Unit 3: Why did Mao launch the cultural revolution? Flashcards
Why were the Divisions within the CCP between pragmatists and ideologues a reason why Mao launched the cultural revolution?
May 1966 to 1976
Mao thought that Liu and Deng’s measures to affiliate the damage caused by the Great Leap Forward reeked of revisionism so Mao began to see pragmatists as capitalist roaders.
Although members of the ruling class had lost their political power by 1950, their attitudes remained embedded in the education system and culture, therefore, China could not advance.
Mao saw Deng’s ideological compromises to recover China’s economy was unnecessary as he thought the economy was recovering by 1962. Therefore, mass mobilisation would prevent bourgeois attitudes from resurfacing which would happen if professional planners and experts were allowed to control things from above.
Why was the quest for permanent revolution a reason why Mao launched the cultural revolution?
May 1966 to 1976
Mao thought mass mobilisation would enable people who had directly been involved in the campaigns to defend the changes of old attitudes they helped bring about.
Mao observed how Khrushchev betrayed the revolution in Russia with de-Stalinisation, so he was determined that this will not happen in China.
Mao thought that the younger generation needed to have direct experience of revolutionary struggle by engaging in acts of violence on behalf of the revolution so they would become fully committed to defending it in what Mao saw as the inevitable future war with the West.
Why were the attacks on the bureaucracy a reason why Mao launched the cultural revolution?
May 1966 to 1976
Even though the old bureaucrats that the communists had to compromise in the early years after 1949 may have been removed, Mao feared that a new bureaucracy would arise and become a self-satisfied elite.
As an act of vengeance against the intellectuals and bureaucrats who criticised the GLF.
To root out corruption from the ranks of the party and restore purity of the revolution - A response to Liu and Zhou trying to calm down student unrest in 1966.
Why were the divisions between supporters and opponents a reason why Mao launched the cultural revolution?
May 1966 to 1967
Mao’s policies were opposed by Liu and Deng, along with moderate economic planners, Chen Yun and Bo Yibo, who wanted technical experts to play as greater role in the economy.
Mao accused Liu of choosing the capitalist road, while alleging that Deng was trying to run an independent Kingdom. However, Liu and Deng had too much support in the Politburo and the wider party for Mao to risk confronting them directly.
Mao wanted an attack on the party in a rectification campaign but the Wall Poster campaign, which aimed to catalyse student protests nationwide, was unsuccessful as it ran counter to Mao’s wishes.
Describe the Wall Poster campaign.
May 1957
The wall poster campaign was for the red guards to denounce their intended victims and stir students into action.
Liu and Deng thought that Mao was launching a campaign to remodel culture, not realising this was the prelude attack on themselves. In response, they sent work teams intended to direct students’ criticisms at specific individuals rather than against the party in general, but their advice was ignored.
Mao then forced Liu and Deng to make self-criticisms before the party Central Committee and were accused of being ‘spare heads of the erroneous line.’
What was the Socialist education movement?
1963
Its aim was to purge or cleanse four areas of Chinese society: politics, the bureaucracy, the economy and ideology. This failed and led to the attack on the four olds.
Why did Mao swim in the Yangtze River?
1966
After the Great Leap forward, Mao became distant from the government and many people thought he was severely ill or dead. Mao swam in the river to prove his health was not deteriorating.
What were ideologues?
They gave higher priority to theoretical ideas to make changes.
What were pragmatists?
They placed higher priority on taking the course of action that would produce the required results.
What events triggered the Cultural Revolution in 1966?
The Little Red Book composed of 427 quotations based on Mao’s speeches covering topics like war, peace, and unity. It helped the widespread indoctrination of Mao’s cult of personality and communist ideology and was expected to be read by everyone. There was even a simplified version for workers and peasants. It was banned by the Soviet Union in the 1960s.
The May 16th notification warned that the party had been infiltrated by counter revolutionary Revisionists who were plotting to create a dictatorship of the bourgeoisie.
The war poster campaign was a method used by the Red Guards to denounce their intended victims.
