cultural revoluton essay prep Flashcards
CR ended cpc leadership power stuggle by 1969
Agree
Mao successfully removed pragmatist opposition
By 1969 Liu Shaoqi had died in prison and Deng Xiaoping had been sent to a life of labour in Jiangxi. They were Mao’s main targets of the cultural revolution and the pragmatists who he felt did ot respect his policies, with them removed he had no more need for purging.
The power struggle after 1969 was substantially less violent or eventful.
After Mao’s death power was handed to little known bureaucrat Hua Guofeng Mao had reportedly handed him a note saying ‘with you in charge, I am at ease’. Presumably he was picked because he had been irrelevant to the pragmatist vs ideologue power struggle and would therefore wouldnt cause controversy
CR ended cpc leadership power stuggle by 1969
Disagree
Jiang Qing’s and the gang of fours attempt at power in 1973
The radical ‘gang of four’ (including madame mao) started the criticise confucius and criticise Lin campaign. They hoped revolutionary forces would become mobilised and support them over the less radical Zhou Enlai or Deng Xiaoping.
Their were still plays to inherit Mao’s power
The gang of four used their influence over propaganda to brand Deng as a counter revolutionary after the “Tiananmen square incident’ and have him purged. They removed him from his posts because they knew he was popular and experienced so posed a threat of inheriting Maos position
1966-69 the CR had little impact on the lives of ordinary peasants
Agree
Rural peasants were mostly unaffected by violence
China’s rural population was most unaffected by the Cultural Revolution as peasants were not concerned with power struggles and most red guard activity was concentrated in major cities like Beijing or Shanghai. However, in rural areas close to the cities, peasants were more likely to get involved in ‘revolutionary action.
Maos’ attempts to enforce his ideology among Chinese citizens ultimately failed.
Encouraged by Chen Boda, 200 teachers and students attacked the Confucius temple in Shandong in 1966 and denounced Confucian supporters as ‘monsters and freaks’. Mao disliked confucianism because it was previously the largest ideology and therefore a contender to his own, whilst the red guards wanted to end its exploitative beliefs in favour of Mao thought.
However by this point there were few confucius supporters left to receive the criticism and after Mao’s death in 1976 confucianism was gradually revived.
1966-69 the CR had little impact on the lives of ordinary citizens
Disagree
Urban areas saw the greatest disturbance in the cultural revolution
Estimations indicate that in August 1966 between ¼ - ⅓ of all Bejing homes were searched by red guards for possessions like antiques, photographs and paintings. Many urban citizens were subjugated to violent red guard ransackings with their personal and family possessions destroyed for being ‘bourgeois’, all in the name of cultural revolution.
Ordinary Chinese citizens experienced cultural destruction at the hands of the red guards.
In Tibet aspects of their individual culture were targeted by red guards. For example long hair was denounced as ‘an old custom’ and peasants were forced to help attack shrines and monasteries. Tibetan citizens were particularly targeted by the red guard as they used to be independent and therefore retained pockets of traditional culture which wasn’t in line with Mao’s thought.
How important was Mao’s desire to ‘remould’ the Chinese people in his decision to launch the CR
Agree
Mass mobilisation of the youth
Multiple methods of indoctrination to Mao thought such as the little red book, character posters, and the 8 mass rallies in Tienanman square were targeted at the youth to encourage joining the red guard. Mao targeted the youth as the new foundation of Chinese culture because they had less ties to tradition and would be alive for longer, making them an easily influenceable conduit for his ideals of permanent revolution.
One of Mao’s major reasons for launching the cultural revolution was to eradicate old Chinese culture
The four olds campaign intended to destroy old culture, ideas, customs and habits since they were denounced as being used by the ‘exploiting class to corrupt the masses’. In reality, Mao was using the cultural revolution to end any loyalty to traditional Chinese beliefs so that his own ideology would be uncontested amongst the Chinese populus.
How important was Mao’s desire to ‘remould’ the Chinese people in his decision to launch the CR
Disagree
However a substantial aim of the cultural revolution for Mao was to purge rightists and pragmatists.
By 1969 Lui was officially denounced as a ‘renegade scab’ and an official traitor, he was subsequently stripped of all posts and sent into exile and held in an empty unheated building. Mao targeted Liu because he was pragmatic and popular, not only did Lius policies reverse or contradict Maos own but he also was popular enough to take full control of China after Mao’s inevitable death.
Ideological motivation
Mao and his supporters believed that de-stalinization in the USSR had led to ‘revisionism’ (a less radical ideology) therefore the USSR had left the path of true socialism. This left Mao to assume the position as world leader of socialism but Mao’s vision of socialism could not be achieved with ‘capitalist roader’ pragmatists in charge, thus the cultural revolution was required to purge Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping.
How successful was Mao in achieving his aims in the CR (1966 to 1971)?
Agree
One considerable aim of the cultural revolution for Mao was to purge rightists and pragmatists.
By 1969 Liu was officially denounced as a ‘renegade scab’ and an official traitor, he was subsequently stripped of all posts and sent into exile and held in an empty unheated building. Mao targeted Liu because he was pragmatic and popular, not only did Lius policies reverse or contradict Maos own but he also was popular enough to take full control of China after Mao’s inevitable death.
Mao succeeded in his aim of eradicating old Chinese culture during the cultural revolution.
The four olds campaign intended to destroy old culture, ideas, customs and habits since they were denounced as being used by the ‘exploiting class to corrupt the masses’. Red partoke in destroying old culture such as by ransacking a third of homes in Beijing for antiques and traditional possessions. Mao was using the cultural revolution to end any loyalty to traditional Chinese beliefs so that his own ideology would be uncontested amongst the Chinese populus.
How successful was Mao in achieving his aims in the CR (1966 to 1971)?
Disagree
Mao ultimatly failed to create a loyal generation
In 1968 18 million red guards were sent to ‘cool off’ in rural areas of the country as part of the ‘up to the mountains and down to the villages campaign’. This was presented a chance to learn by ‘serving the people’ through manual labour. However the red guards became cynical and disillusioned to politics upon realising anyone with party connections or important families would get to quickly return to the cities whilst the rest were left in permanent exile.
Mao failed in establishing a strong trustworhty successor
After Mao’s death power was handed to little known bureaucrat Hua Guofeng Mao had reportedly handed him a note saying ‘with you in charge, I am at ease’. A major aim of the cultural revolution was for Mao to chose a worthy successor after his inpending death. Yet instead of chosing a politically close ally to continue his beliefs. Hua was picked as a compromise as he had been irrelevant to the pragmatist vs ideologue power struggle and therefore wouldnt cause controversy
How successful was Mao in developing a revolutionary spirit among China’s youth during the CR?
Agree
One way Mao successfully developed a revolutionary spirit among China’s youth during the cultural revolution was through the use of propaganda.
Between August and November of 1966 Mao held 8 mass rallies in Tiananmen square attracting 12 million young people. Mao cleverly made train transport free during this period. The rallies were extremely successful in building revolutionary spirit because the free transport made them convenient, accessible and a massive social event for young people. Many of whom had never experienced travel on this scale before, giving no reason for young people not to attend.
Mao also saw success in indoctrinating the youth from privileged rightist backgrounds into the red guards.
Children of the ‘black elements’ (landlords, rich peasants ect) initially were barred from joining the red guards. Despite this they eventually became the most violent and determined of the group, constantly shouting slogans like ‘it is justified to rebel’. They were effectively overcompensating for their privileged background because they trusted Mao’s support for the proletariat over their parents’ success. Therefore Mao had managed to convince the youth of the ‘exploitative’ class to betray their parents and join his cause.
How successful was Mao in developing a revolutionary spirit among China’s youth during the CR?
Disagree
The Chinese people began to lose faith in the government after inconsistent rumours.
In 1971 Lin Biao died in a plane crash whilst fleeing from Mao who had suspected him of planning a military coup with the help of his son (Lin Liguo) and the PLA. Suddenly propaganda denounced Lin Biao as a traitor working for the USSR despite having been Maos closest comrade for years. Doubt spread through the people because no one had done as much for the revolution as Lin and even if the rumors were true this would mean Mao had allowed himself to be deceived.
Towards the end of the cultural revolution the red guards lost faith in politics after becoming aware of injustice.
18 million red guards were sent to ‘cool off’ in rural areas of the country as part of the ‘up to the mountains and down to the villages campaign’. This was presented a chance to learn by ‘serving the people’ through manual labour. However the red guards became cynical and disillusioned to politics upon realising anyone with party connections or important families would get to quickly return to the cities whilst the rest were left in permanent exile.
