Thought Reform Movement
Thought Reform
• Aim: to reform the thinking of Chinese people into accepting
Mao's thoughts and ideology
• 1951-52- Zhou En Lai announces the Thought Reform
Movement
• Done through a series of methods:
o Struggle sessions
o Propaganda
o self-criticism
 Intellectuals who studied overseas were forced to admit
that they were "implementers of the imperialist cultural
invasion"
o Revolutionary Colleges
Origins of the thought reform of
the intellectuals
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Mao was suspicious of the "intellectuals" - those with higher education
such as scientists, engineers, doctors, statisticians and geologists as they
came from "bourgeois" families who could afford universities or foreign
education.
Their exposure to education gave Mao reason to fear the intellectuals as
"implementers of the imperialistic cultural invasion"
Mao also wanted to "throw away the vulgar perspectives of individualism
and liberalism, and the cultural thought of European-American
reactionary bourgeoisie"
Mao also feared the intellectuals as they understood and valued freedom
more than the proletariat.
This can be evidenced by Hu Feng, a writer who criticised the lack of
freedom in creativity and art.
Intellectuals
• "Intellectuals are often ignorant and have little or experience in
practical matters"
-Mao
• Mao was suspicious of intellectuals in China- often had university
degrees, came from bourgeoisie families
• e.g. scientists, engineers, doctors, writers
• These people were, however, indispensable to China's growing
economy- possessed necessary skills.
• Nevertheless, they were seen as a threat to the Communist regime
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educated in atmosphere of open debate and academic
freedom
more likely to speak out against Mao and the Party- counterrevolutionary
• Subjected to:
o courses in "revolutionary colleges"
o self-criticism sessions
Course of the thought reform of the the
intellectuals
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Tens of thousands of intellectuals forced to go to courses at
revolutionary colleges where they learnt the teachings of Mao,
Marx and Lenin
Writers forced to study Mao's speech "Talk at Yanan Forum on
Literature and Arts," a possible precursor to the Little Red Book
Intellectuals were made to make self criticisms and confessions
Science and engineering was changed to the Soviet route
The thought reform process was highly efficient - "at about two
months from the date of the arrest...ready for a beginning to the
recognition of his 'crimes'." - Robert Jay Lifton
How did the thought reform of the
intellectuals contribute to Mao's
consolidation of power?
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This contributed to Mao's consolidation of power as it
brainwashed the thoughts of "counter-revolutionaries" and
reduced potential opposition from the intellectuals
It minimised the influence of any remaining foreign influence
in the form of the intellectual's ideas from foreign education
Pictures of Propaganda
The Course of the Campaign
-The party was soon met with an unexpected torrent of
criticisms from from the press and intellectuals, many people
criticized the frequent human rights abuses committed by the
party, there were even reports of widespread strikes and
attacks on party members.
-By June 1957 Mao's tone had changed and he was ready to
abandon the campaign, in early July he ordered a full scale
attack on the intellectual 'rightists', as many as 500,000
intellectuals were sent to labour camps or re-education as a
result of this.
Pictures of Persecution
Anti-Rightist Campaign of Mao
Anti-Rightist Campaign (1957 & 59)
• This was initially tolerated and even
encouraged. However, after a few months,
Mao's government reversed its policy
• They persecuted those who criticized, and
were alleged to have criticized, the Party
• This was called The Anti-Rightist Campaign
Mao’s attacks on
intellectuals broadened
into a general campaign of
repression, known as the
‘Anti-Rightist’ campaign.
Anybody who expressed
even the slightest
opposition to Mao stood
the risk of being reported,
victimised and forced to
take part in ‘Struggle
Sessions’.
Raise revolutionary violence,
oppose slackers, resolutely
eliminate all revolutionary
Deportees were just dumped in places like
the far north of Manchuria, known as ‘the
Great Northern Wilderness’, and had to rig
up a shelter ‘in a hurry, using wheat stems
to make a roof’ in a temperature of -38C.
Even with a fire, ‘it was still a dozen or so
degrees below zero . . .’
‘The grass and beaten earth huts we lived in
had wind coming in on all sides . . . There
were hardly any vegetables or meat . . . We
got up . . . Just after 4 at dawn, and did not
stop until 7 or 8 in the evening . . . In these
15-16 hours . . . We basically worked nonstop . . . In summer . . . We had to get up at
2.00 am . We had at most three hours’ sleep.
Jung Chang: ‘Mao – the unknown story’ 2005. P439
" Tie you a rope, " is a Chinese
expression commonly used when
someone is arrested by the
government.
A view of Laiyang Heavy
Machinery Plant
Camp life was harsh, spartan and brutal.
Artists, who had been sent to a forced labour camp, having to
work on propaganda paintings on the side of a building wall.
A botany student from the
city is sent to a distant arid
farming region to work the
land, as punishment for
criticising Mao. She was
instructed to ‘learn from the
peasant’.
‘You’re here to redeem
your crime! Don’t dare
to make trouble, or
look for ways to be
lazy!’
Deportees had to work
on less than
subsistence-level
rations. Many died
from malnutrition,
illness, cold, overwork
and in accidents doing
unfamiliar jobs like
felling trees.
Mao talking to
colleagues, revealed
that one province,
Hunan, had
‘denounced 100,000,
arrested 10,000, and
killed 1000. The other
provinces did the
same. So our problems
were solved.’
[There are 23
provinces in China].
“Emperor Qin buried
alive only 460
scholars; we have
buried 46,000 scholars.
But haven’t we killed
counter-revolutionary
intellectuals?”
Results and Effects of
Thought Reform, Hundred
Flowers Campaign, and AntiRightest Campaign
Results of the Anti-Rightist Campaign
• 700,000 intellectuals were thrown out of their
positions and professions
• In every factory, 5% of the workers had to be
denounced as “rightists”
• All were sent to the countryside for reform –
many died of malnutrition, illness, cold,
overwork, and accidents doing unfamiliar jobs
• Some were executed or committed suicide
1. Mao silenced potential opponents.
2. He instilled fear amongst the educated classes
who were now less willing to stand against
Mao.
3. Mao prepared the ground for introducing the
Great Leap reforms – communes, ‘backyard
furnaces’ and an extreme form of
communist society
4. China’s intelligentsia [brightest minds – artists, writers,
journalists, etc] were decimated which set back China’s cultural
development.
5. Many students had their education interrupted due to the death of
so many teachers - some 5 million children had their schooling
terminated
6. Some 4 million people may have lost their lives in the ‘AntiRightist campaigns which started after the Hundred Flowers.
Stalin, the hardline
leader of Russia
and the Communist
world, died in 1953.
What would happen
to Mao?
He was followed by the
more moderate
Khruschev.
If Mao introduced similar
moderate reforms what
would happen in China?
Khruschev eased the
repression but this led to
demands for more freedom
and in Hungary led to revolts.
Russia sent in tanks to
crush the rebellions
‘The basic problem with some Eastern European countries is that
they did not eliminate all those counter-revolutionaries . . . Now
they are eating their own bitter fruit . . . Eastern Europe just did
not kill on a grand scale. We must kill. And we say it’s good to kill.’
Looking Back on the Hundred Flowers &
Anti-Rightist Campaigns
• Two Opinions on the Hundred Flowers Campaign:
– From the start, it was a sneaky way to discover who truly
opposed Mao
– Mao intended to weaken those within his party who
opposed him by having them bicker between
themselves, but it backfired when people criticized him
more than he intended
Consequences
• Party unity was strengthened
• Mao's position as leader of the CCP was at its peak
• Atmosphere of fear was created
• Intellectuals were silenced
o 500,000 intellectuals were killed with another 100,000
put into re education camps/ lao gai's
o Stasis on China's cultural development
• Used it as a foreground for the 'Great Leap Foward'
How it strengthened Mao's hold on
power
- The Hundred Flowers Campaign and the anti-rightist campaign
into which it evolved served to silence the criticisms of the
Communist regime by creating fear within the Chinese public
and the intellectual community.
-It also served to strengthen party unity under Mao against
outside influence, in effect Mao was unchallengeable.
-A popular saying of the time was 'after the anti-rightist
campaign no one opens their mouth.'
The End