Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • Week 6 Schoenhals Chinas Cultural Revolution

    Uploaded by

    eeluan77
    2 views21 pages

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    PDF or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    Report this Document

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    2 views21 pages

    Week 6 Schoenhals Chinas Cultural Revolution

    Uploaded by

    eeluan77

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as PDF or read online from Scribd
    Flag for inappropriate content
    Download as pdf
    of 21
    AN EAST GATE READER Chinas Cultural Revolution, 1966-1969 NOTA DINNER PARTY Michael Schoenhals, Editor \ A. Pronouncements by Members of the CCP Leadership (One searches in vain for an extended, systematic, and eredibleexpla- ‘tion by Mao Zedong himself ofthe goals of the Cultural Revolution. “There is no master sript to be found, no bueprint, ao seenaio, no ume pln. All there is are random, satered remarks—some sponta. teoas, thes carefully hedged; some jut possibly meant to be taken at face value, others almost certainly intended to obseure rather than ‘lucidate. "Let us toas tothe unfolding oF nationwide all-round civil war!" is wiat at least tve guests remember hearing Mao propose on his seventy-third birthday, on 26 December 1966.! Was that what the ‘Chinese Communist Party Chairman had in mind? Or was bis istention {@s he was quoted assaying in the People's Daily a week Ite) 10 achieve ihe greatest ever revolutionary tanefermation of society. un~ precedente inthe history of mankind? Were the two goals possibly ‘one andthe same? Or one the means, the other the end? We have no firm answers, The tee texts inthis section are from the aura of 1966, atime wien the buzz verbs of the Cultural Revolution were “down with.” “érag ou,” “smash, bur, fry, and score,” and th all-purpose “Bil”; and the labels aixed to the movement's vitims such creative dys- plemisms as “ox-freaks and snake-monstre™ and long and ely “sei- “entfic™ (50 the Patty Center insisted) designations like "the biggest handful of Party-persons in power taking the capitalist read” Helping ‘Mao toe the Cultural Revolution on course were bis recently pro= ‘moted deputy and “closest comrade-in-arms,” Lin Bit, and the mem- bets of an ad hoe Central Cultural Revolution Group-a dozen of $0 ‘Ghen Gods, et in Ye Yori Minren feng te (Fanos Men of te ow) Gut Lijiang encbree, T982)"p. {8 ans Goon Po, ehed hte Yonatieiong soy (Ye Yong Ieria Noe) Sangha Seg se ‘oxy cata, 1993) p18 “tenia, Sanaa i967, 4 cama cuLryeaL AvOLUTON “ideologues” who met regularly under the chairmanship of Premier ‘Zhou Enlai? Tithe first text Mao talks briefly about what he wished his audience to believe had been two of his motives in launching the Cultural Revo- Tution: wanting to undo the division ofthe Party Center into a fist and ‘second line of command; and wanting to stake up the Pary asa whole inn artempt to reinvigorate it In other word, to “wreak havoc" with the establishment nan atemp to prevent it rom going “revisions.” "The second text isa longer speech by Lin Bigo about the whys and ‘wherefores of the Cultural Revolution, It is possibly as close as we Stall ever goto an autboriative blueprint forthe movement. Mao, We know, had read anid approved it prior to delivery, snd as CCP historian ‘Wang Ninny points ou, it amounted tothe mest systematic ater at explaining the need" fora Cultural Revolution that any member ofthe highest leadership had made at that pat. “At the time" Wang notes, ‘writing in 1988, Lin “zcually seemed quit easonable and rather mod- crate in his tne... Consequently, many Party members and cadres accepted his arguments “The hid text isin many ways a mere footnote to history. Sil, God resides inthe Footnotes (ri the deals contained therein, as Einstein is sui to have pur it and Zhou Enla's eter is important fr that one ssered claim contained theein—that the “only eiterion of tut (m= ‘phasis added) in the Cultural Revolution was not practice, but “Mo ‘Zedong Thought." In other words, if Mao Zedong could be quoted 38 Saying that “the siuation inthe Great Prolecrian Cultural Revotution throughout the county is not just good but excellent.” then so be itS ‘Anyone arguing the opposite was simply deluded, mistaken, or— ‘worse—lying. 2h, who was heal nats member af the Cantal Curl Revlon (Orop sied a of te resulr mens Wang Li. personal communion. “Mang Nanya gan denen (Tors of ret Terma (hengaho: Henan nin chibi, (988), 9.110, 112-13. “andes of Ouse. CE Liberation Amy Dah 9 Noveber 1967 Just a Few Words” Mao Zedong Source: Tension of 2st Zhongvang gongzve by shang de janghoa” {alk atthe Cental Work Confreee) (Osteber 25,1966 in Stn Setar, CE oe Tse Unroeaaet Tals and Lees 1986-1971 (Harmendeworh Prigin Boks 1974p. 210-73. Reeed wih pemson. have us few words to say about two matters For the past seventeen years there i one thing which in my opinion ve haven't done well. Out of concer for state security and in view of the lessons of Stalin in the Soviet Union, we setup a first and second line! Thave been inthe second line, other comrades in the frst line. [Now we can see thar wasn't so good: as a result our forces were sporsed. When we entered the cities we could not centralize our ceffots, and thre were quite a few independent kingdoms. Hence the Eleventh Plenum carried out changes. This i one matter. {am in the second line, Ido not take charge of day-tosday work, Many things ae Tefto other people so that ther people's prestige is built up and when [go to see God there won't be such a big upheaval in the State. ‘Everybody was in agreement wth this idea of mine teem tht there ‘ae some things which the comrades inthe fist line bave not managed too well, There aze some things should bave kept a grip on which L ‘id not So Iam responsible, we cannot just bame them, Why do I say that bear some responsibilty? is it vas L who proposed thatthe Standing Commie be divided io two lines and that a secretariat be set up. Everyone agreed with this? Moreover I pu too much rst in others. It was athe time of the "Thee ae afew mir discrepancies betwee he tasted txt andthe crt gute in Wana Nan Dt dou do anda ar of Great Tw (@henghou: Henan renin chase. 198), pp. ILS. Hate Warg has in ‘ew of ow Maley Ws wo longi able fed for hs nce Sin Pad ‘Bed nd how revisenia ppeate arent, we ela aad second ie Sins sence fe missing in all eer Sources cvsle, clang Wang, Nig. 6 CHINAS CULTURAL REVOLUTION, 16-1980 ‘Twenty-three Amticles that my vigilance was aroused could do nothe ing in Beijing: I could do nothing at the Center. Last September and October I asked, If revisionism appeared atthe Center, what could the localities do% T el that my ides couldn't be earied out in Beijing. Why was the criticism of Wu Han initiated notin Being but in Shang. hai? Because thre was nobody t do it in Bejing Now the problem of BBoijing hasbeen solved ‘Second, the Great Cultural Revolution wreaked havoc ater 1 p= proved Nie Yuanz’s big-chareter poster in Being University and ‘wrote leter to Qinghua University Middle School, as well s writing a big-character poster of my ov! Tall happened within avery shor perio, less than five months in June, July, August, September, and (October. No wonder the comrades did not understand too much. The time war so shor and the events so violet, [ myself bad not foresean that as soon as the Bejing University poster was broadcast, the whole ‘county would be thrown into turmoil. Even before the leer to he Red ‘Guards had gone out, Red Guards hed mobilized throughout the coun- tty, and in one rush they swept you off your Fet® Since it was 1 who ‘caused the havoo, itis understandable if you bave some biter words for me. Last time we met I lacked confidence and 1 said that our decisions would not necessarily be earied out. Indeed all that time ‘quite afew comrades stl didnot understand things fly, though now aera couple of months we have had some experience, and things are abit better. This meeting bas had wo stages. In the frst stage the speccbes were not quite normal, bat duting the second stage afer speeches and the exchange of experience by comrades atthe Center, things weat more smoothly and the ideas were understood a bit beter. Te; when Wi pu forward is new renee pin sive forthe Soe inl Edueaton Compal in any 1985 and Lu Shao! fied sep “Wang Nahai visions appeared in Define, waa shoul bs done?” °Atramaltion of the tahoe: pots "Wht Are Song So, Li Pig, nd eng Peivun Up To fn te Great Culture! Revluten™ iin Sarey of China ‘Matlord Pret No 3119 18 hte 1955, pp. 8.A anton o Maa'¢"Lae, {0 the Rod Guards of Ginga Univesity Mise Schoo” sin Sta. Sehr, 1, go Tung Unread Ts and Lets 1936-197) Harmendswee Pangin Sook, 197) pp 260-61. tansaon of Maas tg-hrater poner "Boban he Henequres iin Cron Background No, 89,8 Osaber 989, pee "ang Nina ‘or Red Guards nd in Bang sone there rete, fur heseqetes nee Sh they swept you of your et treaghout he county. Thar aeal kinds ar al sors PAT 6 BTENTONS AND MEANS 7 ‘eas ony been five months, Peshaps the movement may lest another five months or even longer. ‘Gur detoratc revolution went on for twenty-eight years, fom {921 t 1949, AL Gist nobody knew how to conduct the revolution or how fo carry on the stragale;enly later did we acquire some expei- ‘hoe, Our path gradually emerged in the course of practice. Did we not ‘on for twenty-cight years, summarizing our experience 2s we ‘Gant along? Have we not been earying onthe socialist revolution for oventen yeats, whereas the Cultural Revolution is been going on or nly five months? Hence we cannot ask comrades to understand 30 ‘peli now. Many comrades didnot read the aicls eritcizing Wu Han Tost your and didnot pay much attention to therm. The acl vitcizing the Bim The Life of Xun and studies ofthe novel Dream ofthe Red ‘Chamber coud not be grasp if taken separately, but only if taken as ‘Svbole For this Iam responsible, Ifyou take them separately itis ike _ freating ony te heed when you have a headache and teatng ony the fet when they hut the problem cannot be solved. During the first “overl months ofthis Great Cultural Revolution—in January, Febni- fy, Mar, Apri, and May-—anticles were writen and the Center is- ied directives bt they did nat arouse all hat much attention. It was the big-harater posters and onslaught ofthe Red Guards thet drew ‘your attention; you could not avoid it because the revolution was right ‘atop of you. You must quickly summarize your experience and prop- ily cary out politcal and ideological work. Why are we mesting fetin afer two months? ti to summarize our experience and carry ‘ut political and ideological work. You also have a great deal of polt- “Cal and ideological work todo afer you go back. The Politesl Bureau, the provincial committees, the prefectural committees, and county ommitess must meet for ten days oF more and thrash out the prob= Jems. But they mustn't think that everything canbe cleared up. Some ‘roplebave sid, "We understand the principles, but when we run up _agtns concrete problems we cannot deal with hem propery.” Art Tcouid not understand why, ifthe principles were clear, the concrete “problems could not be dealt with. can see some reasons for thi: It ‘maybe that political and ideological work has not been done properly. “When you went back after our last meeting, some places di not find ‘ime to hold proper meetings. In Henan there were ten seretares. Out Poll Brea” soul read [Regional] Bucausof he Cente.” 5 CHINA'S CULTURAL REVOLUTION, 1546-949 ofthe ten there were seven or eight who were receiving people. The ‘Red Guards rshed in and caused havoc, The students were angry. but they did not realize it and had not prepred themscives to answer (questions. They thought that to make a weleoming speech lasting a quarter of an hour or so would do. But the students were thoroughly enraged. The fet that here were a mumber af qustons that they could ot immediatly answer put the secretaries on the defensive, Yer this efensive atiude can be changed, can be transformed so that they take the iniatve. Hence my confidence inthis meesing has inerense. I don't ‘know wi you tink If wen you go bac you do things according to the ‘old system, maintinng the sus quo, puting yourself in opposton to fone group of Red Guards and losing another group bold way, then I ‘hin things cannot change, the siuation cannot improve. Bul T thine things can change and things can improve. Of course we shouldnt expect too much, We can't be ceria tat the mass of cena, provincial, petee= ‘ural, and county cadres should al beso enlightened, There wll always be some wo fail to understand, and thee wl be a minor on the opposite Side. But int wil possible to make the majonty understand. T have talked about (wo matters. The first conceens history. For seventeen years the two lines have not been united. Others have some esponsibility for this; so have. The second issue is he five months of ‘he Great Cultural Revolution, the fre af which | kindled. It has been ‘going on only five months, ot even half a year, a very brief span compared to the tventy-cigt years of democratic revolution and the seventeen years of socidlist revolution. So one ean see why i has not ‘bcen thoroughly understood and there were obstacles. Whi hast’ it ‘been understood? Inthe past you have only been in chrge of industry, agrieultare, and communiciions, and you have never earied out & ‘Great Cultural Revolution. You ithe Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the [Central] Military Commission are he same, That which you never ‘reamed of has come t pas. What's come has come think that there ‘are advantages in being assailed. For so many years you had not ‘GPR EDL EN HEE TOT son sty bart tpn you, you began to think. Undoubiedly you have made some mistskes, sme mistakes of line, but they ean be corrected and that wil be that! Who \anisto overtitow you? I don, and I don’t think the Red Guards do cither. Two Red Guards said to Li Xueleng: "Can you imagine why our elders are so frightened of the Red Guards?” Then thre were WS Xinguan’s four ehiléren, who belonged to four different factions. PART BTENTONS AND MEANS © ‘Somme of ter school fiends went ois home, several dozen ata time, fd this bappened quite afew times. [hink that there are acvetages in ‘king contac! in sll groups. Another metbod ist bave big mecings, 11300,000 meeting for several hous. Both methods serve a purpose. There have been quite few brief reports presented at this meeting {have read nearly all of them, You find i difficult 0 cross this pass and I dont find it easy either. You are anxious and soem I 1 cannot blame you, comrades, time bas boen so short. Some comrades say that they did nat intentionally make mistakes, but di it because they were confsed. This is pardonabe. Nor can we puta the Blame on Com- fade Shaogi and Comrade Xiaoping. They have some responsibility, bat a0 has the Center$ The Center has net run things propery. The time was so short. We were not mentally prepared for new problems. Police and ideological work was not cared out prope tink that er this seventeen-dayconferene things wil es bit beter. Does anyone ele want to speak? I guess tars all fr today. The necting adjourned, hang Ninny as Thee ae tess to fo why tes wo comes made sisaten 2 _ “Why a Cultural Revolution?” Lin Bio Src: “ip Big tng zi Zongyang gong isang de jinghns™ (Conve Lin Bio's Talk atthe Cate Wk Ceatarnc) (Otober 25, 966). st ceed on November 9, 1966, in CCP Cental Davee Zhong (1966) $0 (Caste “eracaly sere) Our watson iso he reprint People's Lberaon Army armored Fore Poltcal Deparen, ed, Wuchare enka agening shea want (Long Live te ico ef the Great Potran Cle ea Rveluion Bain. 1983} 09. 152-8 [vant o speak mainly about two things: one i the ned for aealturl | colution and the other is how a cultural revolution i 9 be cartied In other words, iit necessary to have a cultwal revolution and if 10. CANA CULTURAL REVOLUTION. 18-1969 ‘ PARE ENT AND MEANS 1 sohow i itto be done? These questions ae elated, and [shall empha- _gijetc impact upon the young and upon society in general. Inthe sae the need fora cultural revolution. | fours ofthe movement, many young people will grow upto become “This conference has lasted for seventeen days and bas Been very dependable successors ofthe revolution successful, From beginning to end thas been led by Chairmen Maa ‘Boring the period ofthe Great Cultural Revolution, our socal pro- personally. Is in acwality a continuation ofthe Eleventh Plenum of | yoton hs not sulfeed, ascertain comrades had feared. On the con- the Central Committe and bas aimed at futher clarifying the question ary, production has increased It stands to reason that a cultural ‘ofthe two lines. | revolution should accelerate preduction, and this has also been bone Dring the last several months the Great Cultural Revolution bas put bythe facts. been clitracterized by great enthusiasm at both ends and a lack of | Qur movement has set an unprecedented example inthe world. In cnthusiasm in the middle, inluding some stubborn resistance even. At egard to antivevisionism, this action on the part of China has great fone point the siation was quite tense. Aer seeing what was bappen- dactc potential Jing, Chirman Mao suggcsed that everybody be invited t0 «discus 'At the tp there is Chairman Mao, Everybody has seen it quite sion. The mecting was orginally meant las for thee days, but hen clearly how from beginning to end, this movement has been unleashed itwent on for seven day, and now already ore than vo weeks have apdied by the Caiman, With tremendous energy and resolv, Chai ‘passed. In the course of discussion, the situation has become cleazer mn Mo tok it upon himself to unleash a large-seale mass move- Und clearer, as has everybody's thinking. thas become possible fo qent. An ordinary workng-las party leader could aot possibly have trasp Chatman Mos line and to persist inthis line. Consequently, shown such great energy and resolve. Only a great Marxist-Leninist this has been avery necestary conference. Such as Chairman Mao~-ith his extremely rch fgbing experience “Tere has ben eat enthsiasm at wo ends: one end represented api is profound Marxis-Leninist wisom-—would bave dared to un- by Chairman Mao's teadership andthe oer end by the masse. “Tesh sucha dynamic and totally cart-shaking revolutionary mass “The broed masses heve been most vigorous and Gynamc. Begining ovement, Some comrades under Chairman Mao's leadership have in the schools and continuing in soci, the impact ofthe movement - ao been most effective in consistently supporting and implementing ‘has spread fom the cultural sphere to the economy, politics, and Chsiman Mao's ie isthe all spheres of sociey, The eins ite pleal guns most now I sui tat there had been some stubbom resistance ia saratan havelbececonsdenle, Anunber of pesos in authoriy tke idle. It was simular to what was described in the Center's So bave ake he capil oad lave been dogged ou om witin CATH oF May 16 [1966] a “most Party commies concerned te Pary. Many bourgeois reactionary “autores” in society have. /HY® @ Very poor understanding of the tsk of leadership in this ‘een discredited, and many hidden counterrevolutonary elements (6 sruggle and ches leadcrship fr fom conscientious and effec eee ay concn ove bees fenced out Many couniersevoltionary _ H¥® All the time upto just pir to this meering, that was the situa- cases have been solved, and arms, redio transmits, gol, etc, {0 But thee was e difference in degree and in some ples the fave been uncovered. But what is most important that ideologi. Station was more serious than in oer. In some places, i lo Cally. te movement fas truly touched people's souls This a a cl@sged more quickly than in oters, In some cates, tere was con- profound great revolution thal has shaticred the old ideology and "i008 existance, but in most eases there was not_merely a failure Established anew ideology ona massive scale, Draticchanges have | (@ Peeve and understand whet was going on. Only these last two {aken place in the face of society and in the mental atifudss of 298 BAS everyone come to realize clearly tat the sitvation was people In this movement, Charman Mao's thoughts have been ex- fensively propagated and populrized. They have become deeply engraved in the minds of people and have exerted a tremendos “paar of Conta Commitee of Chinese Communit Pay” (May 16 JE Pete Review. Wo. 21, 1967. pp. 6-9. oad 12 Ch CURTIRAL REVOLUTION 18-1969 caused by two things On the one and, there were local and ideolog fal causes. But more importantly, there were a few leaders atthe Center, namely Liv Sbaogi and Deng Xiaoping, who pursued a ditfer- tent ling, ine that was the opposite of Chairman Mao's, This is how Chairman Mao described the Liu-Deng line in his big-character poster: “Hlaving the reactionary stand of the bourgeoisie, they have enforced a bourgeois dctaership and struck down the surging movement of the {Great Cultural Revolution ofthe Proletariat, They bave stood fects on their head and juggled black and white, encircled and suppressed revo- Intionaries, stifled opinions diferingffom thee own, imposed a white ‘errr, and felt very pleased with themselves. They hve pulled up the arrogance of the bourgeoisie nd deated the morale ofthe proletariat. How vicious they ae!" After these las ow days, you comrades have already become quite aware ofthis root cause Generally speaking, what we call culture encompasses ideology, social consciousness, world outlook, customs and habits, politcal viewpoint, legal viewpoints, atstic viewpoints, motion pitures and rama, seuiptue,lteratre, the educational system, ete. So why is there’ need fora cultural evolution? The decisive factor prompting us to launch a revolution in the sphere of social consciousness is the fundamental change that has ooeurred in the economic base of out society. ‘Where does ideology come from? Marxism-Leninism Meo Zedong “Thooght has always maintsined that ideology comes from mater and that social consciousness derives from sonal existence eg. from the ‘economic base of society and the system of ownership in society Since Liberation, the proletariat has held political power, and the sys ‘tem of ownership in our society has changed fundamentally. We con- fiseated,tumed over to the peasanis, and later colectivzed the land belonging tothe landlords. These were two changes that took place in the system of ownership in agriculture: Landlord ownership became "Lin ang Dre to theft tat vo dys sai, Liv Saag and Deng Xiaoping fod presented the sees 1 the canfaence. A trrslaion LU saentcm sin Held. Hinton dy The Poles Rope of Chine 1040-1974 Documentary Sure (Wilnaglo: Schoaly Reser, 1980, 9p 1620-23. A taslaion of Deng’ sefciticam iin Clased Che Cone ‘net Docent Seen (Tips nae of Ietorl Rodmtons, Nei {Change Univer, 197 pp. 23648. "See Dosament ates PART OTENTORS AND MEANS 13 individual peasant ownership, ad after tht i beeame collective peas- ant ownership. The bourgesis system of ownership passed through ‘various transitional stages to become a soialist system of public own. trship. Now we are preparing te abolition of Fixed interest payments Since changes have occurred in the economic base, our socal con. seigusnes, Which is part ofthe superstructure, must also change ae. tordingly in order to catch up. Unless it catches up, we shall be ‘obstructing the consolidation ofthe socialist system of ownership and slowing down progress. In other words, we will prevent new socal ‘productive forces from developing und make the congoidaion of the fits of revolution impossiie. The result willbe the restoration of capitalism and the subversion ofthe people's democratic dictatorship, which protects the sytem of public ownership. The scinlist system of public ownership wll be overured, and China will become ruled by revisionists and rerogress to 2 semi-feudsl and semi-colonil status, ‘Thus to carry outa Great Cultural Revolution or not isa mejor political ‘question that will decide whether or no proletarian poitial power ean ‘be consolidated and the futs of revolution ean be developed, Its @ major poliisl question tat will decide the successor falure of out revolution. ‘The revolution of the proletariat and the class struggle carried out by the proletariat has thnee aspects: one aspect is political, another is economic, nde third is ideological, ‘To overthrow a regime by means of war isa violet at, We suc- ‘ceeded in routing the Guomindang in 1946-49 (naturally, we had al ready spent many years [fighting them) before tht), We achieved ‘ictory, seized politcal power, established our own state, and esteh- lished the dictatorship ofthe proletariat. The revolution in the system ‘of ovmership, ie. the reveluton to abolish the feudal system of ovmer= ship and the bourgeois system of ownership, took less time, Bult on the ‘other hand, on anoher font, we shal eed to spend more time, and the struggle there will see more twists and tums, Lam referring to the ieologcal sphere, where the struggle wil tae longer then i took 19 Seize political power and to change te system ot ownership, Next year ‘will mark the fiftieth anniversary of the revolutionary vitory in the Soviet Union. nd yet, how much bourgeois ideology have they elimi- ‘ated and how much proletarian ideology have they fostered? One ‘esut afer thos ity years, is that fier the deat of Sain, instead of forging ahead, they retrogressed toward revisionism, toward new 4 Ch CURTURAL REVOLURON, 18-189 forms of bourgeois restoration, and toward capitalist system mani= festng itself o varying degrees in new guises. Yugoslavia wos the fist. ‘country where «bourgeois restoration occurred. In addition, not only in the Soviet Union but in a numberof "sociale countries one or 0 decades ater victory, they failed to grasp this facet of sugae, and a2 ‘consequence there were signs ofthe revolution stagnating end cio. _sressng, end of restoration. If we do not grasp this point, the develop- ‘ment that has oveurred inthe Soviet Union and Yagostavia wil also take place here. The Soviet Union has existed for fity years bat its now riled by revisionists. Unless we constanlly and persstemly grasp the Cultural Revolution, that wil also be the outcome here. Thesefore Chairman Meo said: “You shoulé pay atention to afsirs of state and ‘amy the Great Proletarian Cultural Revoltion throug tothe end." Chairman Mao repards the Great Cultural Revolution 8 an important stat ffir and as polities. While revising the minutes ofthe forum on literature and arts in the armed fores in March this year, Cheirman “Mao agreed to include a reference to al lass siugeles being politcal struggles, hereby reiterating this clasie viewpoint of Marys Leninism tnd regaedingitasan important state affair and as & political question! Unless we firmly grasp the cultural revolution and unless we cary the Great Prolearan Cultural Revolution through tothe end, we 10 will end up changing our color midway. That we normally grasp economic constuction firmly is good "Nonetheless, with regard o destuetion and contrution in eltare and in the ideological sphere, not all comrades have grasped the situation a5 fimly and emphasized these tasks as sronely as Chairman Mao. ‘There are people wio fel that this isan extra burden, They mainain that everyting is alright and ask way does there have to be a cultural, revolution? Infact, since we gained political power onthe one hand, we have had to underake economie constriction; but on the other hand, fiom a long-range point of view, itis even mere important fo ‘undertake ideologieal constuction, Ideology has tremendous impact ‘upon political and economic developments. Old ideology seves the ‘ld economic base and reflects the demands of the reactionary classes, ‘hus obstructing the development of society: new ideology serves the "Aaa ofthe ex refered thee te so-called “Suma ofthe Forum on the Work in Lizmature and At inthe Armed Foss, which Conoce Jang {Ging Convener the Bees of Comma Lin an" isin ison pp. 1416 21 PART EONS AND MEANS 15 ‘new economic base and reflects the demands of the progrestive ‘Clases, this exercising a progressive and accelerating impact on the ‘evelopment of society. As soon as the mases are in the grip of, sive ideology, that ideology wll become a tremendous material force propelling the development of society forward. This is why we ‘ould destroy on a massive scale (an not jut on a small or medium cal) the ol ideology and establish a new ideology. We should estab- lish ona massive scale the ideology of our Chainman Mao, who repre~ ‘nis new ideology, the people's ideology, te proletarat's ideology, ‘ommunst ideology, Marxist-Leninist ideology, and ideology strong ‘enqvgh to stand up agsinst old ideology. This is @ point that many ‘omrades have fale to grasp firmly. They have failed to grasp firmly ‘what should be destroyed on a. massive seale and what should be {stablished ona massive scale. After these last Fr days, you all know out the attude taken tovard the dissemination of Mao Zedong ‘Thought by Liv and Deng emoag the comrades working atthe Center. ‘You also know about the atte taken inthe past by Lu Dingy''s ‘Propaganda Department. That was infuriating and simply intlesble, ‘After seizing political power, with respect to our domestic tasks, we ‘mus, apart from suppressing the opposition of the exploiters and en ‘aging in economic construction, carry out cultural construction. Not nly we, but all ruling classes in history have engaged in destruction ‘nd construction inthe cultural field. Tare is no state and no ruling ‘las that would allow the propagation of an ideology tha is opposed {0 is clas stand. One must insist on one's own ideology in reer to ‘consolidate one political ané economic systems. Though the ruling ideology ofeach epoch in history would appear to have represented the ‘outlook ofthe ene society, it actually represented only the interests ‘othe ruling exploiting classe, The ideology of he ruling las in each ‘posh was an ideology tht merely represented the interest ofthat | ulng class. In the past the ideology of the laboring people did not ‘sccupy a governing status; moreover, most laboring people have for 8 long time been fooled and deceived. Our Pary is oae of Marxism- Leninism Mao Zedong Thought. According tothe theories of Marx- iim and Mao Zedong Thought, thee must be a compete break with the old systems of ownership and a complet break with od aditional ‘eas. We have the power and he obligation to esablish the ideologi- tale of the prolotara ‘Although we have by now achieved a governing status, both eco- 6 cans coun REVOLUTION, 146-1980 nomically and poitclly, we have not yet completely attained gov- tering stats ideologically. We have overtiowtn the od classes eco nomically and poically, but in the sphere of ideology the ways ofthe ‘old classes sll predominate. Consequently, itis nevessry for us 19 WE aoe. 16. ent tn Sgr of the Rvoluinay Rede endow of Red Sen pe Cap’ nations of Higher Edin: ae opach Red Guar mas ri orgenized by murs match 1a on ier epee tt! ya ae and complement th rena of mine foows ca Stow You consis 0 be cost, abt camier camer you ay aes to for sometime," shoul ty “IC in ee a etic, i you yomanves ov someone ess has «en tat indeed they are ong o partly wrong then Ou sould teem our mistakes and rectify them. If it bas been pvoven that mai they are corrector parily cored, the you shoald catinws (eeespere to those words or actions which are correct." This is, a8 eaacoe Mao often teaches u, the principle of “adhering to the Keats otile secying one’s sistakes.” In the course of this Great ‘pelearan Culrral Revolution of ous tere canbe only one criterion cr sath, and that is to measure everything against Mao Zedong ‘Thobghe Whatever secors with Mao Zedong Thought right, while Tha ich dors not accord with Mao Zedong This wrong, TH ‘thy Comrade Lin Bio tll us o “read Chaieman Mao's works, oy ‘Ciman Mao's words, and act according to Chairman Mao's insrue~ Sons” This ssomelbing you aust bea in mind const Tei my bope tht you sall be ale to pBsson these words 10 fhe Red Guards and evolutionary teaches and students. “Great Proetarian Cultural Revolutionary gretings, Zaou Ea 27 September (1966] ~mse o Thow's speach tim Dower shogun bine eS ie io (Cece Maret othe Pro etic esata (ane Hebel Baling win xin. 196, paiao, 314 CRAKS CULURAL REVOLUTION, 1965-1959 but to give his readers sense of what i fl like to be imprisoned for crimes nt commited, ‘The final ext inthis eader was never mesnt to tell us about the past ‘ut contain an important historical message all the same-* I thows a rare flicker of light upon the psychology ofthe perpetators—the men ‘who operated the Cultural Revolutionary state machinery. Iisa re= smarkable ltr ffom Wang Li—onee a member ofthe Cenel Culural Revolution Group-—to the leading members of the Politburo, in which ‘Wang is asking fo be readmitted tothe Party, “Perhaps,” he suggests, “Ica be of some use to the Paty if Iam allowed f0... denounce snyself by summing up the biter negative experiences in whieh T 10k prt” Although the CCP bad kept him imprisoned without a trl for fifeen years and during that period did its best to drive him insane with mindatering drugs, Wang sill has no higher wish than to rejoin the Party and o die asa member ofthe “organization,” “lan Vansira, Oral Tadion a History (Masa: University of Wisconsin Pres, 985), 9 | ) PARI AFTER TE EVENT 316 ‘The “Cultural Revolution” Has Been Under Way for Two Thousand Years ‘Anonymous, a8 told to Feng Jesi Source; * Wenge” jigs Hansin sin” a wasted by Nioxin Gong nd pbishol in Chine Soctelogs an dbropolog Jounal of Tonltins, ‘Wa.26, No Fal 1993, pp 92-103. Orga published n Fong Je, ia {rode shintan (One Hundred Peples Decade) (aang Hangs wey Shaan, 191) pp. 22-36 ‘You want someone to write about his or her experience during the ten-year Cultural Revolution, but { would rather tll you sbout my fit ‘years. Probably you think I stray too fr from the subject. But, don’t fear, my Cultural Revolution began fifty years ag. ‘After learning of my suffering over these filly years, you will df= nitely conclude that the Cultural Revolution did not begin in 1966. How about a hundred years ago? No. The Cultural Revolution ts Lundostand i has atwo-thousand-yea history in Chinal 1 wl ell you my story and my reasons as wel Teould not figure tis out for decades. joined the revolution sev= ‘eral decades ago and was mistreated as 2 counter-revoltionary for ‘dozens of years. could not understand why Iwas notable leave the ranks of the “enemy.” In 1968 was detained in a sal room near a river, afr being besten by a rebel organization. The sound of the rushing water reminded me of the river in my hometowo, where [grew ‘up, When T participated in the AntiSapanese War tere, I erosed the river many times. It was so long agp... Revolution, revolution, and again revolution; enemy, enemy, and agen enemy. I participated inthe ‘evolution, but Iam its enemy. The pain after the beating gradually let in body, not disappearing, but concentrating in my hear... do not ‘know how, but suddenly ial became cea. ‘There were two lineages in our village, Wang and Li. 1am a Li From the very beginning, the two lineages fought each otber without sopping, I can recall thee bales. People were badly wounded. My Gisiant uncle “Cripple Li” was crippled during one of them. No one could tell how and why the haved began. When I was @ kid in my 218. ANS CIMA REVOLUTION. 198-190 spli-bottomed pants, my grandma tld me that someone inthe Wang. amily gained a Juren degree in the Qing dynasty. A Juron then was tnbeatable in such a vilage. Usually, Juren Wang opened his arms ‘when walking down the rosd with sic in his hand, IPany Li touched hie, be would beat them, Village head was e key postion. Whoever tok it would beable to conirol the oter side. The Wang lineage hed more people and always ‘occupied that poston, both under the Japanese and the Communist Party. From this fct you can learn how history influences present-ey realities. If you want to find out the rot of the Cultural Revolution, this isthe longest and deepest one. But how did this oceurto me atthe ar village was an old liberated aes; ater the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, it became the famous Central Hebei Aat-Japanese evoli- tionary base area, The masses were enthusiastic. {was then fourteen, studying in elementary school. I had the most genuine faith in the ‘Communist Pary, tending to believe whatever they said. When the Eighth Route Army esme in, 1 vas too excited to fall asleep. IP a soldier looked at me only fora litle while, | woald be delighted. 1 liked teading and wring and was. capable public speaker. My school selected me to be head of the Children's League. Every evening, 1 ‘went from house to house, propagating anti-lapanese slogans snd com ‘munist theories. The adults were enthusiastic, and so was . During thet period, a no-smoking and no-drnking campaign wae launched inthe base area. Wall posers in each village calle for no smoking and no Arinking and eiicized the cadres frst. Our village head was fond of smoking, drinking, ané gambling. I wrote a shor piece eriizng him ‘ith good introns: "Someone asks the others not to smoke, while he smokes one peck after another, someone asks the others not to drink, ‘while he drinks 2 great deal What should we eal this?” Ts that sot and childlike? Dont forget I was only a fourteen-year old boy. Before I could post itt the wall, 1 fos it on my way to school. It was picked up by a public security worker in the village ‘whose name was Wang. He submited i tothe village head, Then the village head accused me of being 2 spy. The village head ssid that he represented the Pary. Whoever apposed him was aetally opposing the Party. Who would oppose the Paty? OF course, the nationalist Spies. Right! The pubic security worker suggested that Ibe buried alive. The district autorities heard abou this. A cook working inthe PASE WY AEER TH EVENT 317 Aistiet office belonged to our Li lineage. He come to see the head of| the district and asked fora pardon for me. 1 was oaly a child without any clear ideas, he explained. The district leaders stopped the execu- tion. Anyway, the village sill pushed ther ease against me, accusing sme internally of being suspected as a "spy-” The frst page in my dossier sad “spy suspect.” From then on bre such an allegation far the rest of my miserable lie ‘You might think it strange that they determined to put a foureen- year-old kid into the ranks ofthe enemy for afew simple sentences, Since they did not have any previous conflict with me It was simple ‘They could not allow a Li to gain the honor of being head of the (Children’s League. I wes therefore purged. Politics tumed nasty under such cultural conditions. I hada distant uncle who stdie at a ronmal school before the Anti-lapanese War. He was educated and well r= spected inthe village. When the Communists came, he was 10 cau- tious to contact them. The village cadres inthe Wang lineage accused him of being a Nationalist, He had seniority inthe lineage, and, ac- cordingly, the whole Li lineage was put under suspicion and could not raise their heads. In order to escape from this sination, my elder brother married the daughter ofa county cadre an left the village. Nor could I say. Afi [graduated from lower primary school, T went 10 another county for upper primary school. thought I had lft these Aifficultes behind. I never expected that I left witha political stain 1 was not able to gerd of. Having graduated from upper primary school, I was assigned to teach in a vilage when I was sinteen. Id no krowledge that my dossier fllowed me like the shadow ofa dvi. The villagers appreci- ted my work, Telt gest and wished to jin the Party and to sacrifice myself forthe revolution. I asked the village head if there was any Party branch in the village to which I could apply for Party member- Ship He teased me. Fst [bought they were eating me as child and id not consider my application seriously. Later, I discovered that I was to be switched ffom one village to another constantly, asi had some disease and should be kept away ffom the others, In 1942 the Japanese invaders launched theie "1 May Mopping-Up" campaign, People were dispersed to various places for hiding. The county author- ities found hiding places for everyone except me. Therefore, I wert back to hide in my home village. During that period, someone wrote down a reactionary slogan in the snow. Without even invesign 418 CHWA'S CUTURAL REVOLUTION. 196-169 ‘hose Wang cadres put the allegation against me in my dosie, free confirming that I was a “spy suspect.” However, 1 was not informed About al this, 1 felt thatthe revolution only drove me away, never allowing e 1 join it till, was faithful to the evolution and consi= fered myself a part of it T'did not want to say inthe occupied a Wwthout doing anything and was determined to join the Eighth Rou ‘Army. Fortunately, inthe most dangerous tie ofthe "Mopping-Up, the Wang cadres went into hiding, anda Li—the one who worked a8 2 cook inthe district office and saved my life when I was gong to be buried alive—wvas named village head. He wrote mea leer of recom rmendaton. I bid the leter in my shoe and found the Eighth Rowe ‘Army ater reat dices. I barely escaped from the clutches ofthe Japanese ten times along the way... Lwas 0 exited when [saw our ‘vm ary just like seing my own mothe. In the beginning I was a secretary in te Political Department, the [Bight Branekof the Cental Hebei Military District. This ped was a shoe pring in my life, full of tt, ear, and fliendship. Once when 1 dada fever, my comrades took tur eaing for me day and night. ‘When my comrades put thir hands on my head, tears dropped frm my eyes. This was the first me [felt revoltionsry friendship. twas beter than mother lovel I liked writing and often wrote to Contral Hebel Herald and Basle Pron | sent out vatious writings, including ‘hom stores, poems, plays, and interviews. am not saying my weit- ings were good, but they reected my rue feelings. Doing the period, {met Sun Li, Yuan Qian, and Wang Lin (several famous communist ‘weites-—Ed, They considered me to be a worker-peasant writer and gave me special raining. Tae Political Department often sent me to ‘work a eorespondent at the font. Saude Front publishes my reports every day fora while. My name appeared frequently in newspaper, tnd [became somewhat fous, I wanted to pursue higher gal and ‘gain applied for Party membership, My leaders in the department ‘were bappy forme Infact, I made another mistake. My dossier didnot follow me tothe army atthe time, After Iapplid for Party membership, the department ‘sent people to investigate mein my village, and my files came. Dark

    You might also like