A Revised View of China's Cultural Revolution

One of Jung Chang's basic arguments is that the so-called "Cultural Revolution" of China was actually mis-named.  Chang prefers to see the movement led by Mao as his own "Great Purge" of all real and/or potential threats to his political power.  This is indeed a strong viewpoint, but one not surprising for Chang since she understands Mao to be a tyrant leader.  The Great Purge, in Chang's estimation, became a series of political persecutions which nearly destroyed the spirit and culture of China itself.  The true reason for it was the consolidation of Mao Ze Dong's absolute authority over the government party and the nation.  So Chang lays the blame for the deaths of over 70 million Chinese people during peacetime squarely at Mao's own feet.

China during the 1960s was a recovering nation.  After all, the Great Leap Forward of the late 1950s had cost millions of lives.  It left the nation in shambles.  However, by 1966 China was beginning to return to something resembling economic stability.  This had not been witnessed in nearly a century.  Granted, forty years later China would be considered the fastest growing economic power in the world.  Even so, before the Chinese people would know this success they suffered through a period of political chaos and economic instability.  The so-called "Cultural Revolution" was a mass movement instigated by Mao himself that intended to destroy old Chinese society.  The goal was to raise up a new generation of Revolutionary minded young people.  However, the revolution turned into a bloody series of fights among the Chinese people.  It cost many, many lives in the process.... and damaged China's history forever.  The main beneficiary was Mao himself, but at the expense of millions of Chinese people.  The argument Chang presents is compelling given the facts of history now considered in retrospect.

Best regards from your friend,

Harlan Urwiler

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