Who was involved?
Mao ZedongPicture above: photograph of Mao Zedong.
Mao Zedong (Mao Tse Tung) lived from 1893-1796. Zedong became a member of the Chinese Communist Party in 1921. From that time on he dedicated his life to his political party. Zedong's first notable impact on the Chinese Communist Party was in 1927 when Chiang Kai-shek, a Nationalist Party leader, tried to wipe out the Communist population. When this happened Mao Zedong led a group of 100,000 Communists to Yanan, a 6,000 mile journey called the Long March. This act saved many Communists from being executed by the Nationalist Party, although many died from the long and perilous journey to Northern China. Supporters of the Communist Party were primarily peasants. The Communist Party strived to get rid of foreign domination in China, solve economic problems, and build up some strong labor unions and party organizations. After the Long March Mao made himself a military leader then later established the Peoples' Republic of China. As leader he improved much of China. He lost favor in 1962, after the "Great Leap Forward" which was a failed plan that resulted in a massive famine. He returned to politics in 1966, appealing to the younger population. Mao Zedong reached out to the youth of China because he knew that they would be too young to have remembered his failure with the "Great Leap Forward." He led these youth, the "Red Guards," in the Chinese Cultural Revolution by encouraging them to inflict violations to the rights of humans unto people who were not followers of Mao's teachings.
Read more about Mao Zedong at: http://www.biography.com/people/mao-tse-tung-9398142#a-revolutionary-legacy& and in Holt World History: The Human Journey, 2005 (History Textbook) |
Biography of Mao Zedong"The Long March""Great Leap Forward" |
Red Guards wearing uniforms and holding the "Little Red Book."
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Chinese Youth - "Red Guards"The Chinese Red Guards consisted of middle school, high school, and college students. Over the course of the Chinese Revolution there were an estimated 11 million total Red Guards. They wore green jackets with a red armband on one arm, and they were usually carrying the "Little Red Book." They formed as part of the Chinese Communist Party under their leader, Mao Zedong. The Red Guards fought to get rid of the old Chinese culture and eliminate "bourgeois elements" from the government of China.
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Illustration of the Chinese Red Guards
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Gang of Four
The Gang of Four consisted of Jiang Qing, Zhang Chunqiao, Yao Wenyuan, and Wang Hongwen, and they were considered leading radical figures during the time of the Mao Zedong Cultural Revolution.
Read more about the Gang of Four here: http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/09/99/china_50/gang.htm
What happened?
The video above describes some actions of the Red Guards.
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Mao Zedong led the Red Guards to attack people known as "Intellectuals" in order to rid China of the "bourgeois" influences. Many political leaders were removed from office or pressured into leaving office by the Red Guards. Workers turned on their bosses; students turned on their teachers. People with any kind of authority or superiority were at risk of being attacked on by the Red Guards. Actions of the Red Guards caused schools to close down and many kids missed out on a complete education. Millions of people were forced to do manual labor and thousands were executed during the Cultural Revolution. In some cases, groups of Red Guards attacked other groups of Red Guards if they had differing opinions on how exactly things should be in China. Red Guards also rampaged throughout all of China, destroying ancient artwork, burning books, and destroying anything that had to do with the old ways of China. If there was anyone who did not follow Mao Zedong and his teachings they would have been tortured, beat, or killed. It is estimated that 30 million people died as a result of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/09/99/china_50/cult.htm http://www.morningsun.org/living/redguards/redguards.html http://www.scaruffi.com/politics/dictat.html |
Propaganda posters from the Mao Zedong Cultural Revolution: http://www.sinohits.net/posters/index.htm
Where did this happen?
When did this happen?
The Mao Zedong Cultural Revolution occurred from 1966 until 1977. It officially ended in 1977 when the Gang of Four was arrested.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/09/99/china_50/cult.htm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/static/special_report/1999/09/99/china_50/cult.htm
Why did this happen?
The Revolution occurred because Mao Zedong and his followers (the Red Guards) wished to rid China of the "Four Olds" (Old culture, customs, habits, and ideas) and anyone who was opposed to the teachings of Mao Zedong.
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/modernchina/f/What-Was-The-Cultural-Revolution.htm
http://asianhistory.about.com/od/modernchina/f/What-Was-The-Cultural-Revolution.htm
Image Links:
http://www.history.com/topics/cultural-revolution (same picture on next two pages)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards_(China)
http://www.statoil.com/no/about/artprogramme/onmymind/pages/remarkablechina.aspx
http://geology.com/world/china-satellite-image.shtml
http://manuelmera.blogaliza.org/2011/07/11/a-dura-e-teimosa-longa-marcha-do-pcch/
http://www.history.com/topics/cultural-revolution (same picture on next two pages)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Guards_(China)
http://www.statoil.com/no/about/artprogramme/onmymind/pages/remarkablechina.aspx
http://geology.com/world/china-satellite-image.shtml
http://manuelmera.blogaliza.org/2011/07/11/a-dura-e-teimosa-longa-marcha-do-pcch/