Depth Studies – A Level OCR China – 1839-1989
The Cultural Revolution 1962-1971
Causes
1. The Legacy of the GLF
The GLF of 1958-1962 was an unmitigated disaster.
It had been meant to modernise China but instead set it back
decades and killed at least 45 million people through famine.
Mao took a back seat in politics relinquishing power to Liu Shaoqi
and Deng Xiaoping. He felt ignored (like a dead ancestor) and
wanted to regain control.
Liu and Deng began to suggest it was a result of human error and
Mao felt his power slipping.
2. Mao’s opposition to private farming and free markets
The commune system of the GLF was a failure.
Liu and Deng tried to restart the economy by allowing some private
farming and free markets
This undermined Mao’s ideology and made him uneasy.
Mao framed the Cultural Revolution as a genuine socialist campaign
involving the central struggle of the proletariat versus the
bourgeoisie - ‘continuing revolution’.
3. Mao’s suspicion of the USSR
Mao had long been suspicions of Krushchev and the Soviet Union
He accused them of ‘revisionism’ for abandoning Marxist
revolutionary principles.
1958 was the beginning of the Sino-Soviet split.
Mao argued ‘our revolutions are like battles. After a victory, we must
at once put forward a new task - ‘continuing revolution’.
Summary: Mao’s want for continuous revolution, and to regain control of
China
Events
1. The Early Years 1962-66
Summer 1962 - Mao launched a Socialist Education Campaign to
stop economic activities outside the planned economy and to
intensify the class struggle.
“Never Forget Class Struggle” - popular slogan
Liu Shaoqi (despite being lenient to economic reform after GLF) led
a campaign punishing over 5 million party members accused of
taking the ‘capitalist road’.
Focus was on the younger generation - heirs of the revolution.
They were educated in class hatred and made to study the works of
Mao.
The Cultural Revolution 1962-1971
Causes
1. The Legacy of the GLF
The GLF of 1958-1962 was an unmitigated disaster.
It had been meant to modernise China but instead set it back
decades and killed at least 45 million people through famine.
Mao took a back seat in politics relinquishing power to Liu Shaoqi
and Deng Xiaoping. He felt ignored (like a dead ancestor) and
wanted to regain control.
Liu and Deng began to suggest it was a result of human error and
Mao felt his power slipping.
2. Mao’s opposition to private farming and free markets
The commune system of the GLF was a failure.
Liu and Deng tried to restart the economy by allowing some private
farming and free markets
This undermined Mao’s ideology and made him uneasy.
Mao framed the Cultural Revolution as a genuine socialist campaign
involving the central struggle of the proletariat versus the
bourgeoisie - ‘continuing revolution’.
3. Mao’s suspicion of the USSR
Mao had long been suspicions of Krushchev and the Soviet Union
He accused them of ‘revisionism’ for abandoning Marxist
revolutionary principles.
1958 was the beginning of the Sino-Soviet split.
Mao argued ‘our revolutions are like battles. After a victory, we must
at once put forward a new task - ‘continuing revolution’.
Summary: Mao’s want for continuous revolution, and to regain control of
China
Events
1. The Early Years 1962-66
Summer 1962 - Mao launched a Socialist Education Campaign to
stop economic activities outside the planned economy and to
intensify the class struggle.
“Never Forget Class Struggle” - popular slogan
Liu Shaoqi (despite being lenient to economic reform after GLF) led
a campaign punishing over 5 million party members accused of
taking the ‘capitalist road’.
Focus was on the younger generation - heirs of the revolution.
They were educated in class hatred and made to study the works of
Mao.
