60th Anniversary of the Cultural Revolution: From the CCP's 'May 16 Notification' to Today

During the Cultural Revolution, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) launched a nationwide campaign to “Smash the Four Olds.” Buddhist statues in temples were mostly destroyed and burned. (Public Domain)

[People News] This year marks the 60th anniversary of the Cultural Revolution, which was initiated by Chinese Communist Party (CCP) leader Mao Zedong. On May 16, 1966, the Central Committee of the CCP issued the 'May 16 Notification,' widely recognised as a crucial turning point in the official start of the Cultural Revolution. The document cautioned against 'representatives of the bourgeoisie' within the party and underscored the importance of class struggle. On June 1, the CCP's official newspaper, People's Daily, published an editorial titled 'Sweep Away All Cow Demons and Snake Spirits.' Subsequently, mass organisations began to form in universities and high schools in Beijing, leading to the Cultural Revolution's expansion from an internal party rectification campaign to a nationwide political movement.

Sixty years later, several individuals who lived through the Cultural Revolution shared in interviews that it did not erupt suddenly; rather, it was the culmination of a long series of previous political movements. They believe that current discussions about the Cultural Revolution still overlook many significant historical details.

In discussing the connection between the Cultural Revolution and the 'May 16 Notification,' independent Chinese writer Wang Jibin remarked in an interview with Radio Free Asia on Sunday (17th) that the Cultural Revolution was not a sudden event, but rather an escalation built upon earlier political movements. He stated, 'The May 16 Notification represents a policy that is anti-civilisation and anti-culture, continuing the political line established in 1949. The Cultural Revolution took everything to extremes, rendered it superficial, and weaponised it, even trampling the facade of the law underfoot.'

The Cultural Revolution in China did not occur suddenly.

Wang Ji, who lived through the Cultural Revolution, described it as an exceptionally complex process: "This includes the so-called 'red second generation'; Bo Xilai was a Red Guard at that time, and Kong Dan was also among them. They even occupied the Ministry of Public Security, which was led by then-Minister Xie Fuzhi."

Prior to the release of the 'May 16 Notice', disputes had already arisen among the senior leadership of the Communist Party of China regarding issues of artistic criticism and political direction. In late 1965, the historical play 'Hai Rui's Dismissal', written by historian Wu Han, faced criticism, and discussions surrounding it gradually expanded from literary concerns into the political arena. Following this, the Beijing Municipal Committee and the 'Cultural Revolution Group of Five' attempted to confine the discussions to academic matters, but Mao Zedong expressed his dissatisfaction with this approach. In the spring of 1966, the Communist Party's top leaders began to revise their strategies for the Cultural Revolution, leading to the issuance of the 'May 16 Notice'.

Wang Ji asserts that the concepts highlighted in the document, such as 'class struggle' and 'dictatorship of the proletariat', are not new ideas but have been present in earlier political movements for a long time.

Wang Ji told reporters: "These ideas were already discussed in the 1960s—class struggle, dictatorship of the proletariat—these are the same concepts, nothing novel. It was only from this point onward that the movement became public and militarised, leading to more aggressive and destructive actions, trampling everything underfoot, including laws that still had some semblance of legitimacy."

Wang Ji sees the Anti-Rightist Movement, the Great Famine, and the subsequent Cultural Revolution as part of a continuous historical trajectory. He remarked, "If the Anti-Rightist Movement had a memorial hall, or if there were memorials and reflections for the three years of famine that resulted in the deaths of tens of millions, then the Cultural Revolution would not have occurred. There would not have been the events of June Fourth, nor the later isolation of the country and its cities."

The First Generation of Red Guards After the 'Four Clean-ups'

Between 1963 and 1966, the Chinese Communist Party initiated the 'Four Clean-ups Movement', focusing on cleaning up politics, the economy, organisations, and thoughts. Before and after the Cultural Revolution began, work teams were dispatched to schools and grassroots organisations nationwide. At that time, society was still marked by political identity classifications such as 'Red Five Categories' and 'Black Five Categories'.

Cheng Zheng, a Chinese independent writer whose father was a mine manager during the Cultural Revolution, argues that many contemporary discussions mistakenly equate the Red Guards with the rebels, failing to recognise the changes that occurred during different phases of the Cultural Revolution.

Cheng Zheng stated: 'Because we had not yet completed the 'Four Clean-ups Movement'. Under the leadership of the 'Four Clean-ups' work teams, specifically those sent out by Liu Shaoqi and Wang Guangmei, the initial targets of the 'Cultural Revolution' were still the 'Five Categories of People' that had been targeted in previous movements, and it was these individuals who continued to suffer.'

He emphasised that the groups affected in the early stages of the Cultural Revolution were still the same targets from earlier political movements: 'This is the history of the early Cultural Revolution. This explains why so many teachers and principals were killed in Beijing. At that time, the first generation of Red Guards was predominantly made up of the 'Red Second Generation', which is why we refer to them as the first generation of Red Guards.'

'Bombard the Headquarters' and the Second Generation of Red Guards

In August 1966, Mao Zedong published 'Bombard the Headquarters - My Big Character Poster'. Cheng Zheng believes this marked a significant turning point within the Cultural Revolution. He noted: 'Mao Zedong initiated the Cultural Revolution primarily targeting Liu Shaoqi and the entire civil service system. However, he soon realised that the movement had been misdirected by them, which led to the publication of 'Bombard the Headquarters.'

Cheng Zheng believes that the direction of the struggle shifted after this point: 'In the 'Bombard the Headquarters,' it explicitly states that we need to expose the Khrushchev within the party, the Khrushchev who sleeps beside us. The focus is on the ruling faction within the party that is pursuing a capitalist path, rather than the masses.'

Cheng Zheng noted that a second wave of Red Guards emerged afterwards, a group that would later be referred to as the rebels: 'A significant portion of these individuals are young people who have faced discrimination and oppression in various movements over the 17 years since the founding of the country. They have been dissatisfied with the system for over a decade. When Old Mao called on the masses to rise up and criticise these bureaucrats and those in power, the public felt they finally had a chance to rebel, and it was a legitimate response to Chairman Mao's call.'

'A region divided into two factions'

As mass organisations continued to fracture, two major camps began to emerge across the country: the 'rebels' and the 'royalists.' Regarding the 'royalists,' Cheng Zheng explained: 'The royalists are the faction that protects these old leaders, and they also formed their own organisation. Consequently, the two factions began to engage in armed conflict, with both sides scrambling for weapons in various locations. This is something we, as peers, witnessed firsthand during our youth.'

From 1967 to 1968, armed conflicts and incidents of bloodshed occurred in places like Wuhan, Chongqing, and Guangxi. In some areas, there were even cases of weapon theft and military confrontations.

Cheng Zheng recalled that at that time, most people were unable to clearly perceive the changes in high-level politics. He remarked: 'Even those who were being attacked did not dare to betray Chairman Mao. Only a very small number of high-ranking individuals, perhaps those close to Liu Shaoqi, could see things clearly. How could the general public possibly understand the court struggles? Ordinary people had no idea.'

'Changes began after September 13th'

On September 13, 1971, the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) officially announced that Lin Biao, who was then the Vice Chairman of the Central Committee and Minister of Defence, died in a plane crash while attempting to flee. Cheng Zheng believes that significant reflection on these events began after the September 13 incident. He remarked, 'The real widespread contemplation started: whether Mao's actions were right or wrong, strictly speaking, it was after September 13.' 

Li Jianguo, a cultural historian from Jiangxi, stated in an interview that if the ten years of the Cultural Revolution are divided into two phases, the Lin Biao escape incident serves as a turning point. He recalled, 'At that time, I was attending a production team meeting when the party secretary conveyed the news of the September 13 incident, saying that Lin Biao had defected and died in Mongolia. We found it very strange; why would Vice Chairman Lin flee? We couldn't comprehend it at all. From that moment on, we began to question whether there was infighting among the central leaders.' 

Li Jianguo's father was labelled as a 'cow demon and snake spirit' by the authorities during the Cultural Revolution and was imprisoned for nearly 20 years. He recounted, 'My father was imprisoned and investigated during the Great Leap Forward in 1958, sent to a cow shed in 1966, and was only released before the spring of 1974. It took three more years for him to be 'rehabilitated.' 

Li Jianguo explained that the accusations against his father were entirely fabricated: 'They claimed he viciously attacked Jiang Qing and Chairman Mao. Just by blindly shouting 'Long live Chairman Mao,' he was transferred from the cow shed to prison. Our family's economic support relied entirely on my father. When he was imprisoned, I had to live at my aunt's house in the countryside; at least I had something to eat.' 

The post-Cultural Revolution era continues to be a topic of discussion.

In September 1976, Mao Zedong died. A month later, Hua Guofeng and Ye Jianying, along with others, arrested the 'Gang of Four', signalling the end of the Cultural Revolution. In 1981, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China adopted the 'Resolution on Certain Historical Issues of the Party Since the Founding of the People's Republic', which officially concluded the 'Cultural Revolution' and characterised it as a 'decade of turmoil' instigated by leadership errors and exploited by counter-revolutionary groups.

Writer Wang Ji mentioned that on that day (the 17th), he posted a message on WeChat that was quickly blocked: 'I said that if a memorial hall for the Anti-Rightist Movement were to be established, a memorial hall for the Cultural Revolution should also be built. The 516th anniversary was yesterday. I know I am being monitored, and four or five of my posts were also deleted.'

When comparing the Cultural Revolution from 60 years ago to the current era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Wang Ji stated: 'The Cultural Revolution has never truly ended. We have always been in a state of Cultural Revolution; it just varies in intensity, sometimes being more overt and at other times more concealed. I have consistently held this view.'

Writer Cheng Zheng offered a different perspective: 'I do not refer to today as the post-Cultural Revolution era. If we label it as the post-Cultural Revolution period, it suggests that the Cultural Revolution has concluded. However, you cannot claim that we are entirely in the Cultural Revolution era now. In reality, nothing has changed; only the methods of management and control have evolved, and the way power is exercised has transformed.' (Adapted from Radio Free Asia)
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