Chapter 9: The impact of the Cultural Revolution Flashcards
How many estimated deaths were there in Guangxi alone, during the years 1966-76?
67,000
What is thee estimated figure for the number of deaths from the cultural revolution?
Between 700,000-850,000
Who was more affected by the cultural revolution?
City Dwellers rather than peasants
What was the extent of the impact of the cultural rev on cities?
The movement was conducted in almost every high school, university, factory, office and shop in Chinese cities
What happened to food supplies in Shanghai in 1867?
-Food supplies in Shanghai fell to a dangerously low level as the city became convulsed with street fighting and strikes and was virtually cut off from other parts of china
How were people in cities who were not directly involved in Red Guard factions drawn intro the movements in ways they could not avoid?
-At workplaces each morning, people stood in formation and bowed three times before Mao’s portrait
What happened to national output in 1967?
It fell by 13% as a result of the disruption of work in factories and on the transport system
What was the effect of the cultural revolution on the economy and national output in the years 1966-1971
- 1967, fell by 13%
- 1968, further fall in national output
- 1967, national output recovered to levels of 1966
- 1971, the Chinese economy had been able to resume the steady growth that had been achieved in the mid 1960’s
What was the impact of the cultural rev on the private lives millions of city-dwelling Chinese citizens?
-The pressures to conform in terms of thought, appearance and lifestyle intensified during these years
What would happen to citizens if they criticised Mao or his allies, or indeed the whole cultural revolution?
-They would be subjected to humiliation, beatings, imprisonment and worse
Who interpreted what targets to attack in the campaign against the 4 olds? And what are some examples?
- The Red Guards were left to interpret for themselves what targets to attack in their campaign against the four olds
- Pedestrians going about their business in the streets could be attacked almost at random for wearing the ‘wrong’ clothes or hairstyles
- Private homes were invaded and ransacked
What is the estimated figure for the number of homes in Beijing which were entered and searched by Red Guard units in the autumn of 1966?
-It is estimated that between 1/4 to 1/3 of all houses in Beijing were entered and searched by red guard units in the autumn of 1966
What examples of personal objects would red guard’s confiscate when they searched People’s houses?
- Things that showed a bourgeois lifestyle
- Antiques, valuables, musical instruments, paintings, porcelain etc.
What was the extent of the impact of the cultural rev on rural areas (compared to cities)?
-In contrast with the cities, much of China’s countryside was largely untouched by the violence and disruption of the Cultural Revolution
Why was there less disruption in rural areas?
-In rural areas, especially in remote regions there was relatively little red guard activity and peasants were not drawn into the power struggles of the cultural rev
Where in rural areas was there more disruption due to the cultural rev?
- In rural areas near to cities, people were more likely to get involved in ‘revolutionary action’
- Especially in countryside around cities like Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
What proportion of ‘rural disorder’ was reported to be within 50km of cities, between June 1966 and December 1968?
About 2/3 of rural disorder was by places near cities
What happened to agricultural output in the early stages of the cultural rev?
-It declined
What happened to grain production in the years 1966-1969?
- 1966, grain production dropped
- 1967, grain production dropped
- 1968, grain production dropped further (although there was a bad harvest that year)
- 1969, grain production had regained to 1966 level and continued to rise in subsequent years
What was the impact of the cultural rev on health in rural areas?
- Rural areas gained some benefit in health from the cultural rev.
- After 1966 the emphasis in health policy shifted to the countryside.
- In 1968 a rural cooperative medical scheme was introduced
- However many of the new ‘barefoot’ doctors had no training whatsoever
What was the impact of the cultural rev on education in the early stages of the cultural rev?
-In the early stages, schools and universities were the main battlegrounds in the struggle against ‘incorrect ideas’
Why were teachers selected as the first victims of the cultural rev?
-They were the people primarily responsible for instilling ideas and knowledge
What happened to universities and middle schools during the cultural revolution?
- All universities were closed from the summer of 1966 and did not reopen for 2 years
- All middle schools were closed between the autumn of 1966 until the spring of 1967
What happened to many young people towards the final stages of the cultural revolution when the red guard were being supressed?
Many young people were sent from the cities to the countryside to work among and learn from the peasants
Between 1968 and 1976, how many young people were sent to the countryside?
12 million
What did Mao think about the disruption to formal education by the cultural revolution?
He thought that the disruption was necessary and the process of learning through hard labour was essential in his cultural revolution
What is Mao’s famous quote about education and books?
“the more books you read, the more stupid you become”
What was the effect of the disruption of formal education due to the cultural revolution on young people?
- It seriously damaged their long-term prospects
- they were unable to complete their education and graduate, their careers were blighted
What was the effect of the mass youth migration to the countryside, due to the cultural revolution, on the Maoist and revolutionary ideology of young people?
- Their experiences in the countryside also dented the revolutionary idealism of many former red guards.
- Confronted with the reality of rural poverty, backwardness and a lack of proper educational nada health care, few young people could continue to swallow the official propaganda vision of a communist utopia in China.
- For many, their faith in Maoist ideology and China’s political system, was severely undermined
What were some changes made to the education system after the cultural revolution?
- There were fewer examinations
- Content of school and university courses was reduced
- Much greater emphasis on practical work and vocational training
- pupils and students were required to undertake manual labour, for as long as two moths a year
What happened to China, culturally, as a result of the cultural revolution?
-China became a cultural desert
What had happens to many intellectuals during the cultural rev?
-Intellectuals, scholars, writers, teachers had been persecuted, imprisoned or killed
Who became the supreme authority over cultural life after the cultural rev?
-Jiang Qing (Mao’s wife), set herself up as the supreme authority over cultural life.
What are some examples of the impact on culture of the cultural rev?
- Theatres and Cinemas were only allowed to put on ‘revolutionary’ plays and films.
- Operas and ballets had to be personally approved by Jiang Qing.
- The sale and possession of traditional and foreign literature became a crime and was banned
- Libraries and museums wire closed and valuable collections of books and artefacts were damaged or dispersed by the Red Guards
- Books were piled high in town squares and set on fire
What culture was permitted in the decade 1966-76?
Those arts that served propaganda purposes and fed the personality cult of Mao
How did Mao see the Cultural Revolution in terms of the CPC?
-He saw it partly as another purge of the CPC
What percentage of provincial and regional officials were purged, due to the cultural rev?
70% of provincial and regional officials were purged
What percentage of higher-ranking officials lost their jobs as a result of the cultural rev?
60% of higher ranking officials lost their jobs
How many members of the politburo in 1966 remained after the cultural rev?
Only 9 out of 23 politburo members in 1966 remained after the cultural rev
What percentage of the party bureaucracy were labelled as ‘revisionists’ during the cultural rev?
20%
How many party cadres were sent to May 7th Cadre schools?
3 million
What did the party cadres have to do in the May 7th Cadre schools?
They were forced to undertake hard physical labour and intense ideological study
What part did the Red Guards play in the purging of CPC members?
-They would go and hound CPC members out of office
When did Mao’s focus towards the CPC shift?
During 1967 and 1968, Mao’s focus began to shift away from the destruction of the old order to the creation of a new one
When was the first meeting of the new Central Committee?
October 1968
What was the influence of the PLA on the CPC as a result of the cultural rev?
The PLA began to dominate the new Central Committee
Of the 1500 delegates to the April 1969 new party congress, what proportion were members of the PLA?
2/3
What percentage of the Communist Central Committee were PLA?
45%
What was the Cultural Rev’s impact on Deng Xiaoping and Liu Shaoqi?
-They had been humiliated and removed from office and neutralised as a political force
What was the Cultural Rev’s impact on the Politburo?
-The politburo had ceased to have any real power
