Cultural Revolution Timeline

1. 04/30/14 Copy the timeline on the back of your booklet Cultural Revolution Timeline 5-16-66 _______________________________________________________________________________________ 5-25-66 _______________________________________________________________________________________  5-29-66 _______________________________________________________________________________________ 8-5-66 _______________________________________________________________________________________ 8-8-66 _______________________________________________________________________________________  8-18-66 _______________________________________________________________________________________ SEPT-DEC ______________________________________________________________________________________ 1966  JAN 1967 ______________________________________________________________________________________ SPRING 1968 ___________________________________________________________________________________ JULY 1968 _____________________________________________________________________________________

2. Cultural Revolution Timeline 1966–1968This timeline identifies major events that occur during the years covered by Ji-li Jiang in Red Scarf Girl. May 16, 1966- “May 16 Circular” distributed by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) This official government statement says that Chinese culture must be cleansed of anti-Party, “black” elements. According to the “May 16 Circular,” the CCP would be removing those with “bourgeois” tendencies who hold positions in the CCP, the government, the army, and other influential areas in society.

3. May 25, 1966- Da-zi-bao posted against professors The first da-zi-bao (big character poster) is written against professors at Beijing University for being enemies of the Chinese Communist Party and for being against class struggle. As other students learn about this action, they began writing da-zi-bao against their professors. May 29, 1966- Red Guards established Students at an elite middle school establish the first group of Red Guards for the purpose of eliminating the enemies of Chairman Mao and those who oppose the ideals of the Chinese Communist Party.

4. August 5, 1966- Chairman Mao supports the Red Guards In a da-zi-bao, Chairman Mao asks students to “Bombard the Headquarters” of the Chinese Communist Party. With Mao’s support, Red Guards continue to post da-zi-bao criticizing teachers and Party officials. August 8, 1966- The Cultural Revolution officially begins In an official statement called the “Sixteen Points Directive,” the Chinese Communist Party calls for a “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution” to rid China of elements that are against Chairman Mao Zedong’s thought and the ideals of class struggle. This document outlines a plan for how the Cultural Revolution should be conducted.

5. August 18, 1966- Red Guards rally in Beijing An estimated 13 million Red Guards from around China travel to Beijing between August and November to show their support for the Cultural Revolution. At the first rally on August 18, 1966, Chairman Mao directs the large crowd to “destroy the FourOlds” (old culture, old customs, old habits, and old ideas—anything linked to China’s “imperial” and “bourgeois” past). September–December 1966- Red Guards take over Schools are closed. Red Guards conduct house searches to “destroy the FourOlds.” They hold large meetings where teachers, Party officials, professionals, and other “black elements” are humiliated, criticized, and sometimes physically beaten.

6. January 1967- Mao intensifies the Cultural Revolution In an article published in the People’s Daily, the main newspaper in China, Chairman Mao directs local leaders to criticize themselves as he praises the Red Guards. Local governments shut down as officials are denounced. With nobody in charge, Red Guard groups compete for power. Violence and chaos escalate. Spring 1968- Propaganda campaign intensifies Under the leadership of Jiang Qing, Chairman Mao’s wife, a national program begins to promote Chairman Mao and his ideas. Millions of copies of Mao’s selected quotations—The Little Red Book—are distributed. In study sessions for the young and old, Chinese are required to memorize Mao’s teachings.

7. July 1968- The end of the Red Guards Nearly two years of violence and chaos have harmed China’s economy and resulted in the widespread loss of human lives and property Chairman Mao sends the army to dismantle the Red Guards and bring order to the cities. Under the direction of the army, schools reopen. The Chinese government implements a program called “Up to the Mountains, Down to the Villages,” which sends as many as 16 million former Red Guards from the cities to work alongside peasants in rural areas.