Cultural revolution Flashcards
Aims of Cultural revolution:
Ideological goal of eradicating all opposition in country-side -> continuing the permanent revolution & restoring the peasant character of the 1949 revolution. - “to purge them of all vestiges of the past” Pantsov MOD
Restoration of Mao Zedong political & personal power and legacy
Aimed at educational institutions (high school and university) -> persuasion of continuation of permanent revolution, encourage revolt against traditional values.
Mao ‘first ten points’ = model on Chinese socialism, deviating from soviet model →first denunciation of USSR - 1956 Mao “avoid certain defects and errors”
Methods of cultural revolution:
Circumvention of the party through going to the people -> critiquing the moderate economic policies, classifying Liu & Deng as ‘counter-revolutionaries’.
Four Cleanups’, Mao’s policy for economic, political and ideological reform in China, precursor to CR. Implementation of Mao’s ideology. - campaign killed millions who were considered counter-revolutionary killings were mostly random
Cult of Personality -> had the support of the PLA who supported the Red Guard Revolutionaries. Mao titled ‘Great helsmen’
The Cultural Revolutionary Group leftist subcommittee of Politburo = Mao emplaced Leftists allies in powerful positions
Radicalization of the youth -> production of 740 million ‘little red book & Socialist Education Movement to target perceived capitalists (the right). - “it is right to rebel”. PLA instructors
Purge of the right opposition party 1966; Liu Shaoqui kept his position as president till 1968, until he was sent to prison where he died in 1969.
Gang of four: Jiang Qing (Mao’s wife)
After the failure of the GLF, Jiang’s role promote permanent revolution.
Public speeches to give cultural revolution support from women and children.
Extreme leftist was public figure of red
guard - ordered the ‘cleaning the ranks’ campaign -> killing millions
Gang of four: Jiang allies
Wenyuan: leading propagandist→elevated to politburo
Chunqiao: propagandist
Hongwen: Trade unionist→ Politburo
Role of gang of four:
Critiqued revisionism and moderate policy
Encouraged the red guard as pivotal force in the cultural revolution
-> “policies and actions not only intensified the chaos and repression” - Jonathan Spence
Encouraged attacks on individuals; bourgeois, revisionists, counter-revolutionaries and capitalist sympathisers. Methods ranged from public humiliation, verbal abuse or violence.
Role of Red Guard:
To dismantle the principles of former chinese society ‘four olds’; customs, ideas, culture and habits of the old.
Radical socialist movement, driven by youth “its was right to rebel” → prominent in Chinese universities→gender equality ->
Idolised Mao reforming cult of personality. Tiananmen rally in August 1966, Mao would wear the Red guard uniform and be handed the red armband
The campaign and the ideas were not specified → interpreted by the red guard→attack, violence or destruction of anything foreign or connected to Chinese imperialism and confucianism
- Destruction of temples and confucius symbols
- attacks of people wearing western clothing + destroy western arts
In 1967, industrial workers would join the red guard→movement spreading across china→factionalism+violence
Results in the ‘red terror’ + creation of a military dictatorship under Mao.
Containment of Red Guard:
Estimated that 650,000 died in red guard factional violence + widespread destruction of property
“Down to the countryside” campaign -> Mao contained the movement by dispersing youth among countryside through cadre → ideologically in-line with Mao’s peasant/proletariat character revolution
Politically Mao had greater control as the red guard was calmed and eliminated his opposition.
Reasons for Lin Biao flight:
“His ambition to succeed Mao, combined with Mao’s growing mistrust, led to his downfall.” Halliday 2005
In 1970 Lin Biao critics foreign and domestic policy → March 1971 refuses to submit himself to self-criticism → September 1971 Lin disappeared and denunciated
It was publicly revealed in 1972 that Lin was a conspirator in an assassination plot on Mao, called project 571, apparently support from Moscow
The assassination plot was revealed an Lin and his family fled on a plane, which crashed on 13th of September 1971
Impact of Lin Biao flight:
Another of Mao’s rivals were either intentionally (or not), were removed
The PLA officers would be purged of any support for Lin Bao
Exposed factionalism and paranoia of Mao rule - Halliday, 2005
Removal of Deng Xiaoping:
Mao’s exile of party ‘rightests’ facilitated Mao’s control of the party during the CR -> deng sent to re-education camp.
In october 1966; Deng and Liu present self-criticism before the Central committee + stripped of power due to their denouncement of Cultural revolution
“danger of prioritised pragmatic governance over ideological conformity” MOD Spence 1990
Economic impact of Cultural revolution
Reductions in output, counterintuitive to growth and development China ->14% reduction in industrial output
Removal of experts resulted in lower agricultural output, especially after GLF.
Mao’s policies increased deficits and reduced productivity -> increase of 1.25 billion Yuan deficit
Austerity measures Rationing -> of flour and rice etc staple items.
Societal impact of Cultural revolution
Health system destroyed by violence and persecution of intellectuals/bourgeois - Doctors were killed or sent to labour camps due to elite/bourgeois background→ insufficient doctors ‘barefoot doctors’
Estimates of 10-30 million deaths→more affected by imprisonment, violence, loss of jobs, houses and public humiliation
Lives controlled by propaganda:
- CR had embedded cult of personality and mao+revolutionary propaganda into society
- Mass rallies led by Jiang’s - Ti
- Giant poster and portraits of Mao in the streets.
Long term disillusionment
Educational impacts of Cultural revolution:
Targeting and persecution of educators and teachers weakened the educational system, the entire education system was cut back -> schools and university were officially close for din from a year 1966
University would only be accessible after 4 years of work labour and only on the recommendation from a work unit, not academic merit
-> decrease of 800 university after the CR
‘Down to the countryside’ removed 12 million students from school however primary school numbers increased in countryside due to higher accessibility.
The nature of political disruption and the impact on the Chinese Communist Party
The party was united by the 1949 revolution, however Mao’s policies+CR created deep division within CCP
CR→Stripped the power of the politburo and the bureaucratic state→more power to Mao and the red guard. -> 90% of party members cam under some form of attack between 1966-1976
PLA had become increasingly powerful within Chinese authority -> Frank Dikotter “military dictatorship”
The re-installing of denounced politicians→moderates controlling economy and foreign affairs circa 1970 but left faction continued to dominate social and cultural policy until 1976
-> Deng Xiaoping recalled in 1973 to assist economic policy→1975 resumed role as General Secretary
Culture impacts of cultural revolution:
There was destruction of former chinese culture (four olds), activities were required to be in-line revolution -> Censorship of anything that did not align with revolution→Banning of traditional music, songs, and remnants of old feudal system
Banning of Western media and art
Introducing proletarian themes into traditional performances
Frank Dikoter: describes the CR as ‘an intellectually and emotionally destructive process’ which created an ‘artistic wasteland’
