Beginning: In 1966 The People's Republic of China underwent a reassertion of power led by their communist leader Mao Tse Tung. The idea behind for what became known as the Cultural Revolution was to help Mao reassert his power over the Chinese people. The revolution was a way for Mao to return to a position of power after The Great Leap Forward. In the beginning of the 1960s Mao believed that China's current government leadership was leading the country in the wrong direction. He called upon the youth of China to bring back the spirit and values that helped them win the civil war. Middle: Because Mao and his followers despised bourgeois attitudes and clothing, people of China were forced to wear what they called a Zhongshan or "Mao" suit. The suit was utilitarian and modest, allowing for everyone to appear equal in social class. The revolution was a time when wearing decadent clothing or jewelry could get you attacked in the streets. The movement escalated quickly and soon young people were forming groups known as the Red Guard to terrorize and attack China's elderly and more intellectual population. Many of Mao's tactics for restoring power including killing, beating, and imprisoning government leaders who opposed his views. He also allowed the Red Guard to harass civilians who didn't share the values of their party. End: The Cultural Revolution lasted roughly a decade and ended when Mao died. More than 1.5 million people were killed during the Cultural Revolution. While the idea behind Mao's movement was to restore the government, it caused many people to distrust and lose faith in the system and their country. The Revolution had many negative economic, social, and political effects on the country for years to come.
History.com gives a full background and historically accurate information on the entirety of the Cultural Revolution.
This video gives a brief but relevant history of the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Long Term Effects The Cultural Revolution was devastating for many Chinese customs, religions, and culture. Confucianism, along with a great many other institutions of Chinese culture and history, such as Buddhism, regional customs, and Chinese folk religion. The very nature of Chinese society was radically changed and its effects are still being felt strongly today. The purges of intellectuals, urban dwellers and individuals labeled capitalists, bourgeois or political enemies (and their families), closing of schools, burning of books, and defacing of temples were only some of the very tragic events to have occured. The goals of the Cultural Revolution were to solidify communism as the one authority, reeducation of city people, and distract the common people from the failure of the Great Leap Forward. Portrait of Mao. Because the government was so paranoid about counter-revolutionary efforts it meant that anyone even suspected of being "not Communist enough" was publicly humiliated and mentally and physically abused. Throughout the revolution there could any number of Party informers mixed into the crowd carefully gauging whether you show enough emotion or enough rage for the Party and their plights. The repercussions of the revolution were massive and some are still effecting the country today. The previously open and community focused Chinese people became introverted and closed. There was a strong sense of belonging to local communities that has been deeply tied to Chinese culture dating back thousands of years and unfortunately the Cultural Revolution destroyed these feelings. All the bonds that were valued by Confucianism, teacher - student, emperor - people, father - son, husband - wife, etc. were of little importance in the ideology that Mao wanted to create in the collective minds of the Chinese people. Therefore the leaders of the revolution moved to weaken the traditional institutions: Schools were closed and intellectuals were demonized, the unemployed and aimless students were recruited en masse into youth groups or Red Guard units, they were encouraged to seek out enemies of the party and were given free reign to accuse ex-authority figures like their teachers and parents. Parents and teachers in turn began to worry and doubt their children, afraid they might be the next to have activist children 'rising up'. Traditional family and community bonds were weakened or broken. Many youths were then shuffled about in the great project to re-educate the masses in the joys and virtues of communist agricultural society. This separated them from their parents and schools while allowing for them to be closely monitored as they were taught new lessons about ideology, the virtues of the party, and the values of their new lives. Some wonder why many Chinese people have learned to look out for themselves and their closest circle of friends and family first and foremost, seemingly callous and completely unsympathetic to the plight of their fellow humans, these habits were formed because the Cultural Revolution turned family against each other, as well as making neighbors, friends, teachers, afraid of one another. The Cultural Revolution was such a massive disaster that Chinese people are still figuring out how badly it messed up the collective psyche. The Cultural Revolution killed culture, creativity, and community.
References: Mao Suit "People's Liberation Army a school of Maoism!" PRC by James Vaughan The Cultural Revolution of China 1966-1976 Montefiore, C. S. (2015, November 2). From Red Guards to Bond Villains: Why the Mao Suit Endures. Retrieved from BBC: http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20151007-from-red-guards-to-bond-villains-why-the-mao-suit-endures Staff, H. (2009). Cultural Revolution. Retrieved from History.com: http://www.history.com/topics/cultural-revolution Gao, Y. (1987). Born red: A chronicle of the Cultural Revolution. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press.