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{{quotebox-float|"There were no landlords there, just peasants, some of whom were richer than others. The violence that erupted was not spontaneous, but carefully orchestrated. For several weeks, people were whipped up into a frenzy by Party cadres in public rallies, then armed with sticks, hoes, or even guns, and unleashed on those who had a little more education, or a bit more land, or a slightly nicer dwelling.

{{quotebox-float|"There were no landlords there, just peasants, some of whom were richer than others. The violence that erupted was not spontaneous, but carefully orchestrated. For several weeks, people were whipped up into a frenzy by Party cadres in public rallies, then armed with sticks, hoes, or even guns, and unleashed on those who had a little more education, or a bit more land, or a slightly nicer dwelling.

In this type of mob savagery (think of what happened to Jews in Polish villages under Nazi rule), greed, envy, and personal resentments are useful human instincts for officials to exploit. Since class categories were often so arbitrary, and the instigators of violence usually came from the outside, people were in effect set upon one another, friends upon friends, children upon parents. This was the point of the exercise. Through organized violence, the Party made everyone complicit in the [[mayhem]] it stirred up. The aim was to tear apart the fabric of traditional Chinese life, leaving the Party as the only permitted focus of loyalty and authority.<ref>https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/china-reeducation-through-horror</ref>}}

In this type of mob savagery (think of what happened to Jews in Polish villages under Nazi rule), greed, envy, and personal resentments are useful human instincts for officials to exploit. Since class categories were often so arbitrary, and the instigators of violence usually came from the outside, people were in effect set upon one another, friends upon friends, children upon parents. This was the point of the exercise. Through organized violence, the Party made everyone complicit in the mayhem it stirred up. The aim was to tear apart the fabric of traditional Chinese life, leaving the Party as the only permitted focus of loyalty and authority.<ref>https://www.chinafile.com/library/nyrb-china-archive/china-reeducation-through-horror</ref>}}

According to historian Frank Dikötter, who chronicled Mao’s brutality: “Many of the victims were beaten to death and some shot, but in many cases they were first [[torture]]d in order to make them reveal their assets—real or imagined.”

According to historian Frank Dikötter, who chronicled Mao’s brutality: “Many of the victims were beaten to death and some shot, but in many cases they were first [[torture]]d in order to make them reveal their assets—real or imagined.”