Fan Cao, a teenager during the Cultural Revolution, recounts her family’s struggles during this period. She describes how Beijing suppressed historical narratives and criticism of Mao Zedong, leading to the denial of their children’s rights. Even poorer peasant families, who were less likely to denounce their parents, were forced to do so.
The Red Guards of senior cadre families became a threat to the Maoist leadership, and when their own parents suffered persecution, they rebelled against the leaders of the Cultural Revolution. Suspicions pervaded society, and trust became a public scarcity. Both her parents were attacked as counter-revolutionaries, and their home was raided by Red Guards.
From 1967 to 1978, the state “send-down” policy in the People’s Republic of China forced 17 million urban youth to live and work in rural areas. The author examines the life experiences of these children, who were encouraged to denounce their parents to draw a line between them and the enemy. Mao saw the clan and family as institutions that kept peasants oppressed, so he issued several policies to break down the family structure.
Fan’s family was sent to the countryside one by one, with her mother going to a labor camp in central China and her elder brother to a labor camp. The authorities provided various forms of compensation to their families, and their parents received a family trip to Beijing and Shanghai.
During the Cultural Revolution (1967-1977), most children did not denounce their parents and treated Mao as dearer. However, their parents and siblings could be involved or targeted, and they could be taught to think about the Cultural Revolution. The author’s mother viewed the Cultural Revolution as a chance for redemption, despite the disgrace of having a landlord for her father.
📹 China Is Telling Kids To Spy on Their Parents and Teachers | Cultural Revolution 2.0
The Chinese Ministry of State Security is claiming that national security is the most important aspect. This is to justify the launch of …
Why were teachers targeted in the Cultural Revolution?
The Cultural Revolution began with Mao seeking support from high school students, who were asked to target teachers who propagated capitalist views and rebel against them. The Red Guards participated in parades, mass meetings, and the distribution of the Little Red Book. Mao saw this as an opportunity to sow chaos and push the country towards the downfall of the old system, leaving a blank slate for a reconstruction based on complete Communism. The central government did little to discourage the Red Guards’ acts, but eventually, most Red Guard squads refused to stop their activities, believing their fight was not complete yet.
In December 1968, millions of educated urban youth, including secondary school graduates and students, were mobilized and sent to rural villages and frontier settlements. Ten percent of the 1970 urban population was relocated, and the population grew from 500 million to 700 million people in China. Mao wanted all educated youth to have experience in the countryside, as it allowed them to better integrate into the working class.
While many believed this was a great opportunity to transform themselves into a strong socialist youth, many students could not deal with the harsh life and died in the process of reeducation.
What were the Four Olds that the Cultural Revolution targeted?
The Cultural Revolution, led by Mao Zedong, aimed to destroy the Four Olds, old ideas, culture, customs, and habits in education, art, and literature to align with Communist ideology. The revolution was a permanent process, constantly maintained through class struggle, with hidden enemies identified and removed. Jiang Qing, Mao’s wife, dominated cultural productions during this period, espousing eight “Model Operas” that applied her ideas to all arts.
These operas were performed continuously, with attendance mandatory, and featured proletarian heroes and heroines. An advertisement for the opera, “The Red Women’s Army”, depicts women from south China fighting for a new and equal China, using ballet shoes and postures.
What were struggle sessions during the Cultural Revolution?
The term “struggle session” refers to a public event called pīdòu (批鬥), where individuals accused of being “class enemies” were publicly humiliated, accused, beaten, and tortured, sometimes to death, often by close acquaintances. These public rallies were popular in mass campaigns before and after the establishment of the People’s Republic of China and peaked during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976), when they were used to instill a crusading spirit among crowds to promote Maoist thought reform.
Struggle sessions were typically held in workplaces, classrooms, and auditoriums, where students were pitted against their teachers, friends and spouses were pressured to betray one another, and children were manipulated into exposing their parents. Staging, scripts, and agitators were prearranged by the Maoists to incite crowd support. The denunciation of prominent “class enemies” was often conducted in public squares, marked by large crowds who surrounded the kneeling victim, raised their fists, and shouted accusations of misdeeds. Specific methods of abuse included hair shaving, dunce caps, “jetting” (喷气式), and verbal and physical attacks.
The term pīdòu (批鬥) comes from the Chinese words pīpàn (to criticize and judge) and dòuzhēng (to fight and contest), conveying the message of “inciting the spirit of judgment and fighting”.
Why did China ban Alice in Wonderland?
The book, published in 1866, was reprinted and re-released in 1866, with 100, 000 copies printed by 1884. However, in 1931, it was banned in China due to the Governor’s belief that animals should not use human language. The University of Utah copy is in original gilt pictorial cloth bindings, with two bookplates from Harvard scholar Cyril Bathurst Judge and book collector Michael Sharpe. The anonymous donation was facilitated by Michael Thompson of Michael R. Thompson Rare Books.
What effects did the Cultural Revolution have on students?
The Cultural Revolution in China, which commenced in 1966 and concluded in 1976, resulted in the closure of colleges and universities, thereby denying Chinese students access to higher education for a period of ten years. This loss of educational opportunity had a considerable impact on human capital and innovation by firms over the subsequent three decades.
Is taoism banned in China?
China’s constitution allows citizens to practice their religions, but the government strictly enforces restrictions on religious activity. Since 2007, China has ranked among the world’s most restrictive governments on religion. The government is implementing a policy of “Sinicization” that requires religious groups to align their doctrines, customs, and morality with Chinese culture. This policy is particularly affecting foreign religions like Islam, Catholicism, and Protestantism, which are expected to prioritize Chinese traditions and show loyalty to the state.
What was the Cultural Revolution for kids?
The Cultural Revolution, initiated by Chairman Mao Zedong from 1966 to 1976, had the objective of consolidating his power and imposing the ideology of the Communist Party throughout China. This resulted in the persecution of informers, the purging of political opponents, and numerous deaths, ultimately leading to Mao’s demise.
What was banned during the Cultural Revolution?
After winning the Chinese Civil War, Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, introduced numerous censorship laws to maintain power, maintain community standards, and protect Maoist dogma. This dogma began after 1949 and culminated in the 1950s and 60s during the Cultural Revolution, where anti-Communist and anti-Maoist books were censored and banned. Public book burnings became a tool to destroy all literature not deemed appropriate by the CCP.
By the end of the Cultural Revolution, only a few books were deemed acceptable by the CCP, including classic works by Karl Marx, Friedrich Engels, Vladimir Lenin, Joseph Stalin, books written by Mao Zedong and Lu Xun, a few political readings, and Revolutionary opera books.
Like Mao Zedong, Xi Jinping, the current CCP General Secretary, has continued to ban books in mainland China and Hong Kong that are considered “politically incorrect”. He specifically targeted libraries to censor pro-democracy books and textbooks used in schools to promote patriotism and ideological purity in the education system. In 2019, Xi Jinping was under fire for resuming the practice of burning books, as laws allowed libraries to “cleanse” books that promoted “incorrect global outlook and values”. In 2023, the Chinese government began banning Mongolian language textbooks and publications.
What was done during the Cultural Revolution?
The Cultural Revolution in China was a period of violence and chaos, characterized by the destruction of the Four Olds, including old ideas, culture, customs, and habits. The Red Guards sought to destroy these elements, often destroying historical artifacts, cultural and religious sites, and targeting those deemed to be representative of the Four Olds. Tens of millions were persecuted, including senior officials like Liu Shaoqi, Deng Xiaoping, Peng Dehuai, and He Long. Intellectuals and scientists were considered the Stinking Old Ninth, and many were persecuted.
In 1978, Deng Xiaoping became the new paramount leader of China, replacing Mao’s successor Hua Guofeng. He introduced the Boluan Fanzheng program and initiated reforms and opening of China, gradually dismantling the ideology of the Cultural Revolution. In 1981, the Communist Party publicly acknowledged the numerous failures of the Cultural Revolution, declaring it responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the people, the country, and the party since the founding of the People’s Republic.
The term “cultural revolution” appeared in communist party discourses and newspapers prior to the founding of the People’s Republic of China, and was used interchangeably with “cultural construction” to eliminate illiteracy and widen public participation in civic matters. This usage continued through the 1950s and into the 1960s, often drawing parallels to the May Fourth Movement or the Soviet cultural revolution of 1928-1931.
Who was the youngest person to fight in the Revolutionary War?
In 1777, Richard Lord Jones, a fifer in the Third Connecticut Regiment, was just turning ten. The main protagonist in the book, GIVE ME LIBERTY, is a fifer in the 2nd VA Regiment who witnesses the Battle of Great Bridge. The author, Tom Winslow, provided valuable information about Washington’s encampment during the brutal winter of 1779-80, including a one-page memoir from Dick himself as an old man and an anecdotal article from St. Nicholas: An Illustrated Magazine for Young Folks in 1884.
Dick is a perfect example of why the author loves researching, as it allows the author to get real-life people’s heartaches and moments of triumph to share with readers. The author doesn’t want to give away too much, as it is one of the sweeter scenes in the book, but everything in there was fact according to Dick himself.
What did the youth do during the Cultural Revolution?
The Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) was a bloody political purge led by Mao Zedong, involving the Red Guards of middle, high school, and university students. These groups served as the spearhead for Mao’s Cultural Revolution, an anti-humanitarian tragedy in the name of revolution to eradicate everything old and Western. The revolution affected a nation of 800 million people and consumed the energy of China’s youth even in distant parts of the country.
Directed by Chairman Mao, the May Sixteenth Notification of the Central Party Committee “sounded the bugle” to advance the Cultural Revolution. It declared a war on all “academic authorities”, accusing them of opposing socialism and representing ideas and culture of the bourgeois and exploiting classes. Citizens loyal to Mao used big-character posters, public debates, criticism, and denunciation to support the revolution.
The response to Mao’s call was swift, with a group of students from senior cadre families in Qinghua University Middle School forming a Red Guard organization in rebellion against their teachers and administrators. Within days, several other middle schools in Beijing had their Red Guard groups established. On June 1, the central radio station broadcast Nie’s poster, and the People’s Daily published a commentary the following day.
The Cultural Revolution began in earnest, causing chaos in schools. Mao was away from Beijing for about fifty days during this period, and the central government under Liu Shaoqi sent work teams in universities and middle schools to try to dissolve the rebel groups. With Mao’s endorsement, Red Guard organizations spread nationwide, becoming the dominant force in the Chairman’s rebellion against the Party establishment he had once encouraged and now wished to destroy.
📹 Chinese Cultural Revolution: the boy who denounced his mother
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Great explanation on how the CCP is copying Mao’s playbook! I think the CCP is trying to avoid losing power, or even a civil war in China, as unemployment (poverty) rises among their young adults, so the CCP needs to blame someone, like wealthy locals and foreigners, who will be used as the scapegoat for the country’s problems. “By late 1968 Mao realized his revolution had spiralled out of control. In a bid to rein in the violence, he issued instructions to send millions of urban youth down to the countryside for ‘re-education.’ He also ordered the army to restore order, effectively transforming China into a military dictatorship, which lasted until about 1971. As the army fought to bring the situation under control, the death toll soared.” As the proverb goes, ‘Birds of a feather flock together,’ Xi is asking Russia and Iran to help him stop these pro-democracy ‘color revolutions’
Hey Davey, I was wondering since you do alot of News on China and Criticize the CCP, are you not worried that the CCP might not threaten your relatives in China, if you have any at all. It’s good what your doing but I was just wondering. Love your work. You, Sir Swag, and FriendlyJordies are the only legitimate Journalists that I trust. Keep fighting the Good Fight Brother.
I think he was brave and very humble to admit that he was wrong. Initially I was surprised by the comment about after 43 years, but I wonder what he in fact meant. He was speaking in Chinese, this was translated, and who knows what he was actually thinking in that moment. Perhaps he had long ago repented about what he had done, but continued to reflect on it, and continued to feel the same way. It’s difficult to know. What is important is his feeling of repentance. What is also important is to recognize the collective madness of that time which affected millions of people. Would we behave better under circumstances that favoured fanaticism? Another thing to remember is that Mao specifically concentrated on the young: many Red Guards were teenagers. He probably thought they would be easier to manipulate than mature adults.
Every totalitarian regime has its Zhang Hongbing and Pavlik Morozov. The latter was held up as a model Soviet citizen, who as a 13 year old, denounced his father during Stalin’s rule. Pavlik’s father, like Zhang’s mother, was shot. This is the great evil that prioritises duty to the state over filial obligations. Today, I read about Russian school children who dobbed in their teachers who spoke out against the war in Ukraine. Presumably, they have not heard about Zhang or Morozov.
Hard to imagine that kind of madness of Cultural Revolution era! I mean just by saying one ” disrepect” word( she’s rightfully being disrespect after what she wen’t through!), a women lost her life, ang being caused by her own son! Imagine that kind of heart-break and disappointment she must have felt!
Exactly. Deng Xiaoping邓小平’s daughter Deng Rong (邓榕) denounced “Deng Xiaoping is evil” (April 1967). On Aug. 5, 1966, she beat Biàn Zhòngyún (卞仲耘), a vice president in her high school, to death. But after Mao and Her father got power Deng Rong (邓榕) denounced that “Mao is evil” and in her book it reads ” My father is a kind of very nice and great man”. Now she is a Billionaires. Mao’s daughter is too poor to have money to visit a doctor.