The Cultural Revolution Flashcards
Mao’s Motives / Reasons for the Cultural Revolution
Mao was rarely seen in public in the years after 1962. His withdrawal had allowed him to sidestep the blame for the many failures of the Great Leap Forward and the famine. However, his absence from public view did not mark his retirement from politics. From the sidelines he observed the actions of CCP leaders, including Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, with increasing disapproval. By 1965 he was ready to return to active politics and to save the revolution from being destroyed by ‘revisionists’. Therefore he began the preparations for steering the revolution in China in a new and extremely radical direction.
◼◼ The desire for permanent revolution: Mao was determined that the revolution should not fail, and he wanted to make sure that old attitudes and behaviours did not undo the changes introduced by the CCP since 1949. He was convinced that this was what had happened in the Soviet Union under Khrushchev, and he would not allow it to happen in China too.
◼◼ To provide a test for young people: Mao believed that the strength of the CCP came from its years of struggle, from the Long March, the war against Japan and the Civil War. Young communists had no experience of this type of struggle, but he believed that it was necessary for them to be involved in struggle in order to identify with the revolution. The Cultural Revolution would allow them to become true revolutionaries.
◼◼ To remove ‘self-satisfied’ officials who were motivated by the privileges of power:Mao believed that communist China was being run by bureaucrats who were not interested in revolution but were motivated by the power that they had achieved and the social and economic benefits that accompanied that power. Mao feared that they would grow into a new class of Mandarins (who had dominated the government during the Qing dynasty).
◼◼ To prevent the revolution being weakened by revisionists: Mao opposed the measures that had been adopted in China after the failure of the Great Leap Forward. He was deeply suspicious that Liu and Deng had encouraged private trade and ownership because they were capitalist sympathisers. He believed that revisionists were to be found in all areas of art, education and culture, and that they needed to be removed to save the revolution.
◼◼ To remove opponents in the CCP who did not support Mao’s policies: Mao feared that he had opponents within the CCP leadership who were seeking to remove him. The Cultural Revolution offered an ideal opportunity to destroy this opposition. His main targets were Liu and Deng.
Mass Mobilisation of Youth People in the Cultural Revolution
- 5 August 1966: Mao wrote and released a ‘big character poster’ in which he called upon the young to attack revisionist in the CCP in a ‘Bombard the Headquarters’ Campaign
- 8 mass rallies in Tiananmen Square in Beijing between August - November 1966
- 18 August 1966, over a million young people arrived in Beijing and listened to Lin Biao speak
Attack on the ‘Four Olds’ in the Cultural Revolution
- The rallies launched the campaigns against Old Habits, Ideas, Culture and Customs
- Young People encouraged to attack anything associated with Chinese Past: indoctrination
- Attacked churches and cultural sites, invaded peoples houses to seize items associated with old bourgeoisie
- only PLA prevented them from destroying Forbidden Palace
The Red Guard in the Cultural Revolution
- May 1966, fanatically loyal students and schoolchildren formed units to carry out Mao’s instruction: to attack the opponents of the revolution
- They wore military uniform, with a red armband and a leather belt used to whip class enemies
- Numbers grew in August 1966: first members were children of party officials, later people from the ‘bad class’ are allowed to join and were often the most violent, in an effort to prove their loyalty
- Young people got personal revenge and travelled to Beijing for mass rallies Aug-Nov 1966 because they had free train travel
- Frenzied acts of violence in implementing the attack on the four olds – struggle sessions – because they had official approval and attacks were sometimes directed by the CCP (it was effective in removing opponents)
- Beijing and Shanghai had most violence, between 1966 and 76 more than 67,000 people were killed in the Guangxi province alone
The Cult of Mao and the Little Red Book
- Personality cult involved his worship as a great hero who had saved China from foreign domination and brought communism: pictures, busts and statues of him appeared everywhere
- Careful propaganda campaign placed Mao above other CCP leaders and most successful among young people who store now as the ‘Red Sun rising in the east’ giving them the task of saving the revolution from revisionists
- In 1964, Lin Biao Organise publication of collection of Mao’s well-known sayings for the PLA. Soon, every red guard had one and used it as guidance for their behaviour, it was believed to have any most religious power with accounts of people who are blind being able to see you again.
- Little red book was essential, and in general made Mao souvenirs boom, no home was complete without a portrait / badge / clothing of him
- Loyalty was fanatical, one man even made a hole in his chest so that Mao could be close to his heart
Education during the Cultural Revolution
- Children turned against teachers as intellectuals were identified as enemies in the attack on the photos.
- Began in the university town of Qinghua, where red guards units were first formed in May 1966. By the end of the year all schools and colleges are close so that children can take part in revolutionary struggle. Many teachers were tortured and beaten to death.
The PLA and the end of the violence in the Cultural Revolution
- Mao had encouraged violence by the red guards but in January 1967, China had fallen into near anarchy. Red guards attacked the workers’ units and this worried the PLA, Concerned that red guard’s continued radicalism would soon turn it against the PLA.
- By September 19 67, even Mao was concerned about the red guards, fearing that anarchy weakened China and foreign powers might take advantage.
- In 1968, Mao ordered the military to destroy the red guards and regain control,So the PLA close down red guard newspapers and reopen schools, later also conducting a bloody purge of them where thousands were killed.
- Foreign powers found bodies on the shores of the British held island of Hong Kong.
The ‘Up to the mountains and down to the villages’ Campaign
- Most violent phase over by 1969 – Mao wondered what to do with millions of radicalised young people in cities.
- So, to reduce city unemployment and reduce their violent impact, Young people were sent to the countryside to learn how the peasants lived, as Mao still thought peasants were the centre of the Communist revolution, bringing young people more effectively under the control of the PLA and their communes.
- However young people did not enjoy peasant life as it was difficult and standards of living with low, even the peasants did not welcome extra mouths to feed. This led to millions of young people questioning the authority of the party and their faith in Mao, thinking they had been used.
Removal of Opposition to Mao, Cultural Revolution
- Red guards had attacked the party cadres who were accused of acting more like capitalists.
- By 1969, over 70% of the provincial and regional party officials and 60% of the highest level officials in the National party had been removed, replaced by members of the PLA, now very powerful in the CCP. This suited Mao very well because the new members of the Central committee were fanatically devoted to him.
- Mao wanted to remove Liu Shaoqi (head of state) and Deng Xiaoping (leading member of the politburo) as he felt they were ignoring him as he got older and did not agree with their economic policies during the Great leap forward.
- Party conference October 1966, Mao criticised Lui and forced him to confess to betraying the revolution, was arrested and imprisoned and in 1969 died of lung disease pneumonia as Mao had refused to allow him to be treated in hospital.
- Deng was forced out of office but survived with support of Zhou Enlai
- Lin Biao had become very powerful, Mao became suspicious that he was trying to overthrow him and set up a military dictatorship - Lin and son tried to escape, 1971 ,but died in plane crash
Impact of Cultural Revolution on Mao’s Position
The Cultural Revolution had a very significant impact on Mao’s own position. He had become much more powerful as a result of the events of the Cultural Revolution. He had always believed that transforming China into a communist country required absolute obedience to the leader, and the Cultural Revolution largely achieved this. Mao’s opponents had been removed and this made him an unchallenged leader. The CCP was firmly under Mao’s control. Those party members who had questioned Mao in the past had been replaced by loyal members who were devoted to him. The population gave their absolute support to him.
This loyalty had been achieved by the establishment of prison camps known as laogi, where opponents were ‘re-educated’ to support Mao and the ideals of communism. The very difficult conditions, the planned starvation and use of torture ensured that those who survived the experience and were released would never criticise the regime again.
The events of the Cultural Revolution increased Mao’s suspicions so that he came to believe that (like Lin Biao) leading members of the CCP were making plans against him. Thus, as the Cultural Revolution ended, Mao was quite isolated at the top of the political system. His health was also rapidly declining, and he was seldom seen in public.
Impact of Cultural Revolution on China’s Economy
The Cultural Revolution had a negative effect on the development of the Chinese economy.
- Managers whose loyalty to communism was suspect were removed and their replacements often lacked the necessary skills to run successful businesses.
- the use of trains to transport Red Guards around the country meant there was a shortage of trains to bring raw materials to the factories and transport goods to market.
- The worst years were between 1966 and 1970, when industrial production fell by 13 per cent. The production of essential materials fell dramatically:
◼coal production declined from 260 million tonnes to 206 million tonnes
◼oil production declined from 15 million tonnes to 13.9 million tonnes
◼steel production fell from 15 million tonnes to 1 million tonnes.
This was very bad news for an economy that was only just emerging from the effects of the Great Leap Forward. The impact on agriculture was less severe, because the Cultural Revolution was essentially an urban movement. However, grain production fell and the government had to introduce rationing.
There were improvements after 1969. The end of the Cultural Revolution allowed production to expand once more, but progress overall was very slow for a country that was supposed to be focused on rapid modernisation.
Impact of Cultural Revolution on Chinese People
EDUCATION
- 1966–70, schools were closed because it was seen as more important to train young people to be loyal party members than to educate them. The consequences of this were made clear in 1982, when the census revealed that less than 1 per cent of the population had a degree. Even more shocking was the fact that only 35 per cent of the population had attended school up to the age of 12.
FAMILY
- Children were taught to look to Mao and the CCP before their parents. They were encouraged to report on their parents if they saw any signs of support for the old way of life. Although it proved difficult to remove centuries of belief in the wisdom of the elders, the removal of so many young people to the villages meant that family ties were broken.
HEALTH
- Doctors stopped using anaesthetics and other painkillers during the Cultural Revolution. It was believed that a good revolutionary would bear pain without reacting, whereas a reactionary would cry out with pain.
- The progress that had been made in training doctors and in improving healthcare during the 1950s was damaged by the Cultural Revolution:
= Doctors were suspected by the party as being reactionaries who were more interested in achieving a comfortable life than in serving the revolution.
= Many feared they would be accused of opposing the Cultural Revolution, so they cancelled operations and showed solidarity with hospital workers by spending their time sweeping floors.
= On a positive note, the rapid training of so-called ‘barefoot doctors’, who completed a short practical course and then went to provide health care in the most rural villages in China, did lead to significant improvements in the lives of peasants.
RELIGION
- Religion was criticised as one of the Four Olds (like family)
- All public worship was forbidden and clergy (priests) were rounded up and sent to prison camps.
- There were campaigns against Confucianism which, it was claimed, had prevented China from modernising.
- In spite of the attacks, it proved surprisingly difficult to wipe out religion. Some clergy were able to carry on in secret, and ancestor worship returned later.
CULTURE
- Jiang Qing, Mao’s fourth wife, was put in charge of developing a new Communist-approved culture and removing traditional Chinese culture. She took on the task with enthusiasm. She was responsible for introducing a system of strict censorship.
- Artists were too scared of being arrested to be creative. China was reduced to a cultural desert where nothing of great artistic value was produced.
Sino-Soviet Split 1960s
The relationship worsened rapidly in the early 1960s.
- In April 1960, Mao accused the Soviet Union of being a revisionist country when its leaders began to develop friendly relations with the United States of America.
- Tensions increased on the Sino–Soviet borders and Mao feared that the Soviet Union might launch an invasion of China.
- In 1960, Khrushchev took back the Soviet technicians and military experts, who had continued to increase since 1958.
= This affected China’s economy, as it had relied on these experts for their economic knowledge while it was training its own experts. It was particularly damaging as the advisers had been helping China to overcome the economic crisis brought about by the Great Leap Forward.
= The Soviet Union had assisted China in building 156 major industrial plants, which included iron and steel works and power stations. When the Soviets left, over 200 projects were cancelled.
= The impact on the weapons programme was potentially the most damaging. As they left, the Soviets destroyed all the documents relating to nuclear energy, and this caused a setback to the nuclear programme in China. - 1962, Mao used Cuban Missile Crisis to accuse Khrushchev of cowardice, while Khrushchev claim that Mao’s policies would lead to nuclear war
- China loaned US$2 billion to African a nations to secure this support (over USSR), many of whom were attracted to the idea of communism and China’s focus on industrial workers, having been recently freed from imperial rule.
- Nuclear weapon 1964, H-Bomb 1967
- the Cultural Revolution was carried out to prevent the growth of Chinese communism from being weakened by bureaucracy – as had happened in the Soviet Union. When President Khrushchev was replaced by President Brezhnev in 1964, Mao claimed that there was no change in the Soviet Union’s government – that it was Khrushchevism without Khrushchev, and that this meant the Soviets were still following the path of revisionism
- view was strengthened in 1967, when Red Guards attacked the Soviet embassy in Beijing and intimidated Soviet officials. In 1969, Lin Biao accused the Soviet leaders of being social fascists.
Sino-Soviet Border Disagreements (1969)
- The bad feeling between China and the Soviet Union was seen in a number of border disagreements. In 1969, there were a series of border fights on China’s north-western frontier in Xinjiang. An all-out war was avoided when the two sides agreed to have talks, but Mao then came to believe that the greatest threat to China was not the capitalist West but the Soviet Union. This led to two actions:
- In the 1970s, Mao tried to improve China’s relations with the USA. In 1972, he invited the American president Richard Nixon to China for talks, and agreed on the development of cultural, educational and economic relations.
- China’s nuclear weapons were now aimed not at the USA, but the Soviet Union.
