Cultural Revolution

The Cultural Revolution (CR), formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by 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. Though it failed to achieve its main objectives, the CR marked the effective return of Mao to the center of power. This came after a period of relative absence for Mao, who had been sidelined by the more moderate Seven Thousand Cadres Conference in the aftermath of the Great Leap Forward and the following Great Chinese Famine, which occurred while he was still chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

In May 1966, with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group, Mao claimed 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". Many young people, mainly students, responded by forming cadres of Red Guards throughout the country. A selection of Mao's sayings were compiled into the Little Red Book, which became revered within his cult of personality. In 1967, emboldened radicals began seizing power from local governments and party branches, establishing new revolutionary committees in their place. These committees often split into rival factions, precipitating armed clashes among the radicals. The Gang of Four became influential in 1972, and the Revolution continued until Mao's death in 1976, rapidly 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 widely, typically ranging from 500,000 to 2,000,000. Mass upheaval began in Beijing with Red August in 1966. This period saw numerous atrocities, including a massacre in Guangxi that included acts of cannibalism, as well as incidents in Inner Mongolia, Guangdong, Yunnan, and Hunan. Red Guards, primarily consisting of university students, endeavored to destroy the Four Olds: old ideas, old culture, old customs, and old habits. This often took the form of destroying historical artifacts, ransacking cultural and religious sites, and targeting other citizens deemed to be representative of the Four Olds. Tens of millions were persecuted, including senior officials: most notably, president Liu Shaoqi, as well as Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, and He Long, were purged or exiled. Millions were formally accused of being members of the Five Black Categories, and suffered public humiliation, imprisonment, torture, hard labor, seizure of property, and sometimes execution or harassment into suicide. Intellectuals were considered to be the "Stinking Old Ninth", and became widely persecuted, with scholars and scientists such as Lao She, Fu Lei, Yao Tongbin, and Zhao Jiuzhang killed or forced to commit suicide. The country's schools and universities were closed, and the National College Entrance Examination were cancelled. Over 10 million youth from urban areas were relocated under the Down to the Countryside Movement policy.

In December 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the new paramount leader of China, replacing Mao's successor Hua Guofeng. He and his allies introduced the Boluan Fanzheng program, which gradually dismantled the Cultural Revolution. In 1981, the Party publicly acknowledged numerous failures of the Cultural Revolution, and moreover declared that it was wrong, and "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."

In contemporary China, after CR directly affected so many individuals across society, memories and perspectives are varied and complex. It is often referred to in retrospect as the "ten-year catastrophe," "ten-year great disaster," (十年浩劫; shí nián hàojié) or "ten years of chaos" (十年动乱; shí nián dòngluàn).