China

Cultural revolution in seven questions

50 years ago, the cultural revolution that turned the country upside began in the people’s Republic of China. Deutsche Welle answered some basic questions.

What was the cultural revolution in the core?

The cultural revolution was a political campaign of the party leader Mao Zedong in 1966, initiated in order to create the “New man”. The “New man” should that be “selfless community of beings in the domination-free society, which had been spooking has always been the humanity’s utopias”, the China expert Oskar Weggel. To achieve this goal, Mao called for the destruction of the “four relics”. This was meant to be: old thoughts, old culture, old customs and old habits. In their place, the Mao Zedong-ideas.

Mao also called for the neutralization of so-called counter-revolutionary and revisionist elements within the party, embodied in its political players, Liu Shaoqi, Mao as Chairman of the people’s Republic of China a few years earlier had to be replaced. The cultural revolution was a power struggle within the leadership of the Communist party of China.

Liu continued to grow economically to market forces (as, later, Deng Xiaoping), and political party discipline. For Mao, however, incentives to the enrichment of the devil. Also, party officials were, for him, to the “new exploiting class”. Accordingly, he saw alone in a state of permanent class struggle has been the vehicle of social progress.

President Liu Shaoqi welcomes music students before Mao overthrew him in the Wake of the cultural revolution

To what extent do the cultural revolution, something with culture?

Mao had lost the beginning of the 60s a significant part of his Power, and Beijing, the center of Power, to leave, to make the city of Shanghai from its influence. He could not attack the Central Committee, Liu Shaoqi and his allies dominated. Remained only an indirect attack on the farmers, the workers or the students. The “Great leap forward” (1958-1961) had shown that radical reforms of the Agricultural and industry sector catastrophic with millions of deaths. Only the attack on the culture, and in particular on the literature and the Newspapers remained so.

After Mao and his allies had launched in the run-up to successfully propagandistic texts, was the decisive blow against the Liu group on the “enlarged meeting of the Politburo” in may 1966. Mao managed to have a majority of the followers of Liu’s from the inner circle of the Power to exclude. Then he called the fight against “revisionists” in the ranks of the party, government, army and culture. In August of 1966, Mao had urged his political opponents to the sidelines. The great Chairman returned to Beijing.

How did the cultural revolution?

The cultural revolution lasted from 1966 to 1976.

The beginning of the uprising of the students, which formed the so-called red guard units surrounds, to go against the “four relics” field to be formed. Specifically, it was but especially to teachers and professors who have been forced confessions. The apartments of the teachers were devastated, the temple, pagodas and libraries destroyed. Not infrequently, the alleged revisionists landed in front of the firing squad. Soon, workers and large sections of the urban population, the Revolution followed. It went against the local party apparatus.

The editorial recommends

50 years of the cultural revolution: The struggle continues

50 years after the outbreak of the “Great Proletarian cultural revolution,” has found that the Chinese society is still no consensus on how to assess Mao’s mass movement, says sinologist Felix Wemheuer. (13.05.2016)

Cultural revolution in Germany

When Mao proclaimed the cultural revolution, listened to him and left-wing students in Berlin. Gottfried Schmitt was an active member of the left-hand scene. Today he seems to be more critical, but some Beliefs remained. (10.05.2016)

The Chinese cultural revolution and Tibet

50 years ago wüsteten Mao’s Red guards in Tibet, where most of the monastery’s destruction before it happened. Nevertheless, the old monk culture was a natural target for attack, which even had in Tibet trailer. (10.05.2016)

China’s cultural revolution and the New Left in the West

Mao and Ho Chi Minh were icons of the West German and the European student movement. What is behind the attraction of the Chinese cultural revolution on the Left in the West, explains sinologist Felix Wemheuer. (10.05.2016)

The country was soon in Chaos. Far more than half of all Politburo and Central Committee members and provincial secretaries lost in the first months of the cultural revolution, their Posts. The system of government collapsed. Eventually it came to fighting within the Red guards bloody Group, because each group was convinced to represent the only saving doctrine.

As the dynamics of the cultural revolution was out of control, activated Mao, the people’s liberation army under the leadership of his comrade-in-arms Lin Biao. The army had remained as a kind of state within a state from the Chaos largely unscathed. The military took over until 1968 almost anywhere in the country the control. The red guard units surrounds that did not submit were sent to re-education in the country or summarily executed. The objective of mass domination was soon to military rule.

In 1969, the restoration of the party apparatus began. However, the military under Lin Biao did not want to give up his position voluntarily. Lin Biao was planning with the infamous “project 571” the assassination of Mao. However, the Plan was known, and Lin Biaos plane crashed under until today not completely enlightened, may be the Mongolian people’s Republic.

In spite of the restoration of the party, it lasted until 1976, up in China, helped by the cut. The so-called “gang of four” which included Mao’s wife, tried the radical line against the new strong men like Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping to enforce.

They failed in the final as Mao on the 9.9.1976 died. The Chaos of the cultural revolution ended with the death of its initiator.

Mao and Lin Biao in the Great hall of the people

What role did the “little Red book”?

The “little Red book” or the “Mao Bible” is actually the title of the “words of Chairman Mao”. It is a compilation of texts, Speeches and aphorisms of Mao Zedong, who had selected Lin Biao during the “Great leap forward”. During the cultural revolution, each upright should wear a revolutionary, always a copy. Like the Red guards, greeted each other with quotes from the book. To date have been about a billion “Mao Bibles”.

What failed in the cultural revolution?

The cultural revolution wore, from the beginning, a contradiction that could not be resolved. Mao wanted to be the Supreme revolutionary of all hierarchies break down, but at the same time, total control. As this contradiction broke out in the faction fighting within the Red guards, the railway and all the calls for discipline are not predicted, Mao, the military, to restore order. The dream of the New man was buried. In its place, the “Power of the gun barrels.” Finally, a cadre party re-emerged after the Leninist model – with its hierarchy and bureaucracy. Many opponents of Mao took over after his death. So, too, Deng Xiaoping, led the country with economic reforms in a new Era.

What are the consequences of the cultural revolution?

Today, it is estimated that 1.4 to 1.6 million Chinese were killed during the cultural revolution. The biggest part was probably in the “cleansing campaigns” of the people’s liberation army, which tried with all the violence, restore order in the country.

To be one of the few positive effects of the cultural revolution, the introduction of an at least rudimentary health care system in the country and education reforms for the workers and peasants.

As is seen, the cultural revolution in today’s China, officially?

In 1981, Deng Xiaoping made the “gang of four” in a mock trial judge and described the cultural revolution as a “great disaster for the party and the people”. The official party line says today that Mao was 30 percent wrong and 70 percent right. China has abandoned Mao’s concept of permanent Revolution. The party today is strictly hierarchical, has the monopoly on power in the country and social stability is the highest value.