How important was Mao’s desire to ‘remould’ the Chinese people in his decision to launch the Cultural Revolution? Flashcards
1
Q
Agree - Attacks on the ‘Four Olds’
A
- To destroy the old habits would hinder the ability of the bourgeois feudal classes to endure. The Red Guards had been told to ‘put daring above everything else’ and ‘boldly arouse the masses’ but their frenzied actions went far beyond that expected by the pragmatic Party leaders like Liu, Den and Zhou. The Red Guards ignored the orders to allow any who had made ‘mistakes’ the chance to ‘turn over a new leaf ‘. Places and objects representing old-fashioned ideas were attacked.
- Old feudal shop signs were changed to read ‘Defend Mao Zedong’ or ‘Permanent Revolution’, Children’s names were changed to Red Glory or Face the East.
2
Q
Agree - The use of terror to target Black Elements
A
- During the autumn and winter of 1966 the violence of the Red Guards spiralled out of control. It became known as the Red Terror’, Some victims were targeted numerous times by rival Red Guard factions. Party members, former businessmen and landlords were subjected to denunciation and intimidation by the frenzied Red Guards, desperate to prove their ideological commitment. What started as intimidation and denunciation gave way to brutality. ‘Class enemies’ were sent for ‘re-education’ through physical labour in prison camps, Intellectuals associated with liberal thoughts were ruthlessly targeted. Some were kidnapped; others were killed. Many took their own lives, unable to stand the unremitting threats.
- One such example was the renowned playwright Lao She. His house was burned by middle school Red Guards and he was denounced at struggle meetings where he was made to wear a dunce’s hat. To escape the constant harassment he drowned himself in Taiping Lake near Beijing in late August 1966.
3
Q
Disagree - Attacks on Mao’s Political Enemies
A
- The ‘Sixteen Points’ released in August 1966 referred only to ‘those within the Party who are in authority and are taking the capitalist road’. As the Cultural Revolution went on it became clear that it was Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping who were the real focus of Mao’s anger. Liu and Deng advocated reliance on intellectuals and experts, and a belief in practical solutions over ideological visions.
- Liu was subjected to constant struggle meetings where he was abused and beaten.
- Liu was denounced as a ‘renegade, scab and in 1969 he was officially traitor’. He was stripped of all his posts and in 1969 he was officially replaced as successor to Mao by Lin Biao.
- Mao was also angered by Deng Xiaoping. His famous dictum about the irrelevance of the ‘colour’ of a policy was a direct affront to Mao’s belief that it was better to be communist than practical. Deng had helped Liu introduce economic reforms without Mao’s advice. He was sent to a tractor factory in rural Jiangxi to work.
4
Q
Disagree - Indoctrination of propaganda
A
- The regime urged total to Maoist thought. At workplaces each morning people bowed to Mao’s portrait and asked for instructions’ for the day ahead. Mao’s works were referred to as ‘treasure books and special ceremonies were held to celebrate their sale. Switchboard operators greeted callers with the words Long Live Chairman Mao’. Passengers at train stations had to perform a bizarre `loyalty dance’ before they could board their trains. Mao’s thoughts were revered as the word of God. The message of the cult, namely that Mao was a near-divine being worthy of worship was encapsulated in the song, ‘The East is Red’, that became an unofficial national anthem during the Cultural Revolution.
- As Zhou Enlai put it simply, Whatever accords with Mao Zedong Thought is right, while whatever does not accord with Mao Zedong Thought is wrong. Mao built a propaganda cult that effectively placed him above all other Party leaders Whipped into frenzy of adulation, Mao called the Red Guards to Beijing to personally encourage them to attack his enemies.
5
Q
Disagree - Attacks on Foreigners in China
A
- As representatives of capitalist and imperialist nations, foreigners in China were vulnerable to being attacked or abused. The rules of diplomatic immunity were not respected by the red guards. Many embassies were attacked, an example of this being the British Embassy in Beijing which was also later set on fire.
- Crowds trapped ambassadors in their cars for hours. On one occasion Soviet staff who had left the embassy to buy tickets for their families to leave China were trapped in their cars by a mob for sixteen hours. The French trade counsellor was confronted outside his embassy and made to stand in the freezing cold while being denounced for seven hours. The police watched and did nothing to assist him.
