The Revolution
In August 1966, the CCP’s central committee, under the newly reenergized and publicized Mao, now aged 72, issued a directive calling for a great “cultural revolution.” The directive called for an open attack on all remnants of the old society, so that the new truly revolutionary society could begin. The call to destroy the “four olds,” old culture, old ideas, old customs and old habits, reverberated through the youth in an inexplicable way.
Young people were told to form small revolutionary groups, called “Red Guards.” To reinforce the importance of these small groups, the red guards were invited to Beijing to stand before the Chairman in a massive group at Tiananmen Square. Hundreds of thousands of young men flocked to Beijing, ready to pledge their undying loyalty to Mao.
The Red Guards began their onslaught on the remnants of the old society; mementos and heirlooms belonging to elderly Chinese were confiscated or destroyed in front of them; this included religious artifacts, traditional clothes, and books of Confucian ideology. Party leaders, teachers, and professors were attacked for any comments that could have been interpreted as disrespectful towards Mao or the CCP.
Taking advantage of the chaos that his revolution had created, Mao attacked his own targets. Liu Shaoqi, the President of China, was one of his first victims. Liu disappeared in 1966; he died in 1969 as a result of his persecution. Deng Xiaoping was also a victim of persecution, accused of being the country’s “number one capitalist roader,” despite having dedicated to the socialist cause since his teens. Deng also disappeared, but re-emerged in the early 70s and returned to the Party.
In 1968, competing Red Guards began to fight with each other, each group claiming to be the true protector of the Revolution and Mao Zedong Thought. Former and active members of the People’s Liberation Army joined the fights, escalating the violence from sticks and stones to guns. Competing Red Guard groups shut down businesses and disrupted transportation and food distribution throughout China. Thousands died in the fights to restore order.
In the summer of 1969, Mao decided that the movement had completed its goal and declared victory over counter-revolutionary forces. Officially the Revolution was over, but chaos reigned throughout China. The CCP ordered the young people to return home, but rallies and fights still happened in many urban universities. To limit young activities further, large numbers of young people were placed in rural areas to work on communes. By the end of the summer the calm had returned to most of China. Mao announced that the movement was a success, but the success was not obvious.
The country had taken its biggest economic setback since the Great Leap Forward. Production in urban areas fell because of the fighting among Red Guards. Agriculture also suffered at this time. The only positive development was found in small town enterprises that produced necessities like chemical fertilizer and small consumer goods. Mao's plan for an economically and militarily strong state failed.
On September 9, 1976, Mao succumbed to his increasingly worsening health. Finally closing the chapter of Chinese history that brought about the death of millions of Chinese and the destruction of countless cultural relics. After a few years of uncertainty, Deng Xaioping emerged as China's leader, he enacted a series of reforms that modernized China and opened it borders to the outside world.
