The Cultural Revolution was a period of enormous political and social upheaval in China during the late 1960s and early 1970s. During this period, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) under Mao Zedong sought to renew revolutionary fervor by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. This caused immense disruption to millions of people across the country, and resulted in violence, economic dislocation, mass imprisonment, and death.
The Cultural Revolution began in May 1966 when Mao and his supporters within the CCP launched the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution”, calling for a nation-wide struggle against the “Four Olds”: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. The campaign was intended to dismantle the existing power structure and to purge suspected counter-revolutionary elements from the party, bureaucracy and military. To implement this task, Mao appointed a new group of leaders, the Gang of Four, which included Jiang Qing – Mao’s wife. These leaders led the effort to promote Mao Zedong Thought – their interpretation of Marxist political and philosophical principles – as the guiding ideology of the Communist Party and of China itself.
The Cultural Revolution was accompanied by large-scale upheaval in Chinese society. Schools, colleges, and universities were closed, while teachers and professors were subject to intense scrutiny and criticism. Many people were sent to rural labour camps, while books and works of art deemed “counter-revolutionary” were burned. Hundreds of thousands of people were arrested, including intellectuals, writers, and artists, who were branded “class enemies” and accused of being imperialist, revisionist, or bourgeois. Political purges were also common in factories and villages, as well as in the army, where officers and soldiers who were perceived as deviating from Mao’s ideology were replaced by others found to be more loyal to him.
The Cultural Revolution had a major impact on Chinese culture. Cultural institutions such as libraries, institutes, and museums were closed, while traditional forms of theatre, literature, and art were replaced by revolutionary forms such as the Red Detachment of Women, operas, and songs praising Mao. Traditional religions were suppressed, and their places of worship destroyed, while Confucian philosophy and rites were reinterpreted to fit the revolutionary paradigm. Newspapers were censored, and propaganda campaigns were launched to glorify Mao and the cause of revolution. Political study sessions were held at all levels of society, forcing people to internalize and adhere to Maoist thought.
The Cultural Revolution also had a major economic impact on China. Industrial productivity and economic growth dropped dramatically, while inflation and unemployment rose. The focus on politics over economic development also meant that critical infrastructure projects, such as transportation, energy, and telecommunications, lagged significantly behind the rest of the world. The period saw frequent food shortages, and the rationing system introduced by the government to ensure equitable distribution of resources proved inadequate.
The Cultural Revolution ended in 1976 when Mao died and the Gang of Four was arrested. In the years that followed, the country underwent a process of “reform and opening”, which sought to undo much of the damage done during the Cultural Revolution. The new leadership, under Deng Xiaoping, ended the Cultural Revolution-era political agendas and policies, and sought to re-establish economic and cultural links with the outside world. In 1979, the Open Door Policy was implemented, ushering in an era of economic reform and rapid growth.
Today, the effects of the Cultural Revolution still linger. Political and social controls remain in place, the economy still suffers from inefficiencies and inequality, and many of the affected generations are still struggling to recover from the trauma of the time. The Cultural Revolution was a tragic and often traumatic period in China’s history, one which continues to have a lasting impact on the nation.