The Cultural Revolution - The Red Guards and Red Terror Flashcards
Mao’s hold on young people
• Younger people where more likely to believe in the cult of Mao
• Indoctrination through education
• ‘Dare to rebel against authority’
Why did young people join the Red Guards?
- Some were children of party cadres
- Offered a chance of glory for revolutionary heroism
- Students could advance their careers
- restrictions on ‘black elements’ lifted - determined to prove loyalty to Mao
- Black element wanted to overcompensate for their family background
Cult of Mao
- Total commitment to Maoist thought
- people bowed to portraits of Mao asking for ‘instructions’
- Mao was near - divine being worthy of worship ‘The east is red’ song became an unofficial anthem
The mass rallies of 1966
- red guards from Tsinghua University sent poster to Mao ‘Long live the proletarian revolutionary spirit of rebellion! ‘
- ‘ Bombard the headquarters ‘ message to attack party HQ
- Invited students from around China to come to Beijing with help of the PLA
- Rallies held in Tiananmen Square from August to November
Red Guards attacks on the ‘Four Olds’
- Mao launched August 1966
- ‘Four olds used by exploiting classes to corrupt the masses’
- Red Guards told to ‘ put daring above everything else ‘
- Attacked visitors to restaurants and surgeons
- old ‘feudal’ signs changed to read ‘permanent revolution’ or ‘defend Mao Zedong’
Cultural Destruction
- Temples, sculptures, statues and artefacts were destroyed and defaced
- Confucian texts were burned
- 1/3 libraries closed - 7 million books lost
- Zhou Enlai had to send PLA to protect forbidden city
Confucious temple Shandong, Hai Rui’s burial site and Qing era archway
- Shandong temple attacked by 200 red guard - 2000 graves defaced
- Hai Rui burial site was defaced and Wu Xun body was exhumed
- 200 year old Qing era archway attacked
Tibet
• Destruction was particularly widespread in Tibet
• All aspects of Tibetan culture was targeted
• Statues were defaced
• Buddhist scriptures used as toilet paper
The use of terror
• Autumn and winter 1966 violence from red guards spread out of control in the ‘ red terror’
• Party members, landlords and businessmen were subject to torment
• ‘class enemies’ sent for ‘re-education’
The growth of anarchy
• Maoist indoctrination forced rival red guards to turn of each other
• Radical groups sprung up in anarchic and uncoordinated attempts to join the violence
January Storm
- Underprivileged red guards destroyed party establishment in Shanghai and created their own form of control
- Modelled of Paris commune of 1871
- 100,00 radicals attacked and defeated 20,000 scarlet guards from local party
February adverse current
• February 1967, Zhu De (PLA commander) and Chen Yi (foreign minister) protested against Mao encouraging chaos
• Mal criticised them and dismissed their complaint as ‘February Adverse current’, flowing against revolutionary tide
Further violence
- Wuhan, summer 1967 - army sided with local party and arrested radical red guards
- Led to clashes between red guards and PLA
- Members of the government flew to Wuhan to criticise PLA - kidnapped by PLA supporters
- August - rebels seized foreign ministry in Beijing
Revolutionary committees
- September 1967, Mao called for creation in provinces of new organisation called revolutionary committees
- Merged role of party, state and army
- party remained dominant
- ensured anarchy couldn’t challenge party legitimacy
Restoration of order by the PLA
• 1968, Mao realised only the PLA could curtail the violence
• PLA were ordered to crush red guard and re-establish the control of the central party
• PLA launched a massive wave of violence led by PLA unit 8341
• 1.84 million were arrested for being ‘bad elements’
End to the violence
• Violent phase of CR ended at Ninth party congress in April 1969
• Lin Biao was named as Mao’s successor
