The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by CCP chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society.
In May 1966, with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group, Mao launched the revolution and said that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society with the aim of restoring capitalism. Mao called on young people to 'Bombard the Headquarters', and proclaimed that "to rebel is justified". Mass upheaval began in Beijing with Red August in 1966. Many young people responded by forming cadres of Red Guards throughout China. Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung became revered within a cult of personality. In 1967, emboldened radicals rebelled and seized power from local governments and party branches, establishing revolutionary committees in their place while smashing public security, procuratorate and judicial systems. These committees often split into factions, precipitating armed clashes among the radicals. After the fall of Lin Biao in 1971, the Gang of Four became influential in 1972, and the revolution continued until Mao's death in 1976, followed by the arrest of the Gang of Four.
The Cultural Revolution was characterized by violence and chaos across Chinese society. Estimates of the death toll vary, ranging from 1 to 2 million, including the Guangxi Massacre that included cannibalism, as well as massacres in Beijing, Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Hunan. Red Guards sought to destroy the Four Olds (old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits), which often took the form of destroying historical artifacts and cultural and religious sites. Tens of millions were persecuted, including officials such as Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Peng Dehuai; millions were persecuted for being members of the Five Black Categories, with intellectuals and scientists labelled as the Stinking Old Ninth. Schools and universities were closed, and the National College Entrance Examinations were cancelled. Over 10 million youth from urban areas were relocated under the Down to the Countryside Movement.
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the paramount leader, replacing Mao's successor Hua Guofeng. Deng and his allies introduced the Boluan Fanzheng program and initiated the reform and opening up, which, together with the New Enlightenment movement, dismantled the ideology of the Cultural Revolution. In 1981, the Communist Party publicly acknowledged failures of the Cultural Revolution, declaring it "responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the people, the country, and the party since the founding of the People's Republic." Memories and perspectives of the Cultural Revolution are varied and complex in contemporary China. It is often referred to as the "ten years of chaos" (十年动乱; shí nián dòngluàn) or "ten years of havoc" (十年浩劫; shí nián hàojié).
The terminology of "cultural revolution" appeared in communist party discourses and newspapers prior to the founding of the People's Republic of China. During this period, the term was used interchangeably with "cultural construction" and referred to the elimination of illiteracy in order to widen public participation in civic matters. This usage of "cultural revolution" continued through the 1950s and into the 1960s, and often involved drawing parallels to the May Fourth Movement or the Soviet cultural revolution from 1928 to 1931.
Creation of the People's Republic
On 1 October 1949, Mao Zedong declared the People's Republic of China, symbolically bringing the decades-long Chinese Civil War to a close. Remaining Nationalist forces fled to Taiwan and continued to resist the People's Republic in various ways. Many soldiers of the Chinese Nationalists were left in mainland China, and Mao Zedong launched the Campaign to Suppress Counterrevolutionaries to eliminate these soldiers left behind, as well as elements of Chinese society viewed as potentially dangerous to Mao's new government.
On 11 January 1962, an enlarged Central Committee work conference of the CCP was held in Beijing. With over 7,000 participants, it became known as the Seven Thousand Cadres Conference. Liu Shaoqi, Mao Zedong, and others made self-criticisms at the conference. Mao said in the conference that, "Any mistakes that the Centre has made ought to be my direct responsibility, and I also have an indirect share in the blame because I am the Chairman of the Central Committee. I don't want other people to shirk their responsibility. There are some other comrades who also bear responsibility, but the person primarily responsible should be me." He continued: "If our country does not establish a socialist economy, what kind of situation shall we be in? We shall become a country like Yugoslavia, which has actually become a bourgeois country." However, "during the whole socialist stage there still exist classes and class struggle, and this class struggle is a protracted, complex, sometimes even violent affair."
After the meeting, Liu informed the others that "The errors of the Great Leap Forward were serious, and this is the first time we've summarized the experience. Every year from now on we need to look back and summarize it again." Regarding the cannibalism during the Great Leap Forward, he also remarked, "This will be memorialized as a decree in which the emperor admits his crimes against the people." After the Seven Thousand Cadres Conference, Mao Zedong took a backseat in economic matters. However, at the Xilou Conference, Liu Shaoqi still believed that the Seven Thousand Cadres Conference had not sufficiently reflected on the Great Leap Forward.
In the first half of 1962, China saw the emergence of a system where individual households were responsible for agricultural output. However, Mao Zedong believed this practice contradicted communism and was something he could not tolerate. In July 1962, Mao Zedong expressed dissatisfaction with Liu Shaoqi, stating: "The Three Red Banners have been refuted, land is being divided up, and you did nothing? What will happen after I die?" Liu Shaoqi also argued that "History will record the role you and I played in the starvation of so many people, and the cannibalism will also be memorialized!"
Impact of international tensions and anti-revisionism
In the early 1950s, the PRC and the Soviet Union (USSR) were the world's two largest communist states. Although initially they were mutually supportive, disagreements arose after Nikita Khrushchev took power in the USSR. In 1956, Khrushchev denounced his predecessor Josef Stalin and his policies, and began implementing economic reforms. Mao and many other CCP members opposed these changes, believing that they would damage the worldwide communist movement.
Mao believed that Khrushchev was a revisionist, altering Marxist–Leninist concepts, which Mao claimed would give capitalists control of the USSR. Relations soured. The USSR refused to support China's case for joining the United Nations and reneged on its pledge to supply China with a nuclear weapon.
Mao denounced revisionism in April 1960. Without pointing at the USSR, Mao criticized its Balkan ally, the League of Communists of Yugoslavia. In turn, the USSR criticized China's Balkan ally, the Party of Labour of Albania. In 1963, CCP began to denounce the USSR, publishing nine polemics.
Other Soviet actions increased concerns about potential fifth columnists. As a result of the tensions following the Sino-Soviet split, Soviet leaders authorized radio broadcasts into China stating that the Soviet Union would assist "genuine communists" who overthrew Mao and his "erroneous course". Chinese leadership also feared the increasing military conflict between the United States and North Vietnam, concerned that China's support would lead the United States to seek out potential Chinese assets.