Figure 1.--The Cultural Revolution was one of the most tragic episodes in modern Chinese history. The idealism of youth was manipulated to destroy many lives. This is a painting from 1971. The army uniform was commonly worn by students of all ages, both boys and girls, during the Culture Revolution. That was almost the only important's children's style. Notice the Young Pioner scarfe, the Mao badge, and the Little Red Book. Alsi notice the red arm band. I am not sure what it says. We also so not know who the artist was.

Another major even more radical change occurred during the Cultural Revolutuion (1966-76), one of the most violent and tragic episodes in modern Chinese history. It was inspired by China's leader Mao Tse Tung and known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Mao thought that the Chinese people were losing their revolutionary zeal. He was also stung by criticism of his Great Leap Forward (1959) and declining influence in the Government. Mao conceived of a cutural revolution to destroy once and for all the culture of pre-Communist China and to gain absolute control of the Goivernment. Major Chinese traditions such as respect for ones's elders and the value of scholarship in particular were attacked. Children were often forced to renounce their own parents. Mao sought to reinvigirate party cadre with a revolutionay commitment, to replace many in positions of rank and privilege who were no sufficently inspired, to punish the cadre for the criticisms that were lodged against Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward experiment, and to continue attacks against the intelligentia who he thought were not sufficently committed to the Revolution. Important leaders including Peng Zhen to Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping who were not sufficently loyal to Mao suffered during the Cultural Revolution, now just as the intelligentia and those who hadn't embraced Mao's grand plan. Mao's power reached unprecedent levels during this period in a xenephobic and often irrational cult of personality, symbolized by a Little Red Book consisting of his quotations, ubiquitous buttons that bore his portrait, and statues virtually deifying him that were raised near any buildings of social significance throughout China. The attacks on people made during the Cultural Revolution were all done in Mao's name. The Cultural Revolution made individual thoughts a crime. Pople had to hide their thoughts and emotions. People were beaten by teems of Red Guards. Many were denounced, sometimes by their own children or former friends, and sent to brutal labor camps for education. Many do not survive the harsh regime at the camps. Many others were permanently injured from beatings and lack of medical care at the camps. Others suffer from the humiliations also inflicted on them by the Rd Guards and at the camps. Mao had initiated the Cultural Revolution in 1966 when he met thousands of cheering Red Guards (students) at Tian-An-Men Square wearing his military uniform, Mao suit, and armband. Girl students who saw him cut their long queues into two brushes. They put on military uniform, leather belts and Liberation Shoes, virtually the same as the boys were weraing. Military uniform were the most popular and considered suitably revolutionary. They were admired by everyone. Red Army style uniforms became very popualar for boys. Military uniforms became a symbol of revolution and as a result was the most popular style of clothing. Western clothing and qipao in the 1950s and early 60s might still be seen in China, especially on formal national holidays, such as Chinese National Day and Labor Day. As a result of the political reforms of the Cultural Revolution, western clothing entirely disappeared in China. It was dangerous to have such clothing in your home. let alone wear it. People wore tunic suits and cadre suits as their standard dress. This was for everyone, without destinctions of profession, social status, or even gender. This included children as well and boys and girls wore the same outfits. Even ranking army officers stoped wering well tailored uniforms and insignia of rank because they were preceived as impairing communication between officers and enlisted men. Mao's wife Jiang Qing in the early 70s designed the Jiang-qing skirt for females of all ages. She recommended it as standard clothing for women, but it did not prove popular. She did not have the same ability to inspire as her husband. [Chang] Gradually the Cultural Revolution played itself out. The Cultural Revolution effectively ended with the Gang of Foir episide in 1976. With Mao's death in 1976, the Gang of Four was arrested. China began to change course. The opening to the West began in 1979.

Violent Outbreak

One of the most dramatic events of the Chinese Revolution was the Cultural Revolutuion (1966-76), now seen as a violent and tragic episodes in modern Chinese history.

Cause

The Cultural Revolution was inspired by China's leader Mao Tse Tung and known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Mao thought that the Chinese people were losing their revolutionary zeal. Mao was esecislly stung by criticism of the disaterous Great Leap Forward (1959)--a program with which he was especially identified. Mao saw his influence declining both within the Party and Government. Opionions within the leadership varied as to the future direction of China. Marsal Lin Biao who led the Military Affairs Committee of the Party saw a need to mauntain revolutionary morale and fervor. Other more pragmatic leaders like President Liu Shao-chi was more interested in a pramatic approach to goverment, relying more heavily on the beaucracracy and technical experts. The pragmatists in the leadership often influenced bt the Soviet Union were becoming increasingly skeptical of Mao's ideologically based leadrship. Mao conceived of a cutural revolution to destroy once and for all the culture of pre-Communist China and to gain absolute control of the Government.

Launch (April 1966)

Mao initiated the Cultural Revolution when he met thousands of cheering Red Guards (students) at Tian-An-Men Square (April 1966). This was his attempt to end the debate within the leadership and seize control. Directives subsequently issued (May 1966) stressed the mobilization of the masses amd the organization of self-sufficent communes and low-tech industries in the countryside. In many regards this approach was similar to the Great Leap Forward. Little impprtance was attched to technical expertise, rather the focus was on ideological purity and commitment.

Traditions

Major Chinese traditions such as respect for ones's elders and the value of scholarship in particular were attacked. Children were often forced to renounce their own parents.

The Party

Mao sought to reinvigarate party cadre with a revolutionay commitment, to replace many in positions of rank and privilege who were no sufficently inspired, to punish the cadre for the criticisms that were lodged against Mao's disastrous Great Leap Forward experiment, and to continue attacks against the intelligentia who he thought were not sufficently committed to the Revolution. Important leaders including Peng Zhen to Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping who were not sufficently loyal to Mao suffered during the Cultural Revolution, now just as the intelligentia and those who hadn't embraced Mao's grand plan.

Cult of Personality

Mao's power reached unprecedent levels during this period in a xenephobic and often irrational cult of personality, symbolized by a Little Red Book consisting of his quotations, ubiquitous buttons that bore his portrait, and statues virtually deifying him that were raised near any buildings of social significance throughout China. The attacks on people made during the Cultural Revolution were all done in Mao's name. The Cultural Revolution made individual thoughts a crime. Pople had to hide their thoughts and emotions.

Little Red Book

After launching the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards were incouraged to carry a liitle red book of Mao's quotations (May 1966). Actually the term "Little Red Book" was never used in China, but was a term that became popular in the West to describe it. The book was an abridged collection of quotations from Mao's witings and speeches. Mao's selected works were published in four volumes. Most of the quotations in the little red book come from about 25 documents in these volumes. The quotations range in length from a sentence to a few short paragraphs, and borrow heavily from a group of about two dozen documents in the four volumes of Mao's Selected Works. The quotations are generally short, sometimes only 1-2 sentences. A few are two paragraphs. It beca,e rquired reading and many Red Guards committed the passages to memory. It was printed in a small pocket addition to make it wasy for the students to carry it. No one knows precisely how many copies were printed, but most believe ell over one billion copies, making it one of the mostly widely printed books in history. Soon it was not just Red Guards carrying the book, but every Chinese person including primary children. Individuals who could not produce one could be beaten by Red Guards or sentenced to lengthy prison terms. The book was discussed not only in schools, but in the work place as well. The Chinese were incouraged to solve problems with these quotations. Schools, industrial plants, agricultural communes, government offices, and military units set up study groups to read and discuss the quotations. Thus instead of studying or working, the Chinese devoted countless hours to study Mao's quotations. It was argued that a better understanding of Mao would bring about a degree of enlightenment that would result in great improvements in production. The Red Guards used the quotations to identify and weed out intellectuals no sufficently committed to Mao. The 427 quotations are organized thematically into 33 chapters in the book. The chapters were titled: 1. The Chinese Communist Party, 2. Classes and Class Struggle, 3. Socialism and Communism, 4. The Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People, 5. War and Peace, 6. Imperialism and All Reactionaries Are Paper Tigers. ect. Chinese propagada at the time either consisted of Mao's images or his devoted followers brandishing the little red book. Gradually the importance of the book declined, eespecially after the rise of Deng Xiaoping in 1978. The Party came to the view that the glorification of Mao's quotations was a left deviation and a an example of the cult of personality. The book was nevera recalled and today in China is generally seen as memorabilia with a meaning that depends on ones experiences during the Cultural Revolution.

Red Guards

The first Red Guards were armed factory workers in Russia during the Revolution. The term Red Guards or hong wei bing is more commonly used for the groups of militant young people mobilized by Mao to drive his Cultural Revolution. The Red Guards were mostly young people in the teens or early 20s (mostly 15-25 years of age). The Red Guards were first active in schools, but soon exhausting the possibilities within the schools the Guards moved out of the schools into the neigborhood as a whole. Many schools were closed. And then large numbers began moving in groujps to Beijing and other large cities. Mao "summoned" them to guard the Revolution from "evil forces" including imperialism and corruption and this included individuals within the Party that were not sufficntly loyal. Red Guard detachments were formed in every sector of Chinese society, including government agencies. Armed with their little red books they terrorized individuals in authority or with prpfesional prestige like teachers, factory managers, scholars, artists, scientists, and others including Party cadre who using Mao's quotations in their little red books, they labeled "deviationists" or "closet capitalists". An especially serious vrime was putting "technical expertise" over "correct political thinking". A Red Guard detachment in the Foreign Ministry even seized contol from Foreign Minister Chen Yi. People were beaten by teams of Red Guards. Many were denounced, sometimes by their own children or former friends, and sent to brutal labor camps for education. Much of this was conducted out of ideolgical fervor. Some Red Guards used their position to conduct personal vendettas. Many of those targeted by the Red Guards did not survive the harsh regime at the camps. Many others were permanently injured from beatings and lack of medical care at the camps. Others suffer from the humiliations also inflicted on them by the Red Guards and at the camps. Besides the damage done to China, the young people involved essentually received no secondary or university education. The Chinese now refer to them the "lost generation".

Fashion

Mao had initiated the Cultural Revolution in 1966 when he addressed cheering Red Guards at Tian-An-Men Square wearing his military uniform, Mao suit, and armband. Girl students who saw him cut their long queues into two brushes. They put on military uniform, leather belts and Liberation Shoes, virtually the same as the boys were wearing. Military uniform were the most popular and considered suitably revolutionary. They were admired by everyone. Red Army style uniforms became very popualar for boys. Military uniforms became a symbol of revolution and as a result was the most popular style of clothing. Western clothing and qipao in the 1950s and early 60s might still be seen in China, especially on formal national holidays, such as Chinese National Day and Labor Day. As a result of the political reforms of the Cultural Revolution, western clothing entirely disappeared in China. It was dangerous to have such clothing in your home. let alone wear it. People wore tunic suits and cadre suits as their standard dress. This was for everyone, without destinctions of profession, social status, or even gender. This included children as well and boys and girls wore the same outfits. Even ranking army officers stoped wering well tailored uniforms and insignia of rank because they were preceived as impairing communication between officers and enlisted men. Mao's wife Jiang Qing in the early 70s designed the Jiang-qing skirt for females of all ages. She recommended it as standard clothing for women, but it did not prove popular. She did not have the same ability to inspire as her husband. [Chang]

Gang of Four

Gradually the Cultural Revolution played itself out. The Cultural Revolution effectively ended with the Gang of Foir episide in 1976. With Mao's death in 1976, the Gang of Four was arrested. China began to change course. The opening to the West began in 1979.

Sources

Chun Chang, January 14, 2002

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Created: August 29, 2002
Last updated: 10:56 PM 5/2/2006