CHINESE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

1966 – 1976

From 1966 until Mao Zedong's death in 1976, the Cultural Revolution was a time of great conflict and violence between those of differing political ideals and social classes. Mao Zedong strived to purge the Communist party of "bourgeois" infiltrators. However, his attempt had caused the civilian state to collapse due to the rebellion of students, workers, and officials against their own superiors. Intellectuals, business owners, and those with Nationalist party alliances and Western ties, were targets of mass violence. Not only did innumerable people flee to evade prosecution and death, there was also forced migration of youth to the countryside, stifling education for many generations. There were at least thousands, perhaps millions, of deaths during the time.

To confront the horrors of the previous decade, the Communist party punished some perpetrators for the violence and political coercion. Those who were unfairly purged or persecuted were rehabilitated.