Cultural Revolution

The Cultural Revolution was an upheaval which began in August of 1966 by Chinese Chairman Mao Zedong. He began this revolution in his last ten years of power because he feared that China would become like the Soviet Union and that he might have a bad, if any, place in history. His objective was to cause a cultural revolution that would replace leaders with people who would think like him and be supportive of him as Chairmen, make the Chinese Communist Party function the way he wanted, give the Chinese youth a revolutionary experience, and make changes so that education, health care, and cultural systems would be for the entirety of China and not just for the elite. Mao Zedong desired the Cultural Revolution to affect all in China but it mostly affected those in urban places.

In August 1966 all schools were closed. During this time Mao told the Red Guards to question things that traditionally had great value and importance, and question the activities of government officials by slighting them in a way that was visible to all. This resulted in the harm and even death of many people. In the end, Mao Zedong achieved none of what he wanted. The end Cultural Revolution came about with death of Mao Zedong, but was not officially ended until 1977.