The quest for permanent revolution

What did Mao fear had happened to the Party?

It had become bureaucratised. He believed that after it had taken power in the revolution some cadres had exploited their new power for their own advantage.

They had become the new elite after removing China’s old rulers and while taking advantage of the masses lived a life of luxury.

How did Mao aim to prevent this bureaucratisation of the party?

He demanded ‘permanent revolution’.

To constantly replace those in authority to prevent them from ever becoming comfortable and secure enough to take advantage of their authority.

How did Mao create ‘permanent revolution?

He demanded constant class struggle to rid the party of ‘revisionists’, meaning anyone who wanted to ‘revise’ or change communist ideology.

Why was Mao concerned about young people?

He was aware they had not been seriously tested as they were too young to have taken part in the Long March and the ‘three antis’ and ‘five antis’ campaigns etc….

He felt the younger generation needed a direct experience of the revolutionary struggle in order to make them identify with it. Once they had engaged in acts of violence and murder on behalf of the revolution they would become fully committed to defending it.

Give an example of an early attempt to regenerate the revolutionary drive

Mao launched the Socialist Education Movement in 1963 which preached the virtues of a collective economic approach and aimed also to root out corruption among the rural cadres.

When did Mao draft the ‘Early Ten Points’ and what were they?

February 1963.

They proposed that the masses should be mobilised to criticise corrupt Party cadres.

What were the Four Clean Ups? What was the response like?

The economy, organisation, politics and ideology should be cleansed on non-communist ideas

Mao told the workers and the peasants to study his writings and to attend rallies in order to whip up revolutionary fervour. They were told to denounce corrupt officials as capitalist roaders and subject them to the same kind of struggle meeting as had been used against the landlords.

The people were still recovering from the famine so the response was likewarm.

When were the ‘Later Ten Points’ launched? Who launched them? What did they state?

Launched by Deng Xiaoping in Autumn 1963. It ruled that any disruption should be kept to a minimum and that middle-class peasants should not be attacked.

What were the differing views between Mao and Liu and Deng on the ‘Later Ten Points’ campaign? Why was this problematic?

Mao hoped the campaign would mobilise the masses directly. Whereas Liu and Deng wanted it to be organised by work teams of Party Cadres. They rewrote Mao’s directives to de-emphasise class struggle.

The campaign was not a success and Mao blamed Liu. Mao was worried about all his work during the revolution being dismissed.

What is the play ‘Hai Rui dismissed from Office’ ?

Written by historian and intellectual, Wu Han, it was the tale of a principled and loyal officer during the Ming Era. The play could have been perceived as an attack on Mao with the comparisons with the dismissal of Peng Dehuai for his criticism of the GLF being clear.

How did Mao initially react when the play was first performed?

In 1961 Mao praised it

How did Mao use the play to get rid of two key allies of his enemies?

In 1965 he organised a negative review to be published, written by a loyal supporter Yao Wenyaun.

Wu Han was deputy mayor of Beijing, under Mayor Peng Zhen. Both were close allies of Liu and Deng.

Peng first defended Wu but eventually both were forced to resign, damned as right wing ‘revisionists’.

What was the CRG?

Launched in March 1966 the CRG (Cultural Revolution Group) made to direct the Cultural Revolution was a 17 member sub-committee of the Politburo.

Who were the main members of the CRG?

• Chen Boda

• Yao Wenyuan

• Zhang Chunqiao

• Jiang Qing

What did the CRG do?

They ran the PRC’s cultural policy which helped criticise what they called ‘top party people in authority who were taking the capitalist road’.

Through their control of the media and propaganda these counter-revolutionaries were declared ‘our most dangerous and our main enemy’. Although not named specifically the ‘Gang of four’ were targeted.