Theme 3: The Cultural Revolution and its aftermath - 1966-76 Flashcards
What would Mao have to be worried about pre-cultural revolution?
- his achievements being undone
- route to socialism and economic policies taking capitalist turn
- being side-lined (how will his legacy be affected/he be remembered)
- jealous - Zhou and Liu’s policies worked and have saved the day from the Great Leap Forward
- intellectuals had been brought back
Who were the Ideologues vs Pragmatists?
Ideologues - Mao, Lin Biao, Jian Qing
Pragmatists - Deng Xiapoing, Zhou Enlai, Liu Shaoqui
Who were the Five Red Types of Red Guard?
workers poor and lower middle class peasants revolutionary cadres revolutionary soldiers dependent of revolutionary matrys
Who were the Five Black Elements of Red Guard?
landlords rich peasants counter-revolutionaries bad elements rightists
How were the different types of Red Guard viewed?
red types were seen as the purest form of revolutionaries, while black elements were often ridiculed, humiliated and ostracized from society
Why did the youth join the Red Guards?
- Mao mobilized students of china’s schools that contained party cadre children
- children had been told stories of revolutionary heroism by their parents (Mao offered them a chance of glory)
- young people who had been excluded had a chance to prove themselves
- students whose employment opportunities were small wanted to remove some senior communists
- the policy of the cult of Mao was distributed nationwide by the CCP
What was significant about the little red book?
it was seen as very holy and sacred by those of the red guards
What was the Four Olds Campaign - August 1966?
intention to destroy ‘old ideas’, ‘old culture’, ‘old habits’, ‘old customs’
—->party believed the exploiting classes were using them to corrupt the masses, capture their minds and endeavor to stage a comeback
How did Mao deal with the anarchy?
- Mao found it difficult to control the anarchy because he had done so much to encourage
- Mao knew if the violence continued and anarchy continued then foreign powers could take advantage and try to attack and seize territory from China
- The PLA were ordered to crush the red guard and to violently re-establish control of the central party
Why did Mao create a cult of personality around himself?
Mao was going to tear down the party and rebuild it around himself
What were Mao’s goals from the Cultural Revolution?
Mao’s goals were too purge the party with his revolution and effectively lead to the destruction of the party itself
What happened in April 1969?
Lin Biao was named Mao’s successor
What happened to Chinese society during the Cultural Revolution?
Chinese society grinds to a halt and the country stops running - breakdown of society
What happened in August 1967?
Mao decided to end the violence being caused by the Red Guard. Even though he did not object to the violence, the red guards were undermining the army’s role and were inflicting unsustainable damage on china’s economic and educational systems
What was the ‘up to the mountains and down to the villages’ campaign?
Mao’s policy for dealing with the anarchy and violence and sending the red guards to the countryside
