9 - Aftermath of the Cultural Revolution

Question 1

What were the factions and power groups after the Cultural Revolution?

Answer 1

Lin Biao and the PLA, Jiand Quing and the Shanghai Radicals, Zhou Enlai and the bureaucracy

Question 2

What happened in 1969 that raised the prestige of the PLA?

Answer 2

Clashed with USSR troops on the Sino-Soviet border, seen as defenders of the nation

Question 3

Mao was getting worried about PLA influence, what did he say they should do?

Answer 3

‘The PLA should learn from the people of the whole nation’

Question 4

What did Lin Biao call Mao at the Ninth Party Congress?

Answer 4

A ‘genius’ - ‘Chairman Mao charts the course. In our work we do no more than follow his wake’

Question 5

What changed between Mao and Lin Biao by the Ninth Party Congress?

Answer 5

Prior, Lin was passive and compliant, however after the Congress he became more confident and self important

Question 6

How did the end of the Cultural Revolution effect the radicals?

Answer 6

Lessened their influence. CRG wound up in 1969, ‘ultra left’ policies withdrawn, however Mao gave the radicals control over Central Committee’s Organisation and Propaganda Group in November 1970

Question 7

How many died in the Sino-Soviet clash in March 1969?

Answer 7

100 Soviets and 800 Chinese

Question 8

What did Mao criticise the PLA of in 1969?

Answer 8

‘Carelessness’ and ‘arrogance’ in the purge of party cadres

Question 9

In Mao’s eyes, what was Lin Biao becoming?

Answer 9

A Chinese Bonaparte

Question 10

When did strains between Lin and Mao become more apparent?

Answer 10

In 1970 when they met to discuss a new State constitution

Question 11

What did Mao want to do to the role of State Chairman?

Answer 11

Remove it, vacant since fall of Liu Shaoqi. Lin persuaded Mao to keep the position - growing suspicion

Question 12

What did Mao do due to being angry and Lin’s alliance with Chen Boda?

Answer 12

Mao denounced Boda for factionalism when he attacked Zhang Chunqiao for opposing Lin. Arrested him and forced to self criticise

Question 13

When did Mao decide to move against Lin Biao?

Answer 13

End of 1970

Question 14

What did Mao call his wearing down of Lin’s power base?

Answer 14

‘Throwing stones, mixing sand, and digging up the cornerstone’

Question 15

What did ‘throwing stones’ mean?

Answer 15

Forcing Lin’s allies to make self criticisms

Question 16

What dod ‘mixing in sand’ mean?

Answer 16

Undermining Lin’s control of the Military Affairs Commission by adding Mao loyalists to the body

Question 17

What did ‘digging up the cornerstone’ mean?

Answer 17

Reorganising the key Beijing military region

Question 18

What did Lin decide to do in February 1971?

Answer 18

Noticed his position was untenable - fought back. Got his son, Lin Lugo to start pressuring for a possible coup

Question 19

When did Lin realise that a clash with Mao was coming to a head?

Answer 19

September 1971 - now ordered his son to activate plans for a coup

Question 20

How did Mao manage to avoid Lin?

Answer 20

Concealed his whereabouts and called military leaders for crisis talks

Question 21

What did Lin Biao and his son decide to do with their coup?

Answer 21

Scrapped it - fell back on their plan to flee to the south and start a new regime in Guandong

Question 22

Why did Lin Biao and Lin Lugo’s plan fail?

Answer 22

Word of it reached Zhou Enlai. He attempted to stop the plane taking off, however only stopped it from fully refuelling

Question 23

What happened to Lin’s plane?

Answer 23

Crashed in Outer Mongolia killing all eight people on board

Question 24

What was Lin denounced as, following his death?

Answer 24

A ‘renegade and traitor’ who had been working as a Soviet agent

Question 25

What happened to senior figures in the PLA after the fall of Lin Biao?

Answer 25

Key commanders who allied with Lin Biao were purged, his son’s allies also purged. However PLA still retained a powerful presence

Question 26

What happened to Mao’s health as a result of Lin’s betrayal?

Answer 26

Was bed ridden for two months - never fully recovered

Question 27

How did the fall of Lin Biao impact Mao’s reputation?

Answer 27

Questioned his judgement of character and revealed that the higher echelons of the CPC were riddled with intrigue

Question 28

Why were there no logical candidates for Mao’s successor after Lin?

Answer 28

Zhou was too moderate and too old, Jiang Quing was too widely hated, Zhang Chunqiao was too radical and didn’t have the stature to command respect

Question 29

What did Mao say about Jiang Qing in 1974?

Answer 29

Told the Politburo, ‘she does not represent me, she only represents herself’

Question 30

What did the CPC officially call Lin Biao in 1972?

Answer 30

A ‘sham Marxist political swindler’ who had cunningly inticed ultra-left trends of thought’

Question 31

Why was the CPC statement on Lin a coded criticism?

Answer 31

Could equally be applied to Jiang and the radicals

Question 32

How did Zhou use his position?

Answer 32

Restored order and discipline, thereby increasing production

Question 33

What were Zhou’s Four Modernisations?

Answer 33

Development of agriculture, industry, national defence, and science and technology

Question 34

When did Zhou open talks with Nixon over reopening relations and what was the result?

Answer 34

1972. Some relaxation of cultural policy, for example Western orchestras allowed to visit China

Question 35

What did Zhou do in 1973 regarding education?

Answer 35

Reintroduced exams as criteria for university entry

Question 36

Who was chosen to attend the farewell banquet for Nixon and what did it show?

Answer 36

Zhang Chunqiao, showed Mao’s support for radicals

Question 37

What did Mao say about Lin’s betrayal in 1973?

Answer 37

It wasn’t because he was an ultra leftist - he adopted a ‘left appearance to disguise right essence’. This removed Mao and the radicals from any blame to do with Lin

Question 38

What happened by the Tenth Party Congress in August 1973?

Answer 38

Radicals recaptured the high ground and appeared to be consolidating power within the party hierarchy.

Question 39

How many allies did the radicals and Zhou have in the Standing Committee?

Answer 39

Radicals had three, Zhou had just one

Question 40

What was a huge source of power of the radicals? ie control

Answer 40

Media and propaganda. Controlled most influential newspaper - the People’s Daily