During the Cultural Revolution, China faced a dismantling of tradition, focusing on ridding themselves of the four olds, old ideas, old culture, old habits, and old customs[1]increased as the spread of Maoist rhetoric took hold. For many, their lives were uprooted so suddenly that there was no longer a place for them within society. As Mao continued to push the nation towards industrialization, those that could be left behind would be. However, Mao’s drive to uproot China’s traditions did not begin at the start of the Cultural Revolution, but twenty-four years prior— seven years before the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP’s) victory in 1949. The Yan’an Forum, otherwise known as the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art, was a part of the party’s first ideological mass movement[2], the Yan’an Rectification Movement. The conversation began as a question posed to Mao on the role of intellectuals within the Communist movement. It was then that the function of art and literature would begin to change. The shift towards creating for the party would set the stage later regarding a unified cultural policy. All cultural products would thus reflect the party’s motivations— not only should they reflect the working class and consider them to be the primary audience, but also to serve politics.
Despite the emphasis on Socialist Realism and Westernized art before the Cultural Revolution, Chinese traditions did not disappear. Throughout the 1950s and 60s, there was a varying degree of artistic freedoms granted, allowing for a sort of relaxed, middle-ground to be reached, walking a thin line between high art and political propaganda. However, by the mid-1960s, Mao had begun purging former officials. A stricter mood had replaced the once free and varied one. Jiang Qing, a former actress and Mao’s wife, rose to power as an official and was appointed to the Central Cultural Revolution Group (CCRG). There, she had direct control over the culture of the CCP’s new China and began to advocate for the implementation of guidelines based on the desired revolutionary qualities described by Mao at Yan’an, going further to include, in her own words, art that is “red, bright, and shining”[3](hong, guang, and liang). Anything that may be construed as counter to the movement, with supposed “secret messages and symbolism,” would earn the title of “black art.” Jiang Qing would hold exhibitions to expose the reactionaries that created them[4].
Formally beginning in the spring of 1966, Mao would launch his Great Proletariate Cultural Revolution. From 1966-1976, Mao’s Cultural Revolution, which was actually a series of political and cultural movements, served to cleanse the nation of any and all ideological dissent. Before its formalization as a political-ideological movement, Mao’s revolution would be characterized by literary critiques, political assaults, and discourse surrounding culture. The revolution can be divided into two periods, with period one (1966-1969) being known for the torture, sometimes to death, of people, the fanatical Red Guard, and the collective enthusiasm to destroy the former legal and governmental systems in place. Shifting from this, the second period (1969-1976) focused on reforming and re-educating the people. The Down to the Countryside Movement saw the exile of people, as young as high schoolers, from the cities to the remote countryside to “develop their talents to the full.” The fanatical Red Guards from the first period were also sent to the countryside to reform and re-educate the blacklisted intellectuals or the cadres[5] in concentration camps. Though it is widely regarded that the end of the Cultural Revolution came after Mao’s death in 1976, officially, it would not end until the following year. No sooner than that, however, did Deng Xiaoping begin to try and gain power. In September of 1977, Deng proposed the Boulan Fanzheng[6]. By 1978 Deng, with liberal protégé, Hu Yaobang[7] by his side rose to Mao’s former status and declared the supreme ruler of China[8].
[1] Spence, Jonathan. The Search for Modern China. 2nd ed. New York: W.W. Norton & Co., 1999. Pg 575
[2]The Yan’an Rectification Movement (1942-1944), The Chinese Communist Party would set up a base the mountainous and secluded, Yan’an, located in Shaanxi Province. After the completion of the Long March (1934-1935), members of the CCP would give work to radicalize peasants in the surrounding area, giving lessons on the basic principles of Maoist ideology. This would be done in three phases, would begin under the shadow of Mao’s speech “Reform in Learning, the Party and Literature” and end with the death of upwards of 10,000 people, especially new party members, being purged, tortured, and even, executed. Comprised of mostly volunteers, the CCP founded schools worked to fundamentally re-educate those that felt as if they were on the periphery of the National consciousness during this period of wartime. Schools such as the Lu Xun Academy of the Arts, named after the leading figures of modern Chinese literature were the backbone of Mao’s push towards the solidification of his place as a paramount figure in the CCP.
[3] Andrews, Julia F., “The Art of the Cultural Revolution” in Art in Turmoil: the Chinese Cultural Revolutionn, 1966-76. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2010 pg. 48
[4] After the death of Mao and the fall of the Gang of Four, the artists who were once ridiculed and blacklisted under the authority of Jiang Qing quickly grew to prominence. Not only were they praised, they were commissioned to create murals on Mao’s mausoleum. These artists later took the name the”Stars” (xingxing pai), and as a group, would illegally display their new modernist art in Beijing parks. The works, which varied in subject matter and composition, incorporated styles that, under Mao, had been ‘erased’ in favor of socialist realism. Some of the works touched on political issues— namely Mao’s personality cult— and critiqued the entirety of the socialist art system. However, this did not last very long, and soon after they began, they disappeared from the art scene as Deng Xiaoping’s suppression of intellectual freedoms ushered in a new era for sort and literature.
[5] The cadre system of the CCP worked to train, organize, appoint, and oversee personnel to fulfill organizations across the country. Cadres are not only trained to be hard workers, but also to be loyal to the CCP and faithful to their ideology. Broadly, cadre refers to any member of the staff that was tasked with the management of party affairs— however, they may not be a member of the party themselves. What is most important is their dedication to the goals of the party. There are six different categories of cadres, and they can be employed in any sector of professional life from leadership positions at the national level to the so-called professional and technical level (included “specialists such as engineers, doctors, professors, artists,” etc)
Zheng, Yang (2003). Local Government and Politics in China: Challenges from Below (2015 ed.). New York: Routledge.
The concentration camps that the blacklisted intellectuals and cadres could be sent to included cowsheds (niupeng) and Cadre schools (ganxiao)
[6] The Boulan Fanzheng refers to the period in which Deng Xiaoping worked to “right” the Cultural Revolution. Gradually, the policies of Mao were dismantled, and the victims of the revolution were being rehabilitated. Deng worked to enact sociopolitical reforms yet sought little to no punishments for those involved with and responsible for the horrors of the Cultural Revolution. Presently, President Xi Jinping has slowly begun to reverse policies and reforms created during the Boulan Fanzheng, leading scholars to make the concerning claim of a ”new Cultural Revolution”
“Xi Jinping’s brand new Cultural Revolution”. Taipei Times. 2018-08-23.
[7] Hu Yaobang held the top office of the CCP from 1981-1987, first as Chairman and then as General Secretary. Hu would be responsible for pursuing the majority of the economic and political reforms under Deng’s rule, causing him to become the enemy of several elder party members. Hu would later be forced to resign as his attempts to make the government more transparent would lead him to be blamed for the increase in student protests that took place across China in 1987. It would be Hu’s death and demand for the reevaluation of his legacy that would lead to the 100,000-student march on Tiananmen Square (April 15th, 1989-June 4th, 1989). China’s very violent, and very global suppression of the ’89 Democracy Movement would cause the CCP to heavily censor the details of Hu’s life, later revitalizing his reputation on his 90th birthday.
[8] “邓小平是真理标准问题大讨论的发动者与领导者”. People’s Daily (in Chinese).4