Summary HISTORY A LEVEL MAO'S CHINA THEME 3 NOTES (A*)

theme 3 - cultural revolution
Why did Mao launch the Cultural Revolution?

Divisions within the CCP between ideologues and pragmatists

 Mao an ideologue - accused Liu and Deng's measures as 'revisionism', and they were
'capitalist roaders'
 Mao wanted to remove those responsible that held old attitudes, including party
members who tolerated intellectuals in the party
 Divide between pragmatists and ideologues more apparent after 1962 conference -
Mao withdrew and left Liu, Deng, and Zhou to lead
 Pragmatists believed ideological compromises needed to achieve economic stablitly
 Pragmatists also believed in better foreign policy
 Mao believed in mass mobilisation, even if not efficient. It continued revolution
 1963 Socialist Education Movement - preached communist values and targeted
corruption
 Mao wanted to use mass mobilisation to attack corrupt party officials - Liu controlled
program - made Mao unhappy
 it was a power struggle waged behind the smokescreen of a ficticious mass
movement’

The quest for permanent revolution

 Mao needed mass mobilisation to continue revolution - people more likely to be loyal
if they join in
 Mao condemned Khrushchev - said he failed to continue the revolution
 Needed to include young in revolution - they weren't part of revolution - needed them
to commit violence for the party

Attacks on the bureaucracy

 Mao didn't want bureaucrats to become a priveleged elite and lose touch with the
masses
 Criticisms from urban bureaucrats on Great Leap - Cultural Revolution could be seen
as attack on these bureaucrats
 Mao thought 'capitalist roaders' were filling the party (Liu and Zhou moderating
Mao's policies) - needed to cleanse party

Divisions within the CCP between supporters and opponents of Mao's policies

 Mao's main supporters - Lin Biao, Jiang Qing, Kang Sheng, Chen Boda
 Mao's main opponents - Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Chen Yun, Bo Yibo
 1964 - Mao accuses Liu of choosing 'capitalist road'. Accuses Deng of running own
kingdom
 1965 - Attack on Wu Han (wrote a contreversial play). Mao targeted Peng Zhen (Wu's
boss), one of Liu's allies.
 Lin Biao escalated into crisis
 March 1966 - Mao assigned Liu to remove Peng Zhen from office

,  CCRG set up to control Cultural Revolution. Could be blamed for mistakes
 Liu and Deng still believed they were in control - just a culture remodelling
 May 1966 - Kang Sheng pushes wall poster campaigns
 Liu and Deng try to control campaign - Mao not happy - wanted chaos!
 July 1966 - Mao swims in Yangtze river - show of strength
 Mao forces Liu and Deng to make self-criticisms

How effective were the red guards in carrying out the cultural revolution?

Mao's hold on young people

 Would help ensure long-term survival of communism ideology
 Realised their enthusiasm
 Able to control through personalilty cult and 'little red book'
 Personality cult seperated Mao from the party - Mao a hero, party repressive and a
threat to Mao's achievement, because there were too many 'capitalist roaders'
 Mass rallies made students feel involved - also peer pressure
 Young people with 'wrong' class backgrounds were keen to join revolution

The mass rallies of 1966

 18th August 1966 - Mao greets 1 million Red Guards in Tiananmen Square
 Chaos followed - destruction of '4-olds' etc.
 PLA helped organise rallies - transport and rail passes etc.
 Seen as opportunity to do 'revolutionary tourism'
 Mass rallies created sense of solidarity and meant actions were approved

The attacks on the '4-olds'

 Old culture, old ideas, old customs, old habits - deliberately vague
 Young people more willing to destroy 'old' things
 Lin Biao instructed Red Guards to attack them on 18th August
 Red Guards targeted Western things - shaved Western haircuts
 Wanted to change colours of traffic lights (red to be 'go')
 Houses sacked, books burnt, authors given struggle sessions (tortured and beaten)
 Attacks on religion - clergymen imprisoned
 Divide between children and parents
 Jiang Qing given responsibility to 'purify' culture
 Some old attitudes survived - e.g respect for dead (gathering for dead Zhou Enlai)

The growth of anarchy and the use of terror

 Few restrictions - police and PLA not involved
 Teachers, petty bourgeosie etc. subject to struggle sessions - forced to confess crimes
 Attacks random at first, became more systematic
 Lots of people killed and executed
 Formation of Red Guard units by factory and office workers
 Units of bourgeosie-background students
 In-fighting between Red Guard units in Shanghai. Mao placed Committee to control
them