OCR Specification focus:
‘Origins in 1966 included failures of the Great Leap Forward and elite conflict.’
The Cultural Revolution’s origins lay in Mao Zedong’s reaction to the failures of the Great Leap Forward, the resulting political crises, and growing elite divisions in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The Legacy of the Great Leap Forward
Economic Catastrophe and Policy Reassessment
The Great Leap Forward (1958–1962), Mao’s ambitious plan to accelerate China’s transformation into a socialist society, aimed to boost agricultural and industrial production through people’s communes and backyard furnaces.
Great Leap Forward: A radical economic and social campaign launched by Mao Zedong (1958–1962) to rapidly industrialise China and collectivise agriculture, resulting in widespread famine and millions of deaths.
Instead of rapid progress, the policy led to:
A catastrophic famine causing an estimated 20–45 million deaths.
Severe industrial underperformance, as backyard furnaces produced low-quality steel.
A breakdown in agricultural production due to unrealistic quotas and poor planning.
A crisis of party legitimacy, shaking confidence in Mao’s leadership.
The aftermath forced a policy reorientation under leaders such as Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping, who implemented more pragmatic reforms. These included the disbandment of communes, restoration of private plots, and focus on expert-led economic management, contrasting sharply with Mao’s ideological approach.
Political Consequences and Mao’s Retreat
Mao, facing blame for the disaster, withdrew from day-to-day governance in 1962, allowing Liu and Deng to lead economic recovery. This shift diminished Mao’s political influence and sowed the seeds of later conflict. Mao saw the retreat from radicalism as a betrayal of the revolutionary vision, perceiving a drift towards “capitalist road” policies that endangered socialism.
Ideological Disillusionment and Mao’s Concerns
Mao’s Fear of Revisionism
By the early 1960s, Mao believed that China risked following the path of the Soviet Union, where Nikita Khrushchev’s de-Stalinisation signalled a move away from revolutionary purity. Mao feared that similar revisionist tendencies were emerging within the CCP.
Revisionism: The alteration or dilution of Marxist revolutionary principles, often by adopting more moderate, reformist policies.
Mao’s speeches, such as the “Ten Major Relationships” and the “Seven Thousand Cadres Conference”, warned against bureaucratisation and ideological complacency. He argued that class struggle continued even under socialism, necessitating ongoing revolution to prevent capitalist restoration.
Cultural and Educational Concerns
Mao was alarmed by the conservative tendencies in culture and education. Schools and universities, he argued, produced “bourgeois intellectuals” rather than revolutionary cadres. Literature, art, and theatre increasingly reflected traditionalist values rather than socialist ideology. Mao believed these trends undermined the revolutionary spirit and needed radical correction.
Elite Conflict and Political Crisis
Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping’s Ascendancy
Liu and Deng’s policies restored economic stability but also consolidated their political authority. By 1962–63, Liu Shaoqi was designated Mao’s successor, and Deng was increasingly influential. Both favoured technical expertise and limited private incentives, policies Mao saw as ideological betrayals.
Mao interpreted their approach as symptomatic of a “bourgeois dictatorship” emerging within the party itself. This belief became central to his justification for launching the Cultural Revolution, which aimed to purge revisionism and restore revolutionary zeal.
Mao’s Counter-Mobilisation
From 1963, Mao began reasserting his ideological dominance. He launched the Socialist Education Movement (SEM) to reinvigorate class consciousness in the countryside and root out corruption. However, the SEM failed to dislodge entrenched bureaucratic elites, convincing Mao that deeper structural change was required.
Mao also relied on personal allies such as Lin Biao, Jiang Qing, and Chen Boda, who shared his revolutionary fervour. These figures helped develop the ideological framework for what would become the Cultural Revolution, including the promotion of Mao Zedong Thought as the guiding doctrine.
The 1966 Crisis and the Turn to Cultural Revolution
Mounting Tensions and the Attack on Bureaucracy
By 1965–66, Mao concluded that a political revolution was necessary to cleanse the party. The publication of Yao Wenyuan’s article criticising the play Hai Rui Dismissed from Office marked a turning point. Ostensibly a literary critique, it was a veiled attack on Peng Dehuai, Mao’s critic during the Great Leap Forward, and symbolised the beginning of a broader campaign against the party’s moderate leadership.
Mao accused senior officials of “taking the capitalist road”, framing the struggle as one between proletarian revolutionaries and bourgeois elements. This rhetoric prepared the ground for a mass mobilisation that would bypass party structures and empower the populace to challenge authority.
Ideological Framing: Permanent Revolution
Mao’s theory of “continuous revolution” became central to the Cultural Revolution’s justification. He argued that:
Class struggle persists under socialism.
The proletariat must remain vigilant against bourgeois resurgence.
Revolution must be renewed periodically to prevent stagnation and revisionism.
Continuous Revolution: Maoist belief that revolution is an ongoing process necessary to preserve socialism and combat emerging bourgeois influences within a socialist state.
This doctrine legitimised Mao’s call for direct mass participation in political struggle, leading to the mobilisation of students and youth as Red Guards in 1966.
Three Red Guards with armbands and Mao’s writings, representing the youth mobilisation central to the Cultural Revolution’s early phase. Their visible symbolism illustrates Maoist ideology in practice. Source
Escalation of the Crisis
The campaign rapidly escalated. The May 16 Notification (1966) denounced hidden enemies within the party and called for a cultural revolution to root them out. The Eleventh Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee endorsed Mao’s vision, purging key moderates like Peng Zhen and preparing the ground for attacks on Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping.
Mao’s return to public life was symbolised by his swimming in the Yangtze River in July 1966, a dramatic gesture signalling renewed revolutionary leadership.
Mao Zedong during the July 1966 Yangtze River swim, a symbolic act showcasing his vigour and political resurgence at the start of the Cultural Revolution. Source
The Cultural Revolution was now underway, transforming the CCP, Chinese society, and Mao’s own authority.
FAQ
Mao strategically employed propaganda to frame the Cultural Revolution as a necessary continuation of class struggle. Posters, slogans, and publications promoted the idea that enemies of socialism were hiding within the CCP and society.
The “Little Red Book” of Mao’s quotations became a symbol of ideological purity, widely distributed to reinforce loyalty. Newspapers and radio broadcasts attacked “revisionists” and glorified Mao’s leadership, portraying him as the guardian of the revolution.
This ideological campaign cultivated mass support, especially among young people, and prepared the ground for the radical mobilisation of 1966.
Mao’s declining authority after the Great Leap Forward deeply influenced his motives. The shift of power to leaders like Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping threatened his dominance within the CCP.
Launching the Cultural Revolution offered Mao an opportunity to reassert himself as the supreme revolutionary leader. By mobilising the masses directly, he bypassed party bureaucracy and undercut his rivals’ influence.
The campaign also reshaped Mao’s public image, portraying him as the embodiment of revolutionary will and ideological correctness, further consolidating his leadership.
Mao believed that students and youth were less entrenched in bureaucratic thinking and more receptive to revolutionary ideals. Their enthusiasm made them ideal instruments for challenging authority.
Red Guards were encouraged to question and denounce teachers, officials, and party leaders considered “revisionist.”
Youth participation demonstrated that the revolution was a mass movement, not confined to elites.
Mobilising students helped Mao bypass the established party apparatus, destabilising his political opponents from below.
This emphasis on youth created a powerful, radical force that helped initiate the Cultural Revolution’s first wave.
The Sino-Soviet split profoundly shaped Mao’s worldview. He condemned Khrushchev’s de-Stalinisation and emphasis on peaceful coexistence with the West, seeing them as betrayals of Marxism-Leninism.
Mao feared that China might follow a similar revisionist path if ideological purity was not defended. The Soviet example reinforced his belief in the need for continuous revolution and constant vigilance against bourgeois tendencies.
These concerns helped frame the Cultural Revolution as part of a global struggle to preserve revolutionary socialism.
Issued in May 1966, the May 16 Notification was a pivotal document that formally announced the existence of “enemies” within the CCP and called for a cultural revolution.
It accused high-ranking officials of attempting to restore capitalism.
It legitimised mass mobilisation against party elites and intellectuals.
It marked the transition from internal ideological debate to public political struggle.
The notification set the stage for the purge of moderates and provided the ideological justification for the radical campaigns that followed.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks)
Identify two consequences of the failure of the Great Leap Forward that contributed to the origins of the Cultural Revolution.
Mark Scheme:
1 mark for each correctly identified consequence.
Accept any two of the following (or similar phrasing):Widespread famine and millions of deaths undermined confidence in Mao’s leadership.
Mao withdrew from day-to-day governance, allowing more moderate leaders to gain influence.
Pragmatic economic reforms under Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping reversed Mao’s radical policies.
Loss of revolutionary zeal and fear of “capitalist road” policies emerging within the CCP.
Question 2 (6 marks)
Explain how ideological concerns shaped Mao’s decision to launch the Cultural Revolution in 1966.
Mark Scheme:
Level 1 (1–2 marks): Limited explanation with simple statements or general references to ideology. Little or no specific detail.
Example: “Mao wanted to keep communism strong so he launched the Cultural Revolution.”
Level 2 (3–4 marks): Some explanation of ideological concerns with relevant detail, but may lack depth or balance.
Mentions Mao’s fear of revisionism and desire to continue class struggle.
Notes concern about “bourgeois elements” within the CCP.
Level 3 (5–6 marks): Clear and well-developed explanation showing how ideological factors shaped Mao’s decision. Uses specific examples and connects them to the origins of the Cultural Revolution.
Explains Mao’s belief in continuous revolution and the need to prevent revisionism, drawing parallels with the Soviet Union.
Describes how concern over bourgeois intellectual influence in culture and education motivated the campaign.
Links ideological fears directly to Mao’s decision to mobilise the masses (e.g., Red Guards) and bypass entrenched bureaucratic elites.
