Battle for China's Past : Mao and the Cultural Revolution

• In Deng’s crusade of denigrating the Cultural Revolution,
members of the intellectual elite such as Ji Xianlin, Ba Jin, Ye
Yonglie and Yan Jiaqi constructed a ‘cultural blockade’ against the
Rebels and made the Rebels appear to be responsible for the
destruction and victimization that was initially done by the Red
Guards and then by office holders inside the party. 11
• The Rebels treated the party officials humanely in their ideological
fight.
• Mao did not intend to suppress all of the party officials, but
wanted them to go through the experience of learning from the
masses before they were allowed back into office (as testified by
Wang Li (2001) who avers that Mao said to him personally several
times that even Liu should be allowed to be a member of the CCP
Central Committee).
• Even at the height of struggle against ‘capitalist roaders’, there
were always instructions that the people who were targets of
struggle had to be physically protected and well fed.
• Most of the so-called armed fighting was not factional fighting
among Rebels but oppression of Rebels by party officials.
• Most of the important party officials were called to Beijing for
protection after a few struggle sessions and many others came
back to power within two years.
• In the revolutionary committees that were set up during the
Cultural Revolution, the army representatives never took the Rebel
representatives seriously.
• Only in Shanghai was the situation a little better for the Rebels
because the Rebels had direct support from the centre.
• The army was strongly against the Rebels.
• Mao’s Cultural Revolution strategy was forced upon him after all
other efforts failed.
• Mao was hesitant during the Cultural Revolution, but thought that
the cadres could be made to change their attitude by a mobilization
of the masses.
• The enemies of the CCP, like the landlords, capitalists and Nationalist
officials and officers, were pardoned, but the Rebels were still
treated as enemies of humanity
Sea change of attitudes
CHALLENGING THE HEGEMONY I
These views are contrary to the official verdict as well as the mainstream
views and would not be allowed to appear in conventional media in
China. These contrary narratives reflect a sea change of attitudes among
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