Hing Deng

IB World Issues
4th Period
3/17/10
China notes pgs. 66-93

 “Cultural Revolution was essentially political. It centered on Mao and his ambitions;
concerning both his personal power and his revolutionary ideals. To achieve the latter he
had to overcome his opponents in the Party leadership.” 66
 Mao viewed his role as a leader was to turn China away from being revisionists. He was
to maintain the faith of the future of egalitarian socialism. 66
 Struggle within the leadership occurred between the Universities in May 1966 to the
workers at the end of 1966. 66
 “The most dramatic period, characterized by Red Guards waving Little Red Books and
shouting Maoist slogans, was 1966-8.” 66
 Questions which arise are: 1. was the Cultural Revolution a struggle for power between
Mao and his opponents, or was Mao truly committed to reversing the evolution of a new
bureaucratic class and the trend since the Great Leap to dilute socialism? 2. How far was
the Cultural Revolution a popular movement inspired at the grass roots, or was it almost
manipulated by elements of the leadership? 3. How do we explain the fervour of mass
participation, the intergroup struggles and the violence? 66
 It began from the disagreements with Mao and his colleagues after the Great Leap
Forward 67
 “Agricultural production had made a good recovery, up to 1957 levels, light industry was
expanding at the rate of 27 per cent a year and heavy industry at 17 per cent. By the mid-
1960s output in heavy and light industry and consumer goods was double that in 1957.”
67
 Dazhai was a production brigade in a poor commune in Shanxi where it was claimed that
production had increased fivefold by using mass mobilization, In late 1964 a team of
investigators reported that the claim for Dazhai were false 67
 “Contemporaneous with the Learn from Dazhai campaign in 1964 was the Third Front
programme to build heavy industry inland away from areas vulnerable to attack.” 67
 Lin Bao, who had been appointed to succeed Peng Dehuai as Minister of Defence in
1959, was emerging as a loyal acolyte of Mao. He compiled Mao’s writings as a
pocketbook for the troops (May 1964) which was later named the Little Red Book. The
army was to become the incarnation of Maoism. 68
 On Sept 3, Lin published a long article, ‘Long Live the Victory of the People’s War. On
the one hand it was a statement on foreign policy: no involvement in Vietnam, no
compromise with the Soviet Union. It was also a declaration of ongoing revolution in
China. 68
 “On Nov 10 1965 in Shanghai under the guidance of Mao’s wife Jiang Qing the radical
writer Yao Wenyuan published an article criticizing Wu Han. This was later said to tbe
the ‘first bugle call’ of the Cultural Revolution.” 69
 “Peng’s Fiver- Person Group drew up a statement, the February Outline Report, which
considered whether ‘people like Wu Han’ should be treated as political problems to b e
 suppressed as necessary, or whether they should be reasoned with on the principle of
‘seeking the truth from facts’. This latter solution was favored by the Five-Person group,
and approved by the Politburo.” Mao refused to comment on this. Mao’s wife was asked
by Lin Biao to set up “A forum on work in literature and art for the armed forces.” This
rejected the Feb Report, stressed the importance of class struggle and called for a ‘Great
Socialist Cultural Revolution’ 69
 The Five-Person Group was replaced by a new body—the Cultural Revolution group
consisting of Mao’s supporters, which included Mao’s wife, Yao Wenyuan, and Chen
Boda. 69
 “Key figures that wouldn’t stand up to Mao were Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping and Zhou
Enlai, who joined in bringing about the dismissal of Peng Zhen.” 69
 At Beijing University a young female lecturer, put up a wall newspaper criticizing the
Party Administration. Mao published it in the “People’s Daily” hoping to uphold the role
of the Party, maintain his own position, and control the burgeoning unrest, Liu Shaoqi
sent work teams into the universities and colleges throughout the country. Backed by Liu
Shaoqi the work teams laid down rules of behavior, forbade the writing of wall
newspapers and street demos and distinguished between party and non-party matters. 70
 Student reaction to the work teams were in two catergories: 1. Supporters of work teams
which were likely to be the children of party functionaries and those who could claim to
be in the category of worker/peasant. They were opposed by those of the ‘bourgeois’
origin who were happy to protest against the entrenched positions of the bureaucracy and
the cadre-class. Red Guards or sometimes referred to as moderates vs radicals 70
 “On August 8 the Central Committee adopted a ‘sixteen-point decision’ which was
intended to provide guidelines and keep the revolution under control. It began: “The
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution now unfolding is a great revolution that touches
people to their very souls and constitutes a new stage in the development of the socialist
revolution in our country… Large numbers of revolutionary young people… having
become courageous and daring path-breakers… Through the media of big-chracter
posters and great debates, they argue things out, expose and criticize thoroughly and
laugh resolute attacks on the open and hidden representatives of the bourgeoisie..the
Cultural revolutionary groups..are something new and are an excellent bridge to keep our
Party in close contact with the masses.” 71
 Bands of Red Guards set out to destroy the ‘Four olds’: old thought, old culture, old
customs, old habits, to which was added anything considered Western or foreign. Groups
of Red Guards fought each other. They also turned their fury on ‘capitalist roaders’,
including intellectuals. People were physically abused and drove to commit suicide
sometimes if they were denounced.