Red Guards' Activities 2: Cultural Destruction, Tibet & Terror

Question 1

CULTURAL DESTRUCTION:

1. What did the Red Guards do to temples, sculptures, statues and artefacts?
   - What happened to homes that had traces of tradition in them?
2. What did Zhou send the PLA to protect?
3. What fraction of China’s 1100 libraries were closed by the end of the CR?
   - How many books were lost, stolen or destroyed?

Answer 1

1. Desecrated, defaced or burned them.
   - Ransacked.
2. The Forbidden City treasure.
3. 1/3.
   - Over 7 million.

Question 2

CULTURAL DESTRUCTION CONTINUED:

1. Who attacked the Confucius Temple in Shandong?
2. How many registered artefacts were destroyed in 4 weeks?
   - How many paintings and books did this include? (2)
   - How many graves were defaced?
3. What happened to the ancient burial site of Hai Rui?
4. Who was denounced as a propogator of federal culture?
   - What happened to his corpse?
5. Why was the Qing era archway attacked? (2)

Answer 2

1. 200 students and teachers from Beijing University.
2. 6620. • 930 paintings & 2700 books.
         • 2000 graves.
3. Defaced.
4. 19th century cultural hero Wu Xun.
   - Broken up and burned in a public square.
5. It was linked to embarrassment at hands of West.
   - Under Qing, Western powers had subjugated China.

Question 3

TIBET:

1. What did the Red Guards burn down from the top of Tibetan houses?
2. What was the difference between the anarchy in Tibet and other regions?
3. Where was traditional jewellery from monastries etc sent?
4. What did the Red Guards claim to be doing in Tibet?
   - What was this in reality?

Answer 3

1. Rooftop Prayer Flags.
2. Far more organised in Tibet.
3. The Chinese State Bank.
4. Freeing Tibetans from feudal culture.
   - Greedy attempt to destroy their entire way of life.

Question 4

TERROR:

1. What did the violence become known as in Autumn & Winter 1966?
2. _________ connected with _______ ______ were targeted.
   - What happened to these people?
   - Give one example.
3. Who was once again targeted after already being purged in the Hundred Flowers Campaign?
4. Who was found guilty of criticising Jiang Qing?
   - What happened to her and her baby?

Answer 4

1. Red Terror.
2. Intellectuals
   Liberal thought.
   - Kidnapped, killed, driven to suicide.
   - Playwriter Lao She: home burned and denounced, drowned himself.
3. Ding Ling.
4. Beijing Uni teacher Zheng Peidi.
   - Confined in ‘cowshed’ building on uni campus.