Cultural Destruction Nms Nms

Aims of the Cultural Revolution: 1.Remould Chinese Culture 2.CPC internal power struggle 3.Rectification campaigns (i.e. getting the revolution back on track!) Use your common sense, previous learning and AQA p. 96 – 104 to work out which box goes where.

The Cultural Revolution was an attack on all modes of non- socialist thought. Things which went against Mao’s view of what society should be. Traditional opera suppressed and replaced by ‘revolutionary opera’., representing workers, peasants and soldiers. Western music, clothing attacked – far too decadent and bourgeois. The young people of China were the third element of ‘persuasion’ that Mao would use as part of his mass mobilisation of China. They needed experience of ‘revolutionary struggle’ and ‘blood on their hands’. This would also infuse the Party with new, ‘ideologically suitable’, vigour. After the purge of Peng Dehuai, it was Liu Shaoqi who now appeared to be heir apparent to Mao. But Liu was not following the ‘correct revolutionary path’ and had also criticized policy during the Great Leap Forward. Mao could not attack his rivals head on as they enjoyed plenty of support, both within the Politburo and amongst the party rank and rile. He had to carefully undermine them, akin to his ‘guerilla tactics’. In March 1966, Mao, Lin Biao, Kang Sheng and Chen Boda, removed Peng from his post. In May 1966, Mao took control of the Cultural Revolution Group and by the summer of 1966 attacks on university teachers and elements within the Party are in full swing.

The November 1965 attack on Wu Han, his play and the Mayor of Beijing, Peng Zhen was part of the campaign against ‘ capitalist roaders’ like Liu and Deng. February 1966 the Shanghai radicals, after attacking ‘sinister anti-Party and anti-socialist’ elements within the Party, have Jiang Qing placed at the head of cultural policy. As before, Mao was concerned that the revolution was ‘overly bureaucratic’ and that universities were full of ‘scholar-tyrants’. Bourgeois society = bourgeois culture Socialist society = socialist culture Therefore feudal and bourgeois arts forms can not exist within China. They must be eradicated and replaced with ‘proletarian culture’. ‘Bombard the headquarters’ was Mao’s rallying cry to young people, many of whom had missed out on the revolution or did not have CPC connections or had been ‘sent to the countryside’. Mao, his wife Jiang Qing, and their allies wanted to ensure that all culture ‘served the revolution, eradicating ‘anti-socialist, poisonous weeds’ from the arts. Post-GLF incentives had led to the re-emergence of inequalities, incompatible with socialist-communist thinking.

Nothing short of an assault on the Party itself – not on Mao – would remedy the situation and rid China of counter-revolutionary elements. Lin Biao, as Mao’s right-hand man and head of the PLA, ensured that the armed forces would support Mao in any nationwide campaign. Jiang Qing and her posse of radical intellectuals would support Mao vis-à-vis cultural issues. This mass struggle would be different and not controlled by the Party. It had to destroy CPC bureaucracy and unleash ‘a great disorder across the land leading to great order’. Since 1972 cadre conference Mao had been angry at the CPC leadership. He was 73 by 1966 and felt ‘left-out’ due to his age. August 1965, Mao returned to Beijing and made Liu recite a self-criticism in front of the Central Committee. Liu is demoted from No2 to No8 and replaced by Lin Biao.

Actual Order

The Cultural Revolution was an attack on all modes of non- socialist thought. Things which went against Mao’s view of what society should be. Mao, his wife Jiang Qing, and their allies wanted to ensure that all culture ‘served the revolution, eradicating ‘anti-socialist, poisonous weeds’ from the arts. Bourgeois society = bourgeois culture Socialist society = socialist culture Therefore feudal and bourgeois arts forms can not exist within China. They must be eradicated and replaced with ‘proletarian culture’. February 1966 the Shanghai radicals, after attacking ‘sinister anti-Party and anti-socialist’ elements within the Party, have Jiang Qing placed at the head of cultural policy. Traditional opera suppressed and replaced by ‘revolutionary opera’., representing workers, peasants and soldiers. Western music, clothing attacked – far too decadent and bourgeois. Cultural Destruction

Since 1972 cadre conference Mao had been angry at the CPC leadership. He was 73 by 1966 and felt ‘left-out’ due to his age. After the purge of Peng Dehuai, it was Liu Shaoqi who now appeared to be heir apparent to Mao. But Liu was not following the ‘correct revolutionary path’ and had also criticized policy during the Great Leap Forward. Mao could not attack his rivals head on as they enjoyed plenty of support, both within the Politburo and amongst the party rank and rile. He had to carefully undermine them, akin to his ‘guerilla tactics’. The November 1965 attack on Wu Han, his play and the Mayor of Beijing, Peng Zhen was part of the campaign against ‘ capitalist roaders’ like Liu and Deng. In March 1966, Mao, Lin Biao, Kang Sheng and Chen Boda, removed Peng from his post. In May 1966, Mao took control of the Cultural Revolution Group and by the summer of 1966 attacks on university teachers and elements within the Party are in full swing. August 1965, Mao returned to Beijing and made Liu recite a self- criticism in front of the Central Committee. Liu is demoted from No2 to No8 and replaced by Lin Biao. CPC internal Struggle

As before, Mao was concerned that the revolution was ‘overly bureaucratic’ and that universities were full of ‘scholar-tyrants’. Post-GLF incentives had led to the re-emergence of inequalities, incompatible with socialist- communist thinking. Nothing short of an assault on the Party itself – not on Mao – would remedy the situation and rid China of counter-revolutionary elements. Lin Biao, as Mao’s right-hand man and head of the PLA, ensured that the armed forces would support Mao in any nationwide campaign. Jiang Qing and her posse of radical intellectuals would support Mao vis-à-vis cultural issues. The young people of China were the third element of ‘persuasion’ that Mao would use as part of his mass mobilisation of China. They needed experience of ‘revolutionary struggle’ and ‘blood on their hands’. This would also infuse the Party with new, ‘ideologically suitable’, vigour. This mass struggle would be different and not controlled by the Party. It had to destroy CPC bureaucracy and unleash ‘a great disorder across the land leading to great order’. ‘Bombard the headquarters’ was Mao’s rallying cry to young people, many of whom had missed out on the revolution or did not have CPC connections or had been ‘sent to the countryside’. Rectification Campaigns

The main question is what policy to adopt towards the so-called chaos at various places. In my opinion, we should let the chaos go on for a few months and just firmly believe that the majority is good and only the minority bad. It does not matter if there are no provincial [party] committees. There are still district and county [party] committees! The People’s Daily has published an editorial, calling on the workers, peasants, and soldiers to stop interfering with students’ activities, and advocating non-violent, not violent, struggles. In my view, Peking is not all that chaotic. The students held a meeting of 100,000 and then captured the murderers. This caused some panic. Peking is too gentle. Appeals have been issued, [but after all] there are very few hooligans. Stop interfering for the time being. It is still too early to say anything definite about the reorganization of the centre of the [Youth] League; let us wait four months. Decisions taken hurriedly can do only harm. Work teams were dispatched in a hurry; the left was struggled against in a hurry; meetings of 100,000 were called in a hurry; appeals were issued in a hurry; opposition to the new municipal [party] committee of Peking was said, in a hurry, to be tantamount to an opposition to the [party] Centre. Why is it impermissible to oppose K? I have issued a big character poster myself, ‘Bombard the Headquarters!’ Some problems have to be settled soon. For instance, the workers, peasants, and soldiers should not interfere with the students’ great Cultural Revolution. Let the students go into the street. What is wrong with their writing big-character posters or going into the street? Let foreigners take pictures. They take shots to show aspects of our backward tendencies. But it does not matter. Let the imperialists make a scandal about us. Talk At The Work Conference Of The Centre (August 23, 1966) What is Mao saying about the nature – i.e. how – the revolution should be carried out?

Source analysis What is Mao saying about the nature – i.e. how – the revolution should be carried out? 1.Annotate the source picking out key words and information 2.Annotate round the source – what does this infer (suggest) – what else do you know that would support this? Remember AO2 – make valid inferences and deployment of historical context to illuminate and discuss the limitations of what can be gained from the content of the source material.

H/W – Mao’s Key Tools Produce a diagram around the above title to show the range of forces Mao assembled to support him in the Cultural Revolution. You should include plenty of detail on: - Lin Biao - Jiang Qing - Kang Sheng - Yao Wenyuan - The Red Guards - The Cultural Revolution Group As you are doing this – or once you have finished – show and explain clear links between the above individuals/ groups