; literally "Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution"; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wénhuà dà gémìng, literally "Great Cultural Revolution", or even simpler, to 文革 wéngé, "Cultural Revolution") in the
that manifested into wide-scale social, political, and economic chaos, which grew to include large sections of Chinese society and eventually brought the entire country to the brink of
.
. It is widely recognized, however, as a method to regain control of the party after the disastrous
, and would eventually manifest into waves of power struggles between rival factions both nationally and locally.
Although Mao himself officially declared the Cultural Revolution to have ended in 1969, the term is today widely used to also include the period between 1969 and the arrest of the
in 1976.
Main article: Great Leap Forward Great Leap Forward In late 1959,
historian and
Beijing Deputy Mayor Wu Han published the first version of a historical drama entitled "
Hai Rui Dismissed from Office" (pinyin:
Hai Rui Ba Guan, Chinese: 海瑞罢官). In the play, a virtuous official (
Hai Rui) was dismissed by a corrupt emperor.
The play initially received praise from Mao. In 1965, Mao Zedong's wife
Jiang Qing and her protégé
Yao Wenyuan—who at the time was a little-known editor of a prominent newspaper in
Shanghai—published an article criticising the play. They labeled it a "poisonous weed" and an attack on Mao, using the allegory of Mao Zedong as the corrupt emperor and
Peng Dehuai as the virtuous official.
The Shanghai newspaper article received much publicity nationwide, with many other prominent newspapers asking for publication rights. Beijing Mayor
Peng Zhen, a supporter of Wu Han, established a committee studying the recent publication and emphasizing that the criticism had gone too far. On
February 12,
1966, this committee, called the "Group of Five in Charge of the Cultural Revolution," issued an "Outline Report on the Current Academic Discussion", which later became known as the "February Outline". In this document the group emphasized that the dispute over
Hai Rui Dismissed From Office was academic rather than political.
In May, 1966, Jiang Qing and Yao Wenyuan once again published various articles with content denouncing both Wu Han and Peng Zhen. On
May 16, following Mao's lead, the Politburo issued a formal notice representing figuratively the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. In this document, titled "Notification from the Central Committee of Communist Party of China," Peng Zhen was sharply criticized, and the "Group of Five" was disbanded. "Completely penetrated with double-dealing, the theses furiously attacked the Great cultural revolution, personally developed and managed by comrade Mao Zedong, the instructions of comrade Mao Zedong concerning criticism of Wu Han," stated the "Notification." One year later, on
May 18,
1967 this "Notification" was called "a great historical document developed under the direct management of our great leader comrade Mao Zedong" in the editorial section of
People's Daily.
In a later meeting of the
Politburo in 1966, the new
Cultural Revolution Group (CRG) was formed. On
May 18, Lin Biao said in a speech that "Chairman Mao is a genius, everything the Chairman says is truly great; one of the Chairman's words will override the meaning of tens of thousands of ours." Thus started the first phase of Mao's
cult of personality led by Jiang Qing, Lin Biao, and others. At this time, Jiang and Lin had already seized some actual power. On
May 25, a young teacher of philosophy at
Peking University, Nie Yuanzi, wrote a
dazibao ("big-character poster") where the rector of the university and other professors were labeled "black anti-Party gangsters". Some days later, Mao Zedong ordered the text of this big-character poster to be broadcast nationwide and called it "the first Marxist dazibao in China." On
May 29,
1966, at the Middle School attached to
Tsinghua University, the first organization of
Red Guards was formed. It was aimed at punishing and neutralizing both intellectuals and Mao's political enemies.
On
June 1,
1966, the
People's Daily, the official newspaper of the CCP, stated that all "imperialists", "people with affiliations with imperialists", "imperialistic intellectuals", et al., must be
purged. Soon a movement began, that was aimed at purging university presidents and other prominent intellectuals. On
July 28,
1966, representatives of the Red Guards wrote a formal letter to Mao, stating that mass purges, and all such-related social and political phenomena were justified and right. Mao responded with his full support in an article entitled "
Bombard the Headquarters", thus began the Cultural Revolution.
Immediate influences 
The Cultural Revolution On
August 8,
1966, the Central Committee of the CCP passed its "Decision Concerning the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution" (also known as "the 16 Points").
For two years, until July 1968 (and in some places for much longer), student activists such as the Red Guards expanded their areas of authority, and accelerated their efforts at socialist reconstruction. They began by passing out leaflets explaining their actions to develop and strengthen socialism, and posting the names of suspected "counter-revolutionaries" on bulletin boards. They assembled in large groups, held "great debates," and wrote educational plays. They held public meetings to criticize and solicit self-criticisms from suspected "counter-revolutionaries." Although the 16 Points and other pronouncements of the central Maoist leaders forbade "physical struggle (武斗)" in favor of "verbal struggle" (文斗), these "struggle sessions" often led to physical violence. Initially verbal struggles among activist groups became even more violent, especially when activists began to seize weapons from the Army in 1967. The central Maoist leaders limited their intervention in activist violence to verbal criticism, sometimes even appearing to encourage "physical struggle," and only after the weapons seizures did they begin to suppress the mass movement.
Liu Shaoqi was sent to a detention camp, where he later died in 1969.
Deng Xiaoping, who was himself sent away for a period of re-education three times, was eventually sent to work in an engine
factory, until he was brought back years later by
Zhou Enlai. But most of those accused were not so lucky, and many of them never returned.
The work of the Red Guards was praised by Mao Zedong. On
August 22,
1966, Mao issued a public notice, which stopped "all
police intervention in Red Guard
tactics and actions." Those in the police force who dared to defy this notice, were labeled "counter-revolutionaries."
On
September 5,
1966, yet another notice was issued, encouraging all Red Guards to come to Beijing over a stretch of time. All fees, including accommodation and transportation, were to be paid by the government. On
October 10,
1966, Mao's ally, General Lin Biao, publicly criticized Liu and Deng as "capitalist roaders" and "threats". Later,
Peng Dehuai was brought to Beijing to be publicly displayed and ridiculed; he was then purged.
1966: The 16 Points and the Red Guards On January 3, 1967,
Lin Biao and
Jiang Qing manipulated the media and local cadres to create the so-called "January Storm", in which many prominent Shanghai municipal government leaders were heavily criticized and purged. This paved the way for Wang Hongwen to hold real power in the city and in the city's CCP power apparatus as the leader of the Municipal Revolutionary Committee. The Municipal government was defunct. In Beijing, Liu and Deng were once again the targets of criticism, but others, who were not as engaged in the CCP criticism sessions, like Chen Boda and Kang Sheng, pointed at the wrong-doings of the Vice Premier, Tao Zhu. Thus started a political struggle among central government officials and local party cadres, who seized the Cultural Revolution as an opportunity to accuse rivals of "counter-revolutionary activity" as the paranoia spread.
On January 8, Mao praised these actions through the People's Daily, urging all local governmental leaders to rise in self-criticism, or the criticism and purging of others. This started the massive power struggles which took the form of purge after purge among local governments, some of which stopped functioning altogether. Involvement in some sort of "revolutionary" activity was the only way to avoid being purged, but it was no guarantee.
In February, Jiang Qing and Lin Biao, with permission from Mao, insisted that the "class struggles" be extended to the military. Many prominent generals of the People's Liberation Army who were instrumental in the founding of the PRC voiced their great concern and opposition to the "mistake of the Cultural Revolution". Former Foreign Minister Chen Yi, angered at a Politburo meeting, said that the new factions were going to completely destroy the military, and in turn the party. Other generals, including Nie Rongzhen, He Long, and Xu Xiangqian expressed their extreme discontent. They were subsequently denounced on national media, controlled by Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan, as the "February Counter-current forces". They were all eventually purged by Red Guards. At the same time, many large and prominent Red Guard organizations rose in protest against other Red Guard organizations who ran dissimilar revolutionary messages, further complicating the situation and exacerbating the chaos. This led to a notice to stop all unhealthy activity within the Red Guards from Jiang Qing. On April 6, Liu Shaoqi was openly and widely denounced by a Zhongnanhai faction whose members included Jiang Qing and Kang Sheng, and ultimately, Mao himself. This was followed by a protest and mass demonstrations, most notably in Wuhan on July 20, where Jiang openly denounced any "counter-revolutionary activity"; she later personally flew to Wuhan to criticize Chen Zaidao, the general in charge of the Wuhan area.
On July 22, Jiang Qing directed the Red Guards to replace the People's Liberation Army if necessary, and thereby to render the existing forces powerless. After the initial praise by Jiang Qing, the Red Guards began to steal and loot from barracks and other army buildings. This activity, which could not be stopped by army generals, continued until the autumn of 1968.
1967: Political power struggles In the spring of 1968, a massive campaign began aimed at promoting the already-adored Mao Zedong to god-like status. On
July 27,
1968, the Red Guards' power over the army was officially ended and the central government sent in units to protect many areas that remained targets for the Red Guards. Mao had supported and promoted the idea by allowing one of his "Highest Directions" to be heard by the masses. A year later, the Red Guard factions were dismantled entirely; Mao feared that the chaos they caused—and could still cause—might harm the very foundation of the
Communist Party of China. In any case, their purpose had been largely fulfilled, and Mao had largely consolidated his political power. In early October, Mao began a campaign to purge officials disloyal to him. They were sent to the countryside to work in labor camps. In the same month, at the 12th Plenum of the 8th Party Congress, Liu Shaoqi was "forever expelled from the party", and Lin Biao was made the Party's Vice-Chairman, Mao's "comrade-in-arms" and "designated successor", his status and fame in the country was second only to Mao.
In December 1968, Mao began the "
Down to the Countryside Movement". During this movement, which lasted for the next decade, young intellectuals living in cities were ordered to go to the countryside. The term "intellectuals" was actually used in the broadest sense to refer to recently graduated middle school students. In the late 1970s, these "young intellectuals" were finally allowed to return to their home cities. This movement was in part a means of moving Red Guards from the cities to the countryside, where they would cause less social disruption.
1968: the Cult of personality Main article: Lin Biao Time dominated by Lin Biao On
April 1,
1969, at the CCP's
Ninth Congress, Lin was the big winner, officially becoming China's second-in-charge, and also holding military power. Lin's biggest political rival,
Liu Shaoqi, had been purged and
Zhou Enlai's power was gradually fading.
The Ninth Congress began with Lin Biao delivering a
Political Report, which was critical of Liu and other "counter-revolutionaries" and continuously quoted Mao's
Little Red Book. The second thing to be tackled was the new party constitution, which was modified to officially designate Lin as Mao's successor. Henceforth, at all occasions, Mao's name was to be linked with Lin's. Thirdly, a new Politburo was elected with Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Chen Boda, Zhou Enlai, and Kang Sheng being the five new members of the
Politburo Standing Committee. This new Politburo consisted mostly of those whom had arisen as a result of the Cultural Revolution, with Zhou barely keeping his status. Zhou only ranked fourth among the five.
Transition of the party apparatus After being confirmed as Mao's successor, Lin Biao focused on the restoration of the position of
State President, which had been abolished by Mao due to Liu Shaoqi's dismissal from power. Lin's aim was to become Vice-President, with Mao holding the position of State President.
On
August 23,
1970, the 2nd Plenum of the CCP's Ninth Congress was once again held in
Lushan.
Chen Boda was the first to speak, widely praising Mao and boasting of Mao's status, with the unstated intention of raising his own. At the same time, Chen requested the restoration of the position of State President. Mao was deeply critical of Chen's speech and removed him from the Politburo Standing Committee. This was the beginning of a series of criticism sessions across the nation for people who used "deceit" for gains, who were called "Liu Shaoqi's representatives for
Marxism and political liars".
Chen's removal from the Standing Committee was also seen as a warning to Lin Biao. After the Ninth Congress, Lin had continuously requested promotions within the party and the Central Government, leading Mao to suspect him of wanting supreme power and even of intending to oust Mao himself. Chen's speech added to Mao's apprehensions. If Lin were to become Vice-President, he would legally have supreme power after the President's death — be a clear danger to Mao's safety.
Lin's attempts at expanding his power base Mao's refusal to let Lin gain more prominence within the party and the government deeply angered Lin. Moreover, his power base was shrinking day by day within the Party apparatus; Lin decided to use the military power still at his disposal to oust Mao Zedong in a military
coup. Soon afterwards, Lin and his son
Lin Liguo and other traitors created a coup apparatus in Shanghai aimed solely at ousting Mao from power by the use of force. In one known document, Lin stated in Shanghai that "A new power struggle has surged upon us, if indeed we could not take control of revolutionary activity, then these control powers will fall upon someone else."
Lin's plan consisted mainly of aerial bombardments and the widespread use of the Air Force. Were the plan to succeed, Lin could successfully arrest all of his political rivals and gain the supreme power that he wanted. But if it were to fail, there would be great and dire consequences awaiting him.
Assassination attempts were made against Mao in
Shanghai, from
September 8 to
September 10,
1971. It was learned that before these attacks upon Mao there was initial knowledge of Lin's activities on the part of local police, who stated that Lin Biao had been coordinating a huge political plot, and Lin's loyal backers were receiving special training in the
military.
From these events onward came continuous allegations and reports of Mao being attacked. One of these reports suggested that en route to
Beijing in his private train, Mao was physically attacked; another alleged that Lin had bombed a
bridge that Mao was to cross to reach Beijing, which Mao avoided because of intelligence reports causing him to change routes. In those nervous days, guards were placed every 10–20 meters on the railway tracks of Mao's route to avoid attempts at
assassination.
Although some reports conflicted, it is known that after
September 11 of the same year Lin never appeared in public again, nor did his backers, most of whom attempted to escape to
Hong Kong. Most failed to do so and around twenty army generals were arrested.
It was also learned that on
September 13,
1971, Lin Biao and his family tried to fly to the
Soviet Union. En route, Lin's plane crashed in
Mongolia, killing all on board. On the same day, the Politburo met in an emergency session to discuss matters pertaining to Lin Biao. Only on
September 30, was Lin's death confirmed in Beijing, which led to the cancellation of the
National Day celebration events the following day.
The exact cause of the plane crash remains a mystery. It is widely believed that Lin's plane ran out of fuel or that there was a sudden engine failure. There was also speculation that the plane was shot down by the Chinese. It could also have been Soviet forces, who later took possession of the bodies of those on board. Nonetheless, Lin's attempted coup had failed, leading to the complete destruction of his image in the CCP and China.
Lin's attempted military coup Main article: Gang of Four Years dominated by the "Gang of Four" Main article: Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius "Criticize Lin Biao, Criticize Confucius" Campaign On
January 8,
Zhou Enlai died of
bladder cancer. The next day, Beijing's
Monument to the People's Heroes began filling up with
wreaths expressing the people's mourning for the Premier. The event was unprecedented. On
January 15, Zhou's
funeral was held, and because of his popularity nationally, events commemorating Zhou across the country took place. The
Gang of Four, which had a heavy hand in media control, became alarmed at the spontaneous mourning, and imposed restrictions, forbidding the "wearing of black sashes and white flowers" along with other mourning activities. Deng Xiaoping delivered Zhou's official
eulogy.
In February, the Gang of Four began to criticize its final serious political opponent, Vice-Premier Deng Xiaoping. Deng was once again stripped of all positions "inside and outside of the party". But after Zhou's death, Mao did not select a member of the Gang of Four to become premier, instead choosing the relatively unknown
Hua Guofeng.
April 5 was China's
Qingming Festival, a traditional day of mourning for those who have died. People had gathered since late March in
Tiananmen Square, mourning the death of Zhou Enlai. At the same time, people were also signaling their anger towards the Gang of Four. Gradually, more and more people began writing and posting messages of hatred against the Gang of Four. On April 5, around 2 million people were gathered in and around Tiananmen Square, turning the assembly into a form of protest against the Gang of Four. The Gang of Four ordered police to enter the area, clear the wreaths and messages of hate, and disperse the crowds. They pointed to Deng Xiaoping as the planner of this expression of public dissatisfaction. This incident was later "politically
rehabilitated" in the winter of 1978, and became known as the
Qingming Tiananmen Square incident.
On
September 9,
1976, Mao Zedong died. Mao's image from the Cultural Revolution portrayed him as an ideal person who mingled among the general public. To the common people, Mao's death symbolized the loss of the socialist foundation of China, and when his death was announced on the afternoon of September 9, 1976, in a notice titled
A Notice from the Central Committee, the NPC, State Council, and the CMC to all those in the military and party, as well as all Chinese people, the entire nation descended into a massive state of spontaneous grief and mourning, with people weeping in the streets and public institutions closing for over a week. Before dying, Mao had written a message on a piece of paper stating "With you in charge, I'm at ease", to Hua Guofeng. Hence, Hua became the Party's Chairman. Before this event, Hua had been widely considered to be lacking in political skill and ambitions, and as posing no threat to the Gang of Four in the power succession. But under the influence of prominent generals like
Ye Jianying, and partly under influence of
Deng Xiaoping, and with the support of the Army, Hua ordered the arrest of the Gang of Four following Mao's death. By
October 10, the
8341 Special Regiment had all members of the Gang of Four arrested. Thus ended the Cultural Revolution.
1976: the Cultural Revolution's end Even though Hua Guofeng publicly denounced and arrested the Gang of Four in 1976, he continued to invoke Mao's name to justify his policies. Hua opened what was known as the
Two Whatevers,
In the Fifth Plenum of the Eleventh CCP Congress, held in 1980, Peng Zhen and many others who had been purged during the Cultural Revolution were politically rehabilitated. Hu Yaobang was named
General-Secretary and
Zhao Ziyang, another of Deng's protégés, was named into the Central governing apparatus. In September, Hua Guofeng resigned, with Zhao Ziyang being named the new Premier. Deng was the Chairman of the
Central Military Commission.
After the Revolution The effects of the Cultural Revolution directly or indirectly touched essentially all of China's populace. During the Cultural Revolution, much
economic activity was halted, with "revolution", regardless of interpretation, being the primary objective of the country. The start of the Cultural Revolution brought huge numbers of
Red Guards to Beijing, with all expenses paid by the government, and the
railway system was in turmoil. Countless ancient buildings, artifacts, antiques, books, and paintings were destroyed by Red Guards. By December 1967, 350 million copies of Mao's
Quotations had been printed.
Effect The reaction abroad was mixed, and inevitably, tied to political movements of the time. Opposition to the
Vietnam War fostered sympathy for communist revolutions and some Western observers, predominantly on the Left of the political spectrum, sympathized with the Cultural Revolution. Reports of violence and excess were often excused or dismissed as 'rightwing propaganda'. A significant re-evaluation of the events of the Cultural Revolution occurred amongst the Left, particularly in the West, once the full extent of the destruction became known, thus tarnishing China's image in the West. In the
Republic of China,
Chiang Kai-shek initiated the Chinese Culture Renaissance Movement to counter what he regarded as destruction of traditional Chinese values by the Communists on the mainland.
Whatever the case, several self-described "Maoist" political parties survive today, throughout the globe, such as those found within the
Revolutionary Internationalist Movement.
World reaction Today, the Cultural Revolution is seen by most people inside and outside of China, including the
Communist Party of China and
Chinese democracy movement supporters, as an unmitigated disaster, and as an event to be avoided in the future. There are no politically significant groups within China that defend the Cultural Revolution. However, there are many workers and peasants in China who, left behind by economic liberalization and the widening rich-poor gap, feel nostalgia for the Cultural Revolution (as well as the Maoist Era in general), during which the
proletariat was glorified.
Gao Village, an anthropological history written by peasant born author
Mobo Gao, discusses the positive influence the Cultural Revolution had on rural development.
[5] Some memoirists, such as Ma Bo, also hold aspects of the Cultural Revolution to be worthy of fond remembrance.
These contradictory views of the Cultural Revolution were put into sharp relief during the
Tiananmen Protests of 1989, when both the demonstrators and the government justified their actions as being necessary to avoid another Cultural Revolution.
The relationship between Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution is also controversial. Although there is general agreement that Mao was responsible for the Cultural Revolution, there is considerable dispute concerning the effect of the Cultural Revolution on Mao's legacy. The PRC's official version of history regards the Cultural Revolution as a
serious error by
Mao Zedong, whose contribution to history was 70% good and 30% bad. Using this formulation, the Party has argued that the Cultural Revolution should not denigrate Mao's earlier role as a heroic leader in fighting the
Japanese, founding the
People's Republic of China and developing the ideology which underlies the
Communist Party of China. This allows the Party to condemn both the Cultural Revolution and Mao's role within it, without calling into question the ideology of the Party.
By contrast, writers such as
Jung Chang argue that the Cultural Revolution was merely one of a series of events which illustrate Mao's low moral character. This interpretation of history has the effect of calling into question all of Mao's early accomplishments and indirectly the legitimacy of the Communist Party and the People's Republic of China.
The first museum specifically dedicated to the Cultural Revolution opened in mid-2005 as a privately-funded museum in
Guangdong province, created by Peng Qi'an, 74, a former deputy mayor of
Shantou. Peng himself was almost executed during the Cultural Revolution, and survived only due to a last-minute reprieve. He stated that he wanted future generations of Chinese to realise how large an impact the period had on China, and how much ordinary Chinese suffered. Although the museum continues to operate, publicity about the museum was suppressed by provincial authorities shortly after its opening.
Further reading Chinese New Left Eight model plays The Hundred Flowers Movement Maoism Great Leap Forward List of campaigns of the Communist Party of China History of the People's Republic of China Li Zhensheng Chinese photojournalist who captured images from the Cultural Revolution.
GPCR Ultra-Left Zhdanov Doctrine Hong Kong 1967 riots 1960s in Hong Kong Scar literature, a genre of Chinese literature that emerged in the late 1970s in response to the experiences of the Cultural Revolution
Films
Other television projects
Author
Philippines