The Ghost of the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
World History
Name: _________________
E. Napp
Date: _________________
Historical Context:
“In the mid-1960s, Mao Zedong, the leader of Communist China, launched yet
another campaign – the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution – to combat the
capitalist tendencies that he believed had penetrated even the highest ranks of the
Communist Party itself. The Cultural Revolution also involved new policies to
bring health care and education to the countryside and to reinvigorate earlier
efforts at rural industrialization under local rather than central control. In these
ways, Mao struggled, though without great success, to overcome the inequalities
associated with China’s modern development and to create a model of socialist
modernity quite distinct from that of the Soviet Union…
In the Soviet Union, the search for enemies occurred under the clear control of the
state. In China, however, it became a much more public process, escaping the
control of the leadership, particularly during the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1969.
Mao had become convinced that many within the Communist Party had been
seduced by capitalist values of self-seeking and materialism and were no longer
animated by the idealistic revolutionary vision of earlier times. Therefore, he called
for rebellion, against the Communist Party itself. Millions of young people
responded, and organized as Red Guards, they set out to rid China of those who
were ‘taking the capitalist road.’ Following gigantic and ecstatic rallies in Beijing,
they fanned out across the country and attacked local party and government
officials, teachers, intellectuals, factory managers, and others they defined as
enemies. Rival revolutionary groups soon began fighting with one another, violence
erupted throughout the country, and civil war threatened China. Mao found
himself forced to call in the military to restore order and Communist Party control.
Both the Soviet Terror and the Chinese Cultural Revolution badly discredited the
very idea of socialism and contributed to the ultimate collapse of the communist
experiment at the end of the century.” ~ Ways of the World
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Op-Ed Article: The Specter of the Cultural Revolution, By Lijia Zhang, New York
Times, May 22, 2012
BEIJING – A couple of months ago, Prime Minister Wen Jiabao warned that if
China fails to make political reforms, the country runs a risk of repeating the
Cultural Revolution.
While meant as a shot at Bo Xilai, the now-disgraced former Communist Party
official at the center of a still-unfolding political scandal, Wen’s mention of the
Cultural Revolution touched a nerve in China.
The Cultural Revolution began 46 years ago this month with Chairman Mao’s
“May 16 Notification” and ended 10 years later with at least half a million people
dead from torture, execution or suicide. This misguided movement tore apart
China’s social fabric, touching all of us in one way or another.
A childhood friend of mine accidentally broke a porcelain statue of Chairman
Mao. His mother was blamed, beaten and humiliated at public gatherings. She
eventually went mad. My grandfather committed suicide at the height of the
movement, terrified that his job as a grain dealer would make him a target of the
roving bands of Red Guards who might persecute any merchant at any time because
of a “capitalist” livelihood. My grandfather once said that he lived like a “bird
startled by the mere twang of a bowstring.”
Such stories were all too common, yet we have not come to terms with their longterm effects. Until the Chinese leadership confronts the Cultural Revolution headon, its ghosts will continue to haunt the nation.
In 1978, two years after the chaos ended, the Communist Party declared the
Cultural Revolution a disaster and effectively banned any further public discussion.
To this day, the movement’s excesses are glossed over in schools, and books on the
period are subject to strict censorship. The topic is often blocked in Chinese on the
Web. China has never had a full accounting of how and what went wrong.
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Wen’s recent speech notwithstanding, top Communist Party officials usually avoid
public discussion of the Cultural Revolution.
The word for revolution is ge ming – ge as in “reform” and ming meaning “life.”
Thus a revolution is thought of as a life-changing transformation, and today’s
leadership doesn’t want any talk of life-changing transformations, lest their tenuous
hold on power become a target of change.
The Cultural Revolution is something the authorities would rather forget
altogether. Yet we regular Chinese citizens can’t forget. Without confronting the
most painful episode in modern Chinese history, how can we draw lessons from the
past and prevent the tragedy from happening again?
We should remember it, reflect on it and answer the uncomfortable questions:
How did the Cultural Revolution happen and why? Why did the majority of the
Chinese people participate in the movement, often enthusiastically? Was it
inevitable? And what did it say about the Chinese and its national psyche?
The renowned writer Feng Jicai risked his life by keeping records of harrowing
stories from the era, which he published under the title “Ten Years of Madness.”
Together with other like-minded intellectuals, he has repeatedly lobbied the
government to establish a museum to commemorate the Cultural Revolution, but all
to no avail. At the newly renovated history museum near Tiananmen Square, such a
major historical event is reduced to one line of text and one photo.
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It goes without saying that Mao was primarily responsible. But in my view the
leaders around him, as well as the dictatorial political system itself, also share the
blame.
In a more democratic society citizens would not have blindly worshiped one man
and allowed him to drag the whole nation into madness. The Cultural Revolution
could not have happened in a democracy.
And that’s the point. China needs serious political reforms: more democracy, rule
of law, transparency, checks on power and a decentralized power structure. Only
measures such as these can push China forward into becoming a strong, modern
nation — and to avoid repeating past catastrophes.
Wen was right: We need reform or we could end up too close to where we were 46
years ago. But the prime minister, who has only a few months left to his term, hasn’t
elaborated upon what reforms he has in mind. In fact, he’s been talking of “reform”
for years, and many other leaders also openly acknowledge that we need economic
reform.
Implementing real reforms, not merely a tweak here and there, will demand
courage. Will Xi Jinping and Li Keqiang, the two men who will most likely take
power in the autumn, be up to it?
I doubt it. They are selected to lead the nation because they’ve proven not only
their ability to govern but also their loyalty to the regime. Like all top party leaders,
they understand how to place the party’s honor before the country’s interest. This
next generation of leaders is unlikely to rock the boat – and that’s unfortunate.
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Analyze the following quotes from The Little Red Book:
“During China’s Great Cultural Revolution from 1966 to 1976, the famous Little
Red Book, officially known as Quotations of Chairman Mao Zedong, was a must-have
item for the Chinese.”
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“We must have faith in the masses and we must have faith in the Party.
These are two cardinal principles. If we doubt these principles, we shall
accomplish nothing.”
~ Mao Zedong
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“A revolution is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture,
or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and gentle, so
temperate, kind, courteous, restrained and magnanimous. A revolution is an
insurrection, an act of violence by which one class overthrows another.”
~ Mao Zedong
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“Our enemies are all those in league with imperialism - the warlords, the
bureaucrats, the comprador class, the big Landlord class and the reactionary
section of the intelligentsia attached to them. The leading force in our
revolution is the industrial proletariat. Our closest friends are the entire
semi-proletariat and petty bourgeoisie. As for the vacillating middle
bourgeoisie, their right-wing may become our enemy and their left-wing may
become our friend - but we must be constantly on our guard and not let them
create confusion within our ranks.”
~ Mao Zedong
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“After the enemies with guns have been wiped out, there will still be enemies
without guns; they are bound to struggle desperately against us, and we must
never regard these enemies lightly. If we do nor now raise and understand
the problem in this way, we shall commit the gravest mistakes.”
~Mao Zedong
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“What is a true bastion of iron? It is the masses, the millions upon millions of
people who genuinely and sincerely support the revolution. That is the real
iron bastion which it is impossible, and absolutely impossible, for any force
on earth to smash. The counter-revolution cannot smash us; on the contrary,
we shall smash it. Rallying millions upon millions of people round the
revolutionary government and expanding our revolutionary war, we shall
wipe out all counter-revolution and take over the whole of China.”
~ Mao Zedong