china- cultural revolution TOPIC 3 Flashcards
why did Mao launch the cultural revolution( 3 key areas)
divisions between the CCP- especially those who were pragmatists and ideologues, whilst Mao was keen on mass mobilisation in order to attack corrupt party officials. Another reason is Mao’s quest for a permanent revolution- as he believed mass mobilisation would continue the revolution, he could make it permanent by including the youth into the revolution- which they can carry through for generations. A final reason for the launch of the revolution is to attack bureaucracy as Mao didn’t want those in government to become a privileged elite. Mao believed that ‘capitalist roaders’ were filling the party and he needed to cleanse it.
the divisions between the CCP
his main supporters included lin biao, jiang xing, kang sheng and chen boda, whilst his opponents were liu, deng, chen yun. Mao was not happy with the choices that Liu and deng were making, as he thought they were taking the capatilist road, and he proved his return by the swim at the yangstee river proving his strength on return.
Maos red Guards
they would help ensure long term survival of the communist ideology as mao realised their enthusiasm and how they would not be aware of the mistakes he had just previously made, controlled his cult of personality thru them seeing him as a ‘ great hero and great helmsmen’, they would be engrossed into this heroic leader due to the little red book published by Lin Biao, they began mass rallies- eg 1 mill in Tiananmen square, chaos would soon follow thru the destruction of 4 olds
the attack on the 4 olds
culture, ideas, habits, customs were all attacked by the red gaurds. They were ordered to destroy anything old and traditional- eg buildings, books and statues, struggle sessions took place for authors or teachers, there became a divide between parents and children, attacks on religion
growth of anarchy and use of terror
few restrictions as police and PLA would not get involved, teachers subject to struggle meetings where they were forced to confess crimes, lots of people were killed and executed, red guards began fighting between themselves, started to hit its peak at the january storm 1966,
attack on liu and deng
due to their pragmatic approach, mao wanted to get rid of them, after accusing them of being capitalist roaders, they became critiscised by the party in aug 1966 both becoming dismissed from the CCP. Liu became beaten and tortured, resulting in him dying in prison in 1969. Deng was sent to reform doing labour.
January storm 1967
Red Guards had gained a lot of authority that they attempted to overthrow the party leadership itself, starting their own party. The power of the PLA was needed to get rid of this and so violence was ordered to reduce their growing significance. By 1967, Mao allowed the PLA to restore order in the youth as he worried that the red guards were undermining the PLA and damaging the education. This led to the ‘up to the mountains and down to the villages’ campaign. This included harsh conditions of hard labour and not much food. Young people needed to be taught of the rural life, to supposedly make it more revolutionary.
The Gang of Four
included jiang Qing, they targeted individuals like zhou and deng, as they returned to political importance in the 1970s.As the Cultural Revolution intensified, the members of the Gang of Four advanced to high positions in the government and the CCP. Manipulating the youthful Red Guards, the Gang of Four controlled four areas: intellectual education, basic theories in social sciences, teacher-student relations and school discipline, and party policies regarding intellectuals. After the initial turmoil of the Cultural Revolution subsided in 1969, the Gang of Four maintained their power through control of the media and propaganda outlets and by their seeming adherence to Mao’s policies and wishes.
impact of the cultural revolution
families lost their children, there was divides between the families, a whole generation lost out on access to education, intellectuals suffered a lot of violence and abuse, the modernisation of china became delayed, crime became increased amongst younger generation,
definition of the cultural revolution
A political upheaval in china between 1966 and 1976 when Mao Died, to bring a return to revolutionary Maoist beliefs. This resulted in attacks on intellectuals at a large scale, through purges and struggle meetings.
how was the economy impacted by the cultural revolution?
those intellectuals who gave ideas for the economy were purged, and people were not able to run their businesses, red guards who transport around China, meaning materials became scarce. Between 1966-70 production fell by 13% and it became to recover once the cultural revolution began to settle. Ultimately, it halted Chinas plan for rapid industrialisation.
