violence in these areas was at its peak between 1968 and 1971 (after the Red Guards were sent away)
95
Except for Chinese people, who were also victims of the Cultural Revolution? What were some examples?
foreign embassies and their staff were also attacked by the Red Guards
e.g. in Aug 1967, a mob of Red Guards broke into the British embassy in beijing, physically attacking the staff
30 countries experienced violent incidents involving Chinese militants
in Burma and Indonesia, locals attacked Chinese expatriates in retaliation; Britain was particularly attacked because of Hong Kong, but embassies and staff of ten other counties (e.g. India, Holland, Russia and France) also came under attack
96
When did Mao decide to allow the PLA to clamp down on the Red Guards? How did this demonstrate Mao's control over the events during the Cultural Revolution?
Aug 1967
the fact that he had almost decided to do this in Feb but later changed his mind to give them longer to wreck havoc + the ease with which the PLA did restore order after August shows how Mao had always been in control of events and was confident that the PLA would be willing to carry out his wishes
97
Why did Mao need to clamp down on the Red Guards?
he had no objections to the violence of the Red Guards but by this time, they were undermining the army's role and were inflicting unsustainable damage on China's economic and educational systems
98
Why was the PLA anxious to end the Red Guard violence?
it did not want to open itself up to self-criticism and struggle sessions, but they did not want to risk jeopardising its status as the creator and defender of the revolution (which the Red Guards might eventually challenge if allowed to continue unchecked indefinitely)
but after having Mao remove the four most radical members of the CCRG, it became easier (which shows Mao's control of the events)
99
What did Mao do to clamp down on the Red Guards?
he ordered the rival Red Guard and workers' factions to form alliances and stop fighting each other, and sped up the creation of the new revolutionary committees to run cities and provinces (members of these committees were dominated by PLA officers at provincial, county and local level)
100
How many provincial committees were in place by 1968?
29
101
How did the PLA begin a full-scale purge of the Red Guards?
they disbanded Red Guard units and closed down their newspapers by the end of 1968
launched the campaign to 'cleanse the class ranks' to show that it had taken over Red Guard revolutionary tasks
there was a full-scale civil war in Shanxi and looting of weapons bound for Vietnam in Guangxi, but both provinces were eventually pacified in the summer of 1968
the PLA was entrusted with re-establishing discipline in the schools and universities, by the Red Guards refused to lay down their arms in Qinghua University, and 10 died in the fighting the ensued
102
What happened to education during the time of the purge of the Red Guards?
education could resume, but the combination of two years without schooling and the drop in industrial output caused by so much infighting made urban youth unemployment a serious issue
103
Which programme was set up as a result of the problems faced in education?
rustication programme in 1968
104
What was the rustication programme?
it involved a compulsory movement of some 5m young people from the cities to the countryside between 1968-70
105
What were the aims of the rustication programme? (5)
1) tried to ease urban unemployment
2) dispersed many Red Guards to areas where they would cause less trouble
3) taught the urban young about the life of the Chinese peasant, while reminding them that China's revolution was based on the peasantry
4) it hardened the new class of young urban intellectuals and bureaucrats by introducing them to the realities of manual labour
5) reinforced the army's control over the young, since many of the farms on which they were employed were run by the military
106
What were the effects of the rustication programme?
many of those relocated had a miserable time, having to learn new skills from a hostile peasantry who had little extra food with which to feed them
rural conditions were primitive and standards of living were lower than most of the newcomers were used to
most hated the experience, many of the generation who served in the Red Guard and were then sent to the countryside were disillusioned with Mao, feeling they had been used as pawns in his power struggle
107
Who was Zhou Enlai? Why was he never purged?
he held the post of PM from 1949 until his death in 1976
he was never purged because he was far too useful to Mao and was skilful at distancing himself from awkward situations
Lin Biao's demise helped to restore his credibility after having been targeted by radicals due to his pragmatic stance
108
What was the role of Zhou Enlai in the fall of Lin Biao?
he uncovered the alleged assassination plot and in foiling Lin's escape by closing China's airports; it was also his daughter that leaked news of Lin's plot
109
What was the Four Modernisations? How did Zhou promote this programme?
it was a pragmatic programme to develop agriculture, industry, defence an education based on a more systematic basis, he has been advocating for this since 1963
Zhou used the opportunity presented by Mao's uncertainty on how to present Biao's treachery (whether he should be condemned as a traitor on the far left or right) to revive his call for the Four Modernisation
110
What was Zhou's role in foreign policy?
a fundamental part of Four Modernisations was to establish closer links with the West to acquire more technical expertise; Zhou played a role in facilitating Nixon's visit to China in 1972
111
International relations between China and the USA in the 1970s
full diplomatic relations were not established until 1979, but there was a tone of more conciliatory relations set in place; and since the common enmity with Russia had convinced the USA of the value of treating China as an equal, Mao had adopted the more limited ambition of ensuring China's survival as a communist state
112
How did Zhou exploit the success of Nixon's visit and Mao's continued uncertainty over Lin's plot to promote pragmatism?
He embarked on a concerted effort to restore economic production and stability after the disruption of the Cultural Revolution (Chen Yun, the veteran economic planner, publicly endorsed his policies)
Zhou also introduced university entrance exams to raise standards in further education
113
Why did Zhou's progress with his policies slow down?
because he was unable to remove the radicals from their positions of power in the CCRG and Mao swung his support back behind them in 1973 when he eventually decided that Lin was a rightist pretending to be on the far left; Zhou became a renewed target of attacks from the radicals
114
Zhou's role in bringing back Deng
he got Deng back into the fold in 1973 - Deng's role as a pragmatist and as someone who could get things done, benefitted from the post-Lin need for moderation and Zhou was able to persuade Mao to get him back into the government
Moa's initial motive in restoring Deng was to employ him to help train his newly chosen successor, Wang Hongwen
115
What was Mao's plan for Deng and Wang?
for them to work together for a few years, and if all went well, Wang would be able to go it alone after Mao's death
116
What was Deng's role in helping Mao?
he helped Mao strike a balance between the radicals and pragmatists between 1973 and 1976
117
What was Deng's role in foreign policy and the military?
he led China's delegations to the United Nations, to which they had been admitted in 1971 when the gained US support; he was appointed army chief of staff in order to keep the regional military commanders in check and prevent any revival of warlordism
in March 1973, he was appointed vice premier, and in the following year, he regained his old post as Party secretary
118
What event saw the purging of Deng again?
the Tiananmen Incident in April 1976 (Zhou's funeral)
119
Even though the Cultural Revolution was announced to have been ended in the 9th Party congress, which group continued to exert influence on the direction of events?
the Gang of Four continued to exert influenced through their domination of the CCRG, but it was the PLA that really controlled what happened after 1968
120
What were two significant factor that marginalised the Gang of Four after 1968?
1. members of the PLA saw themselves as the true guardians of the revolution and, while they shared many aims with the CCRG, they were strong enough to resist any threats to their power that excessively radical initiatives might pose
2. fall-out from the Lin Biao affair - the uncertainty over how to explain this gave Zhou the opportunity to restore moderate policies -- this made others in the Party leadership question whether the CR had gone too far and made them reluctant to risk further radical initiatives (for fear of damaging even more the shaky confidence that was facing the regime)
121
What event made the Cultural Revolution a less radical affair?
the disbanding of the Red Guards
122
What campaign proved that the Gang of Four still had some influence despite their decreasing influence?
their launching of the anti-Confucius campaign to discredit Lin
depicting Lin as a reactionary in the same category as Confucius allowed them to extend the campaign into an attack on anyone of moderate outlook, i.e. Zhou and Deng; they called for a boycott of Western technology and a renewal of the People's Communes and revived Mao's slogan of 'Learn from Dazhai' (which he had first used against the capitalist roaders back in 1964)
123
Why did the Gang of Four receive support from Mao initially? How did this change later on?
because their Dazhai campaign agreed with Mao's desire to see the revolution being constantly renewed, but they lost Mao's support when it became clear that they were more concerned with jockeying for position in the succession struggle rather than promoting continuous revolution. Therefore, Mao's supported Zhou instead
124
How did the Gang of Four reassert themselves again in 1976?
during Zhou's memorial service in April when it turned into a huge demonstration in Tiananmen Square, in favour of his moderate policies and attacking the Gang of Four, there were violent and bloody confrontations between riot police and demonstrators
the Gang of Four took advantage of this and Mao's worsening health to reassert themselves; Deng was blamed for this incident and was went into exile
125
How did the Tiananmen Incident demonstrate the Gang of Four's declining influence?
even though the Politburo's response to the incident showed that the Gang of Four still had some influence, the fact that there were demonstrations in the first place demonstrates their declining influence
126
When did Mao die? How did his declining health prior to his death affect his power?
he died in Sep 1976 but was already in serious health decline since the fall of Lin Biao in 1971; the result of his decline gave those closest to him more power as they interpreted his wishes for much of the time and to encourage contenders for the succession to manoeuvre themselves into the best possible position form which the seize power when Mao died
127
Who had been possible successors to Mao?
Liu Shaoqi, Lin Biao, Zhang Chunqiao (but rejected bc of limited support based) and Wang Hongwen (later rejected bc Mao thought that he was still too much under the influence of Jiang Qing)
128
Who became the successor to Mao?
Hua Guofeng
129
How did Hua attack the Gang of Four?
he formed alliance with military commanders in the PLA when the Gang tried to undermine his position, so when Hua took over as head of Party after Mao's death, the PLA helped Hua arrest the Gang (who did not have any armed supporters). Afterwards, the moderate policies reintroduced by Zhou and Deng was revived
130
When did Deng return to power?
1980, which was the same year the Gang of Four went to trial
