The Red Guards and the Red Terror Flashcards
when was the most destructive period of the cultural revolution?
from August 1966 to the end of 1967 when the Red guard was it’s most active
why did Mao focus on young people?
Mao needed support to seize power back and putting young people in revolutionary activity would ensure the long term survival of communism in China furthermore once unleashed it would be difficult to turn back evident from the anti campaign and the GLF
why was Mao successful in manipulating the young?
due to his cult of personality which portrayed him as a heroic figure who freed China by leading the revolution in 1949. the indoctrination meant he could control them
lack of career opportunity, as it was limited if they didn’t come from soldiers, peasants or party member children career prospects were restricted so any chance of employment/ something to do was taken up
young people felt they had been mistreated by party as they were pressured to move to the country side after the GLF and the cultural revolution to them was a chance to hit back at the party
What was the little red book and how was it effective in manipulating the young?
The little red book commissioned by Lin Biao in 1964 was a collection of Mao’s most famous quotes. Lin Biao ordered every soldier in the army adhere and learn the book
soon the young people and the red guard read the books, eventually 750 million copies were distributed allowing it to become China’s ‘bible’ e.g. newspaper reported a doctor holding the book curing a blind person
what event kick started the cultural revolution?
the first mass rally 18th august 1966
what happened at the first mass rally 18th august 1966?
Mao reaffirmed his return to public life by walking out to 1 million red Guards in Tiananmen square (who were transported by the army and free rail travel)
what were some of Mao’s quotes from the mass rallies
‘the world belongs to you’
‘China’s future belong to you’
‘dare to rebel against authority’
what were the four olds?
old culture, old ideas, old customs and old habits
when was the four olds campaign launched and who by?
Lin Biao launched the campaign in a speech in august 1966
what happened in the four old campaign?
The red guard targeted many things including; western fashion,
street names where changed e.g. British embassy on anti imperialist street,
peoples names changed e.g. red hero,
houses were ransacked in search of bourgeois items e.g. jewellery,
religion deemed as bad no public worship was allowed, clergy were imprisoned,
children disassociated with parents,
cultural sites destroyed e.g. Famen Buddhist Temple, Shaanxi.
what traditional views still appeared even after four olds campaign
show of respect for dead as April 1976 people mourned death of Zhou Enlai
who were the red guards
Red Guards were a mass, student-led paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966
