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A: Plan of the Investigation
Considered the pinnacle of political destruction, I wanted to analyze whether Mao’s
orchestration of the Cultural Revolution determined or destroyed his centralized control of
the Communist Chinese Party.
The Cultural Revolution of 1966-1968 was a political upheaval in the late 1960s, whereby
Mao drastically eradicated bourgeois elements in order to ensure his power in the Chinese
Communism Party. Looking explicitly at the eradication of the Four Olds, I wanted to
understand how the removal of ideas, habits, customs and culture would affect Mao’s
power and subsequently allow him to gain or lose power.
I chose this question because I was intrigued whether an egalitarian society was achieved
regarding Mao and his policies. Through researching a variety of sources, I will compare
historians’ arguments and come to a consensus regarding whether the eradication of the
Four Olds, reinforced or diminished Mao’s political power.
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B: Summary of Evidence
The Cultural Revolution (1966-1968)
o
Mao’s attempt to reinsert his power
o
Claimed that that “there is no construction without destruction” (Ho, Mao, 238)
o
Tackled the social hierarchy by destroying all products of bourgeois, denunciating others and
strengthening Maoism
o
Historians believed “Mao Zedong was obsessed with trying to create a more egalitarian
social order” (Whyte, 2), and gave power to the youths.
Four Olds
o
Removal of ideas, habits, customs and culture)
o
Consolidated Mao’s power by attacking anything linked to China’s capitalist past
o
Mao instructed the Red Guards to "to seek out and destroy those at whatever level who
were taking the capitalist road” (Breslin, 128), with the Four Old policy.
o
Individuals were severally targeted and victimized
o
Everything was heavily monitored to produce “politically correct” pieces
o
Mass destruction with “4622 of 6843 officially classified historical sites were damaged or
destroyed” (Ho, 64), and remaining relationships were “replaced by comradeship and shared
class consciousness” (Breslin, 113)
o
Mao’s intent: “educating the masses in class struggle and patriotism” (Ho, 70), “[doing]
something for the love of socialism …and for no other reason” (Breslin, 113) resulting in
successful thought reform
Solidified centralized power
o
Mao was successfully removed his enemies
o
Known as the “sun that never sets” (Cheek, 229)
o
Mao was able to go beyond politics and reach godlike status, certifying his status in the
Chinese Communist Party
- “Faith had outstripped reason” (Cheek, 170)
- “His image became ubiquitous” (Breslin, 2)
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o
Bombard the Headquarters campaign (August 5th 1996)
encouraged red guards offensives, justifying violence
o
Achieved new heights of political brainwashing as understood ideas are influenced through
the perceptions of events and cleverly removed others that threatened his position in power
o
Mao had good intentions that were simply poorly executed (deserves recognition)
- tried to repair a divided population
- “His merits are primary and his errors secondary” (Cheek, 218)
Didn’t solidify centralized power
o
Eradicating the four olds resulted in turmoil
o
Temporary security of power
o
The Cultural Revolution was a meaningless policy, as it failed to actually pursue and
achieve egalitarianism
o
The new revolutionary committees were an ironic depiction of Mao’s change in
position, that “resembled the old power structure more than it resembled a radical
redistribution of political power” (Breslin, 132)
o
The revolution evidently failed to achieve equality (which was an major principle of
egalitarianism), as class division was still a problem for many others.
o
The “egalitarian” revolution was neglected, due to the fact that many of his policies
were in favour of Mao such as the Bombard the Headquarters Campaign.
o
Bombard the Headquarters Campaign (1996)
- Involved brainwashing & denouncing which were all Mao’s personal motives
- This resulted in depriving the citizens’ true needs
- ironic depiction of communism and ‘working for the masses’
o
The Cultural Revolution, the eradication of the Four Olds and the false egalitarian
incentive proved a political paradox. As “in such instances you have the paradoxical
situation that a leadership supposedly committed to creating a more egalitarian
society was, in fact, redistributing from the poor to the rich.” (Whyte, 9-10)
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C: Evaluation of Sources
Martin King Whyte’s Harvard dissertation paper “Rethinking Equality and inequality in the
PRC” provided an extinguished amount of information about complex Chinese politics and
the international response to it. Published in 2005, this paper was modern uptake on the
matter, which was useful to aiding my research as it provided the most current evidence on
the subject.
This academic paper provided relevant information regarding China and the egalitarian and
centralizing natures of Mao. Whyte’s paper provided a solid historical debate regarding the
China’s communism policies, and how it has changed over time, which brought a fresh
perspective on the Cultural Revolution’s outcomes.
However there are still parts that can be affect how authentic the source is. Throughout the
paper, Whyte referenced to many western sources, which could make the paper arguably
biased. With a lack of eastern sources and no Chinese perspective taken into account, it can
be deduced a full conclusive argument cannot be made. Additionally, the Western historian
can only access a restricted amount of information. With China’s sensitivity regarding
publications associated with any anti-Mao subject, Cultural Revolution sources could be
limited.
Word Count: 184
Shaun Breslin’s “Profile in Power- Mao, was an respectable historical text that diagnosed
Mao’s life as a ruler. Produced by Longman, this source provided an extensive amount of
information regarding Mao’s influences and policies concerning the destruction of the Four
Olds and the Cultural Revolution. Formatted in a “profile” manner, it provides condensed
and analytical information that would provide any historian information. Breslin provided a
broad range of information regarding the time frame and the working of Mao during the
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Cultural Revolution. As the text focused purely on Mao, it provided me an accurate depiction
of Mao’s intentions prior, during and after the Cultural Revolution. Additionally, as it tracked
the long legacy of Mao, this source would be valuable to any historian studying Chinese
history.
Once more, various aspects of this source can be questioned. Similar to Whyte, Breslin is a
western historian, can only access a limited amount of information, which can make
arguments appear biased. Additionally with considerable Chinese sensitivity regarding
publications of the Cultural Revolution, there is only a restricted amount of sources Breslin
can draw upon. Lastly, as the source was produced in 1998, the date can suggest that the
information and arguments made are not entirely up to date, therefore implying that the
source is not entirely reliable.
Word Count: 213
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D: Analysis
Following the failure of previous policies, Mao transformed China through the Cultural
Revolution (1966-1968) in order to reinsert his power in the Chinese Communist Party. The
Cultural Revolution was a socio-political movement that involved the destruction of the Four
Olds - ideas, habits, customs and culture. Mao believed initiating these supposedly
egalitarian-fueled policies, would centralize his control within the Chinese Communist Party.
After political dissent emerged, Mao claimed, “there is no construction without
deconstruction” (Ho, Mao, 238) and initiated the Cultural Revolution. The revolution tackled
the social hierarchy by destroying bourgeois’ products, removing political enemies &
strengthening Maoism. “Mao Zedong was obsessed with trying to create a more egalitarian
social order” (Whyte, 2) and by empowering the youths, he launched a cultural catastrophe.
The power of the youth cultivated the violent Red Guard movement. Mao instructed them
“to seek out and destroy those at whatever level who were taking the capitalist road”
(Breslin, 138) through the eradication of the Four Olds. The Four Olds were policy ideas,
habits, customs and cultural elements of the “capitalist” past. Consolidating Mao’s power,
the Red Guards were instructed to attack anything associated to China’s pre-revolutionary
order.
China was censored, individuals were targeted and remaining relationships were “replaced
by comradeship and shared class consciousness” (Breslin, 113). An astounding “4622 of 6483
officially classified historical sites were damaged or destroyed” (Ho, 64) during Mao’s social
cleansing. Mao believed eradicating the Four Olds would “[educate] the masses in class
struggle and patriotism” and therefore successfully accomplish thought reform,
egalitarianism and centralized power.
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The Cultural Revolution and the eradication of the Four Olds have arguably solidified Mao’s
power in various ways. During the revolution, Mao’s cult of personality thrived with his face
symbolically representing the “sun that never sets” (Cheek, 229). His ubiquitous presence
meant, “faith had outstripped reason” (Cheek, 170) granting Mao full control of his political
party and his nation.
With student empowerment, Mao denounced “leading comrades for … opposing the
proletariat” (Cheek, 169) which indirectly targeted political enemies Liu Shaoqi and Deng
Xiaoping. Though Mao’s had egalitarian incentives, he successfully removed those in power
who threatened his position in the Chinese Communist Party.
As the revolution achieved widespread political brainwashing, Mao was able to solidify his
political power. Mao understood that ideas were fueled by perception of events, thus by
eradicating symbols and intellectuals, Mao
“ change [d] their mode of thought…and persuade [d] them of the superiority of socialism”
(Breslin, 102), securing his control over his people.
Although the revolution was disastrous, Mao had good intentions that were simply poorly
executed. Mao attempted to piece together a divided population and as historian Cheek
stated “his contributions to the Chinese revolution far outweigh his mistakes” (Cheek, 218).
However in order to deduce whether Mao’s policy certified his centralized power, one must
consider the aftermath from demolishing the Four Olds. Mao stated that the revolution was
to erase class distinctions, yet regardless of his aspirations, this was not achieved. The
revolution was a nonsensical policy that failed in fulfilling egalitarianism, and instead
displayed an ironic depiction of how Mao’s advancement gave him power, but neglected the
masses. The revolution “resembled the old power structure more than it resembled a radical
redistribution of political power” (Breslin, 132), which can confirm his authoritarian power,
was purely temporary.
Rather than unifying society, the revolution managed to further complicate matters. Mao
envisioned an egalitarian society but through the denunciation process and the Red Guards,
class division was still present as individuals were given higher rankings than others.
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With this cracked foundation of egalitarianism, Mao initiated the destruction of the Four
Olds, which abandoned the notion of equality. The 1996 “Bombard the Headquarters
Campaign”, that supported individuals to mimic the Red Guards, failed to achieve
egalitarianism and instead encouraged social chaos. This egalitarian paradox merely
indicates that the eradication of the Four Olds and the Cultural Revolution granted Mao
restrained power.
Word Count: 650
E: Conclusion
To conclude, despite Mao’s egalitarian efforts it is evident that the eradication of the Four
Olds in the Cultural Revolution only consolidated his authoritarian power to a certain
degree.
Through the revolution and the eradication of the Four Olds, Mao recovered from his
political counterblasts, reestablished his primacy thus gaining centralized power within his
political party. With his strengthened cult of personality, political manipulation and
honorable intentions, Mao was able to revitalize the social model - granting him some
admirable control.
However, regardless of his successes, the ramifications from eradicating the Four Olds
demonstrated that his gained power was limited. The Cultural Revolution creates chaos,
mass destruction and a damaged society. Stripping the nation from it’s rich culture, past
habits, innovative ideas and traditional culture - Mao removed the possibility of an
egalitarian society, and instead created a new social regime. Mao claimed that the
Revolution was modeled after egalitarianism, but considering that policies were in favour of
Mao – the needs of the masses were neglected. All in all, despite the hold Mao did possess
over the 1966-1968 Cultural Revolution, Mao was only able to consolidate a temporary
security of power within the Chinese Communist Party.
Word Count: 196
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F: List of Sources
Breslin, Shaun. Profile in Power - Mao. London: Longman, 1998. Print.
Cheek, Timothy. Mao Zedong and China's Revolutions: A Brief History with Documents.
Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2002. Print.
Clark, Paul. The Chinese Cultural Revolution: A History.
Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008. Print.
Dillon, Michael. "First Anti Campaign." China: A Historical and Cultural Dictionary.
Richmond, Surrey: Curzon, 1998. 100-10. Print.
Ho, Dahpon David.
"Protect and Preserve: Resisting the Destroy the Four Olds Campaign 1966-1967."
The Chinese Cultural Revolution as History. By Joseph Esherick, Paul Pickowicz,
Andrew G. Walder. Stanford, CA: Stanford UP, 2006. 64-96. Print.
Jean C. Oi. Communism and Clientelism: Rural Politics in China. World Politics.
Vol. 37, No. 2 (Jan., 1985). 238-266. Print.
Whyte, Martin King. "Rethinking Equality And Inequality In The PRC."
Diss. Harvard University.
Weatherhead Center for International Affairs (WCFIA) (2005): 1-24. Print.
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