The Cultural Revolution: What Happened?
Although the Great Leap Forward was essentially a great leap backward, it did set Mao up to advance his new agenda, called the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution took place in Communist China from 1966-1976 and was set in place by Chairman Mao Zedong, now the Chairman of the Communist Party in China. After the Great Leap Forward from 1958-1962, Mao’s goal was to preserve communist ideology through completely ridding the country of traditional and capitalist elements from society and replacing it with Maoist thought. He believed that there were enemies of the Communist cause within the Communist party itself. He claimed that in order to rid the party of the enemies, one must look through the Maoist lens and shift to Maoist thinking and ideology (Fuk-Tsang 884). The Revolution was launched in May 1966 after Mao accused bourgeois elements of taking over government systems and attempting to restore capitalism. He insisted that these “revisionists” be removed. On August 8, 1966, Mao’s Central Committee passed the "Decision Concerning the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution", which is more commonly known as the “Sixteen Points” (Fuk-Tsang 890). It called for the reshaping of society as a whole as over one million red guards stood and listened eagerly to Mao’s speech. Mao continued to hold red- guard rallies, enforcing his campaign for the destruction of the “four olds,” which included old customs, habits, ideas, and culture. Everything was turned upside down in this new China.
"Everything was turned upside down, it was like a dream, like a dream."
-Wenhong W.
-Wenhong W.
Wenhong W. was born in Communist China in 1961, right at the beginning of the Cultural Revolution. In this interview, she shares her experiences during the Cultural Revolution and how the Revolution impacted her once she became a Christian in 1978.
Many of the new changes that took place were destructive to China’s society as a whole. This Revolution appealed directly to youth, and students were encouraged to challenge their teachers. Within family life, children were now encouraged and applauded in disobeying their parents and elders. Red Guards burned down libraries and temples, churches, and mosques were destroyed. Religion was looked upon as being hostile to the revolution and associated with the upper class. By 1968, Mao published over 350 million copies of the “Little Red Book” to the Red Guard as a guide for the new society Mao was attempting to create. Speaking out against Maoism or any form of the Cultural Revolution was not tolerated. Over 1.5 million people were killed and millions of others were tortured, had their property seized, were put in prison, or publicly humiliated due to their resistance to the movement.
One of the main groups of people that were affected by the Cultural Revolution were Protestant Christians. From 1967-1976, the expression of religious life was not tolerated and was completely banned by Mao. Even the Three-Self Church was banned during this time period. During this time period, Christians were tortured, arrested, imprisoned, and often killed for their faith. Bibles were taken and destroyed and homes were looted and burned. All churches during this time period were secret, called house churches. Believers had to be secret about their faith, or otherwise risk imprisonment or death. However, little to no information is known about the development of Christianity in China during the Cultural Revolution.
"From 1967 on, the entire next 10 or 11 years of Christian history in China are still a black hole, the details of which are very scarce. There are almost no documentary sources to consult, no statistics, very few photographs. We are left with the anecdotal stories of things that happened to people individually or that they personally witnessed during these years” (Bays 185).
Interestingly enough, after the death of Mao at the end of the Cultural Revolution, it became more and more evident that Protestant Christianity had exploded in opposition to the oppression that the Chinese government had enforced on them. After the Cultural Revolution ended, Protestant Christianity took off and rapidly grew by a factor of 5 or six by the end of 1978 (Bays 187), revealing that Mao’s efforts to destroy religion by means of the Cultural Revolution had all but failed.
One of the main groups of people that were affected by the Cultural Revolution were Protestant Christians. From 1967-1976, the expression of religious life was not tolerated and was completely banned by Mao. Even the Three-Self Church was banned during this time period. During this time period, Christians were tortured, arrested, imprisoned, and often killed for their faith. Bibles were taken and destroyed and homes were looted and burned. All churches during this time period were secret, called house churches. Believers had to be secret about their faith, or otherwise risk imprisonment or death. However, little to no information is known about the development of Christianity in China during the Cultural Revolution.
"From 1967 on, the entire next 10 or 11 years of Christian history in China are still a black hole, the details of which are very scarce. There are almost no documentary sources to consult, no statistics, very few photographs. We are left with the anecdotal stories of things that happened to people individually or that they personally witnessed during these years” (Bays 185).
Interestingly enough, after the death of Mao at the end of the Cultural Revolution, it became more and more evident that Protestant Christianity had exploded in opposition to the oppression that the Chinese government had enforced on them. After the Cultural Revolution ended, Protestant Christianity took off and rapidly grew by a factor of 5 or six by the end of 1978 (Bays 187), revealing that Mao’s efforts to destroy religion by means of the Cultural Revolution had all but failed.
Footage from Mao's China during the Cultural Revolution is rare, and this in itself indicates something of the tough censorship policies of the Communist party. Most of the film from 1960s China comes from propaganda film of revolutionary rallies and pro-Maoist demonstrations. The following clips were featured in the China episode of the American television series, The Cold War: