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Concept
Cultural Revolution
Summary
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People's Republic of China (PRC) launched by Mao Zedong in 1966, and lasting until his death in 1976. Its stated goal was to preserve Chinese communism by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. The Revolution marked the effective commanding return of Mao—who was still the chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP)—to the centre of power, after a period of self-abstention and ceding to less radical leadership in the aftermath of the Mao-led Great Leap Forward debacle and the Great Chinese Famine (1959–1961). The Revolution failed to achieve its main goals.
Launching the movement in May 1966 with the help of the Cultural Revolution Group, Mao charged that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society with the aim of restoring capitalism. Mao called on young people to "bombard the headquarters", and proclaimed that "to rebel is justified". The youth responded by forming various Red Guards around the country. A selection of Mao's sayings were compiled into the Little Red Book, which became a sacred text for Mao's personality cult. They held "denunciation rallies" against revisionists regularly, and grabbed power from local governments and CCP branches, eventually establishing the revolutionary committees in 1967. The committees often split into rival factions and became involved in armed fights known as "violent struggles", to which the army had to be sent to restore order. Lin Biao, an official of the PLA, was promoted as Vice Chairman and Mao's successor after military intervention, but was accused of engaging a botched coup against Mao, fled and died in a plane crash later. In 1972, the Gang of Four rose to power and the Cultural Revolution continued until Mao's death and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976.
The Cultural Revolution was characterized by violence and chaos.
Official source
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