Reading Exam Practice: China’s Cultural Revolution Explained

Introduction & Reading Strategies

Welcome, learners! Today’s reading passage examines a pivotal and tumultuous period in modern Chinese history: the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Texts covering historical events often require careful attention to chronology, key figures, motivations, and consequences.

Boost your reading performance with these targeted strategies:

1. Establish Context: Note the time period (mid-1960s to mid-1970s) and the key figure (Mao Zedong). Understanding the historical setting is crucial.
2. Identify Goals and Motivations: Why was the Cultural Revolution launched? Look for explanations of Mao’s objectives and the stated aims of the movement.
3. Track Key Groups and Events: Pay attention to groups like the Red Guards, major phases or events mentioned, and the targets of the revolution.
4. Analyze Cause and Effect: Understand the connections between the revolution’s ideology, its methods (e.g., rallies, purges), and its consequences (e.g., social chaos, economic disruption, political shifts).
5. Monitor Your Time: Historical texts can be dense. Pace yourself to read thoroughly but efficiently. Aim to complete the reading and the 10 questions within 18-20 minutes.

Let’s explore this complex chapter of Chinese history.

Reading Passage: The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution: A Decade of Upheaval

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, commonly known as the Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in the People’s Republic of China launched by Mao Zedong, Chairman of the Communist Party of China, in May 1966. Officially lasting until Mao’s death in 1976, it plunged the country into a decade of political instability, social turmoil, and economic stagnation. Mao claimed the revolution was necessary to preserve ‘true’ communist ideology by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, and to re-impose his authority over the Communist Party after the perceived failures of the Great Leap Forward (1958-1962) had weakened his position.

Mao’s primary strategy was to mobilize the masses, particularly China’s youth. Students formed paramilitary groups known as the Red Guards, encouraged by Mao to challenge and attack authority figures perceived as counter-revolutionaries or “bourgeois elements.” This included party officials, intellectuals, teachers, and even their own parents. Armed with Mao’s “Little Red Book” (Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong), the Red Guards held mass rallies, engaged in public denunciations, destroyed historical artifacts deemed feudal or bourgeois, and subjected perceived enemies to humiliation, physical abuse, and sometimes death. Universities were closed, and intellectuals were often sent to the countryside for “re-education” through manual labor.

The movement quickly spiraled beyond Mao’s initial control. Factionalism emerged within the Red Guards and among different political groups, leading to violent clashes across the country. The revolutionary fervor Mao unleashed paralyzed government ministries and factories, severely disrupting the economy. Traditional Chinese culture, including religious sites, ancient texts, and art, suffered immense destruction under the banner of eliminating the “Four Olds” – old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. The personality cult surrounding Mao reached extreme heights, with his image and words becoming ubiquitous and unquestionable symbols of revolutionary purity.

By 1968-1969, the chaos had become so severe that Mao used the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) to restore order, suppress the most radical Red Guard factions, and re-establish Party control, albeit with significant shifts in power dynamics. Many urban youths, formerly Red Guards, were sent en masse to rural areas, ostensibly to learn from the peasants, but also effectively dispersing their disruptive power. While the most intense phase of mass mobilization subsided, the political purges, factional struggles, and emphasis on ideological conformity continued throughout the early 1970s, significantly influenced by radical figures later known as the “Gang of Four,” which included Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing.

The consequences of the Cultural Revolution were profound and devastating. Millions of people were persecuted, subjected to forced labor, imprisoned, or killed. The education system was crippled for years, creating a “lost generation” whose schooling was severely disrupted. The economy suffered major setbacks due to the political chaos and sidelining of expertise. Traditional Chinese culture experienced irreparable damage. Politically, while Mao consolidated his supreme authority initially, the period created deep scars and factional divisions within the Communist Party that would influence Chinese politics long after his death.

Following Mao’s death in 1976 and the subsequent arrest of the Gang of Four, the Communist Party officially condemned the Cultural Revolution. In 1981, a party resolution declared it had been “responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Party, the state, and the people since the founding of the People’s Republic.” While acknowledging Mao’s “errors” during this period, the official narrative still largely protects his overall legacy as the nation’s founding father. The Cultural Revolution remains a sensitive topic in China, a traumatic memory whose full historical accounting is complex and often contested. It serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of unchecked political power, mass mobilization detached from institutional control, and the destruction that can be wrought in the name of ideological purity.

Advanced Vocabulary and Phrases

1. Proletarian (adj.): Relating to the proletariat; the working class. Usage in context: Used in the official name “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution,” aligning it with working-class ideology.
2. Sociopolitical (adj.): Relating to the combination or interaction of social and political factors. Usage in context: The Cultural Revolution is described as a “sociopolitical movement.”
3. Purging (v.): Removing (a group of people considered undesirable) from an organization or place in an abrupt or violent way. Usage in context: Mao aimed at “purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements.”
4. Bourgeois (adj./n.): Relating to or characteristic of the middle class, typically with reference to its perceived materialistic values or conventional attitudes; often used derogatorily in Marxist contexts. Usage in context: Red Guards attacked those deemed “bourgeois elements.”
5. Paramilitary (adj.): (Of an unofficial force) organized similarly to a military force. Usage in context: The Red Guards were “paramilitary groups” of students.
6. Denunciations (n.): Public condemnation of someone or something. Usage in context: Red Guards held mass rallies and public “denunciations.”
7. Factionalism (n.): A situation in which a group forms within a larger group, especially one expressing disagreement or hostility towards other groups or the authority. Usage in context: “Factionalism emerged within the Red Guards,” leading to violence.
8. Ubiquitous (adj.): Present, appearing, or found everywhere. Usage in context: The personality cult made Mao’s image “ubiquitous.”
9. Ostensibly (adv.): Apparently or purportedly, but perhaps not actually. Usage in context: Youths were sent to the countryside “ostensibly to learn from the peasants” (but also to disperse them).
10. Consolidated (v.): Made (something) physically stronger or more solid; reinforced or strengthened (one’s power or position). Usage in context: Mao “consolidated his supreme authority” initially through the movement.
11. Irreparable (adj.): (Of an injury or loss) impossible to rectify or repair. Usage in context: Traditional culture suffered “irreparable damage.”
12. Tumultuous (adj.): Making a loud, confused noise; uproarious; marked by disturbance and uproar. Usage in context: The introduction describes it as a “pivotal and tumultuous period.”