Understanding China’s Cultural Revolution

By delving into hundreds of previously classified Chinese leadership documents, Hong Kong University historian Frank Dikotter has produced an extraordinarily rich history of China’s Cultural Revolution, the period of traumatic political chaos that gripped the People’s Republic from 1962 to 1976. His book “The Cultural Revolution: A People’s History” concludes, contra to conventional wisdom, that ordinary people took advantage of the chaos in which the country’s communist system had been plunged to resurrect the market, effectively driving economic reform from below and initiating the transition towards the system of today.

[aritrakonar]

To hear the opposite perspective of Cultural Revolution, read “The Unknown Cultural Revolution” by Dongping Han. Don't worry, it's not a propaganda book. It was a PhD thesis by a the writer. It cites lot of ground resources, interviews as well as party documents.

I believe, viewers of this video would love to read about the opposite perspective before coming to a definite conclusion (because that's what supposedly a sensible person would do).

[freorocker]

Frank Dikotter should be congratulated for writing this book on The Cultural Revolution. Sadly, not enough has been written on what I consider to be one of the most fascinating periods in modern world history. One can only imagine the chaos, violence & anarchy that took place during the 1966-68 period. To witness this period at street level in such a populous country would have been quite incredible. Its a shame there were not more foreign correspondents in China at the time to capture the 'true essence' of The Cultural Revolution.

[Theoretika]

The interviewer seems to have had quite an interesting life.

[TesterBoy]

More people need to see this. The vast majority of Americans are completely ignorant of history and are condemned to repeat the same stupid mistakes!

[NoreenHoltzen]

Dokotter's book "The Tragedy of Revolution" is framed from a "Western ownership of China" perspective, which is built into the author's upbringing. If China had not thrown us UK capitalist interferers out, and Chinese oligarchs out, successfully liberating their own cities by 1948, their public living conditions now would likely be only marginally better than they were in 1948. Under Mao, literacy went from 15% to 90%, life-span from 45 to 70, with vastly more gains than their constantly advertised salvation setback (which amounts to about 2% of the population) during the transition period which led to far better agricultural output. The successful health reforms and vast improvements to literacy are so important. With broad public (Mao mere a symbol but the will coming from the public under their conditions) support to remove us, China’s history turned away from a direction towards what would now be akin to a place like Indonesia’s. This set the conditions for their excellent governance that follows Mao’s earlier but important and on the whole extremely successful, for their public not for us which is why we demonise them, transition period. The video fails to account for how bad the initial conditions were in the 1920s and what it is like to exist on the other side of our Empire. During 19th C we established not only the opium trade and setting impossible loan conditions and addiction, but invaded (England's initiative but US contractual and sharing of the benefits) China's ports twice, forced impossible contracts upon the public with ongoing bribery to officials, and the ordinary Chinese had terrible conditions of poverty and death, profoundly worse than the promoted set backs by Moa that have countless books written about it.

[pkwong]

A very good and impartial discourse. It shows that everything evolve, whether it be religious or political. You can equate the Cultural Revolution with Inquisitions- the religious/politcal history of Europe. China continues to evolve to meet the challeges of the 21st century.

[justanormalyoutubeuser]

Mao: the people have to criticize the party or it will do wrong things
This guy: this is literally an attempt at silencing all criticism of the leader.

[nicholaskelly]

Hmm Mao Zedong. Chen Yun summed him up with the following comments "Had he died in 1956 he would have been immortal. Had he died in 1966 he still would have been a great man but flawed. Alas he died in 1976 and what can one say!"
I have always regarded the Cultural Revolution as simply Mao Zedong trying to leave a great legacy. He was absolutely terrified of a Chinese "Khrushchev" who would denounce him just as Khrushchev had denounced Stalin in 1956.
Hence his extreme hatred of Liu Shoaqi who had told him in 1962 "That people write books about canabalism you know!"
I also believe that the death of Lin Biao had a prefound impact. As it finally freed Zhou and Deng from the Mao's control. Forcing the aging Mao to rely totally on "The Gang of Four". As Chen Yun noted had their policies been successful it wouldn't have been so easy to remove them from power!

[rainmaker]

And now comes all of western civilization.

[paulmaguire]

My impression is the moderator is greatly more insightful of the political history than the academic interviewee. One issue not addressed is the self preservation that motivated Mao to unleash the cultural revolution. It was a means of sideline his political opponents in the great tradition of the French Revolution.

[roastpork]

When you put a human who think he was a god into power, that "god" will inevitably go insane.

[Bobxchen]

After listening to him it seems that he is implying that Cultural Revolution was good thing for China in the long run. It is emotionally devastating for the people who experience it but afterwards it really helped people move forward.
1. Not too many people died, about 2 million people it is even less than one year from 1950 - 1951.
2. He said "the communist party came out of cultural revolution badly damaged". What exactly was "damaged" ? I believe he meant that the Legitimacy of communist party was badly damaged. And indeed it would, first Mao purged the party with mob rule (Red Guards). 1966- 68 Then he ask he ask the military to take over the government (1968 -1971) and purge the Red Guards. Then finally even the army got purged some people got reinstated. ( 1971 - 1976) Of course you go thru so many purges and later purge the people who did the purge you would loose legitimacy.
3. It sounds like because the party was "damaged" people begin to leave the collectives and start their own black market trade. (like North Korea after the famine) Indirectly he is implying that Cultural Revolution led the economic reform of China. Culture Revolution caused Communist party lose legitimacy, which led people to start Black market economy, which led the economic reform of China (Deng is just going with the flow). Very Very interesting conclusions.

[johnalden]

The Adam Smith of "The Theory of Moral Sentiment" would be delighted to hear about the re-evolution of markets in China.

[Swasti_Rao]

Great . exactly what I today discussed in my two hour long lecture for the undergrads !

[RedFlagSaid]

Loads of archives on the "Cultural revolution"?
Which planet are you from

[bfreespeak_freely]

I shall buy this trilogy of books. For anyone looking for a really well written firsthand account of the chaos of 20th century China, read ‘Wild Swans: Three Daughters of China’ by Jung Chang.

[tomxu]

The biggist barriers for westerners to understand China is probaly the language.

[ZimbaZumba]

All of this this sounds very contemporary.

[lisalph]

He equates Mao's encouraging the rooting out of "revisionists" in the Communist Party to democracy. These are two entirely different movements, aren't they?

[cafezo]

10 years of gruesome murders that's what it is