Class Struggle and the Cultural Revolution

7/25/2019 Class Struggle and the Cultural Revolution

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Class & the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution

During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (GPCR) the use of language

referring both to class structure, and class struggle was frequent and

provocative. This language pervaded the political discourse not onl of political

elites, but of the various !ass"participation political groups that arose during the

period. #owever, whether the use of such rhetoric actuall re$ected the nature

of the political struggle that occurred during this period is debatable.

This essa shall atte!pt to answer the following questions% (&) in regards to both

o'cial class designation and econo!ic inequalit, was the GPCR a struggle

between rival classes () to what e*tent were internal power struggles within

the leadership of the Chinese Co!!unist Part (CCP) a cause of class struggle

+r did political elites !erel use the language of class struggle to further non"

class related goals () -hat does the GPCRs e!phasis on class teach us about

class structure and struggle socialis! in general

/ollowing the barrage of criticis! ai!ed at the Part during the #undred /lowers

ca!paign, 0ao ca!e to be concerned about cultural and intellectual elites as

well as the children of the for!er capitalist classes. This was co!pounded b the

censure 0ao received at the 1ushan conference in &232 due to the perceived

failures of the Great 1eap /orward (G1/)&. 4t was at this ti!e that 0ao ca!e to

also harbour suspicions about those within the part, and ca!e to fear the rise of

a new for! of bureaucratic class under socialist govern!ent.

4f indeed the GPCR re$ected class con$ict in Chinese societ, then it follows that

so!e sort of di5erentiation between classes !ust have e*isted. Therefore, we

!ust de6ne what is !eant b class.

& 7i!on 1es, The Chairmans New Clothes Mao and the Cultural Revolution,(1ondon% 8llison and 9usb, &2::), p. ;.


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Post"revolutionar China !aintained an o'cial and e*ceedingl rigid for! of

class structure. Throughout the 7tudents and Class -arfare% the

7ocial Roots of the Red Guard Con$ict in Guanghou (Canton), The China

Quarterly, p. ;E.

The following is based on the lists found in 8nita Chan, 7tanle Rosen A

Bonathan nger, >7tudents and Class -arfare% the 7ocial Roots of the Red Guard

Con$ict in Guanghou (Canton), p. ;EF and Boel 8ndreas, >9attling over political

and cultural power during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, Theory and Society,ol. &, EE, p. ;HI.


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4ntelligentsia, including white"collar e!ploees (hiyuan!) and

independent professionals.

9ad"class origins (jieji chengfen buhaode)3%

Capitalist fa!ilies

Rich peasant fa!ilies

1andlord fa!ilies

The see!ing contradiction between !aintaining an inheritable class sste!

despite the fact that !an of the for!er classes no e*isted in practice

(particularl in view of the Parts declaration of &23H that the transition to

co!!unis! had been successfull achieved) was not as pronounced as one

!ight assu!e. 0ost Chinese still considered people to be either winners or

losers fro! the &2;2 revolutionH, and thus the class categories continued to

appear relevant. nder the sste! above, social !obilit was possibleF however,

it was far easier to !ove fro! a good class to a bad class than to !ove in the

other direction:.

; This group included white collar govern!ent e!ploees, teachers, !anagersetc. The relativel low nu!ber ofhiyuanin ter!s of population in pre"

revolutionar China !eant that their class position was higher than that of

co!parable wor?ers in other developing countries. 7ee Boel 8ndreas, >9attling

over political and cultural power during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, p. 3&&.

3 nder this categor Chan et al. also include the fa!ilies of counter"

revolutionariesF fa!ilies of >Rightists (those labelled as such during the 8nti"

Rightist ca!paign for their criticis!s of the CCP during the &23: #undred

/lowers ca!paign)F and the fa!ilies of >bad ele!ents (denoting cri!inal

o5enders). The latter two categories do not rel on pre"revolution status. 7ee>7tudents and Class -arfare% the 7ocial Roots of the Red Guard Con$ict in

Guanghou (Canton), p. ;E. Jraus has a slightl di5erent list fro! both Chan et

al., and 8ndreas, see Richard Curt Jraus, The Cultural Revolution a very short

introduction, p. 3.

H Boel 8ndreas, >9attling over political and cultural power during the Chinese

Cultural Revolution, p. 3&E.

: Richard Curt Jraus, >Class Con$ict and the ocabular of 7ocial 8nalsis inChina, p. HH.


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9 the beginning of the GPCR general econo!ic equalit was prevalent. The

di5erentiation that did e*ist was !ostl regional, but within a speci6c province

inco!e levels were fairl ho!ogenous. #owever, for two reasons there were

disparities between rural and urban areas. 8d!inistrative polic generall

favoured an autar?ic sste! of develop!ent within the regionsI, thus rather than

developing specialisation through trade, each region would atte!pt to produce

all products su'cient for its needs. This was co!pounded b a lac? of

infrastructure that would have encouraged trade to develop, especiall for the

transportation of goods. 0oreover, whilst China was still e*ceedingl poor in

ter!s of GDP per capita at this stage, !an services were provided b

wor?places in industrial areas. This di5ered fro! rural practice, where individuals

were !ore responsible for their own provision of housing, healthcare, and other

essential services.

The relevance of relative econo!ic equalit is that class structure too? on new

for!s. @on"econo!ic for!s of power ca!e to replace general econo!ic notions

of class. This can be seen in what 0ao considered the rise of the bureaucratic

class within the Part2. 9ased on analsis of the 7oviet nion b 0ao and other

radical theorists, the 77R has undergoing a peaceful evolution fro! socialis! to

I The concept of >self"reliance,ili gengsheng, was applied at both the national

and regional level. 8t the regional level this was intended to reduce

transportation costs and bottlenec?s. Richard Curt Jraus, The Cultural Revolution

a very short introduction, (#ants% +*ford niversit Press, E&), p. H:"HI.

2 >1ine struggle is the re$ection within the Part of the class struggle in societ.

7o long as classes, class contradictions and class struggle e*ist in societ, there

!ust be the struggle between two lines within the PartF 0ao Kedong, >4n branch

construction one !ust grasp line education, 0ao Kedong, >4n branch

construction one !ust grasp line education, H /ebruar, &2:&, quoted in

Richard Curt Jraus, >Class Con$ict and the ocabular of 7ocial 8nalsis in

China, p. H3. /or a discussion the struggle between lines or roads within the CCP

and its relation to class see 1owell Ditt!er, >L1ine 7truggleM in Theor and

Practice% The +rigins of the Cultural Revolution Reconsidered, The ChinaQuarterly, ol. :, &2::, HIE"HI&.


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state capitalis!, whereb state o'cials had beco!e an e*ploiting class without

funda!entall changing social structure. 7ince China had followed the 7oviet

!odel of develop!ent, 0ao feared the Chinese social structure was also

harbouring the seeds of e*ploitation&E. 0ao warned in &2H3 that Part o'cials

were beco!ing an incipient bureaucratic class, declaring >such people Nthe

bureaucratsO are alread or are beco!ing capitalist va!pires to the wor?ers&&.

Chan et al. conclude that class structure during the GPCR was de!onstrated b

Red Guard factionalis!. The children of the for!er privileged and !iddle classes

were the strongest supporters of the 0aoist faction within the CCP, as the

sought to bene6t fro! the 0aos attac? on the CCP and the part cadres and

leaders who now had privileged access to state services at the e*pense of the

for!er privileged classes who, under a !ore !eritocratic sste!, would gain a

greater share. #owever, those who ca!e fro! fa!ilies with connections to the

CCP sought to !aintain their new privileges&, and supported the !ore

conservative ele!ents within the CCP led b 1iu 7haoqi and Deng iaoping. This

latter group propagated what ca!e to be ?nown as the bloodline theor

("uetong lun), which highlighted their own role as children of revolutionaries&.

&E Boel 8ndreas, >The 7tructure of Charis!atic 0obiliation% a case stud of

rebellion during the Chinese Cultural Revolution,#merican Sociological Review,

ol. :, Bune EE:, p. ;;.

&& 0ao Kedong, >@otes on Co!rade Chen Ceng"=ens Report on his L7quatting

PointM, Selected $or%s of Mao Tse&Tung, Banuar 2, &2H3, available athttp%QQwww.!ar*ists.orgQreferenceQarchiveQ!aoQselected"wor?sQvolu!e"

2Q!swv2;:.ht!.

& Richard Curt Jraus, >Class Con$ict and the ocabular of 7ocial 8nalsis in

China, p. :E.

& /or a discussion see B oel 8ndreas, >9attling over political and cultural power

during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, p. ;:I";:2F 8nita Chan, 7tanle Rosen A

Bonathan nger, >7tudents and Class -arfare% the 7ocial Roots of the Red GuardCon$ict in Guanghou (Canton), p. ;H.
http://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htm


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8ndreas di5ers so!ewhat in his analsis fro! Chan et al. #e has e*plicitl

asserted that the !ost i!portant aspects of class in post"revolutionar China

were political and cultural power&;. 8ndreas 6nds, in contrast to the traditional

analsis of class and Red Guard factionalis! as e*e!pli6ed b Chan et al., a

convergence of interests of political and cultural elites based on a shared

hostilit to the egalitarianis! of the GPCR. -hilst he notes the antagonis!

between the classes in certain instances, he also 6nds that the children of for!er

peasant revolutionaries who beca!e political elites under CCP rule allied with the

children of the old educated elite, in order to oppose the radical assault on the

e*isting order, often led b children of peasant origin who possessed neither

cultural nor political capital&3.

Rhetoricall, it would see! that class plaed an i!portant role in the GPCR. The

slogan >never forget class struggle&H was pro!inent and frequent at the

co!!ence!ent of the GPCR. #owever, so!e have questioned the relevance of

class structure and struggle under socialis! to the GPCR. 1es, for instance,

asserts that the GPCR was a power struggle within the leadership of the CCP &:,

rather than a !ove!ent ai!ed at co!bating the e!ergence of a new for! of

class di5erentiation, and that the language of class struggle and revolution was

&; Concepts that appear to underlie the conclusions of Chan et al. although

these !echanis!s are never e*plicitl stated.

&3 8ndreas 6nds that the traditional class dichoto! as identi6ed b Chan et al.

was applicable at Tsinghua 8ttached 0iddle 7chool (T807) an elite high school

attached to Tsinghua niversit (T), whereas, the coalition of political and

cultural elites was pro!inent at T. Boel 8ndreas, >9attling over political and

cultural power during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, p. ;H;.

&H >1ong 1ive 0ao Tse"Tungs Thought% 4n Co!!e!oration of the ;3th8nniversar

of the founding of the Co!!unist Part of China, Renmin Ribao, editorial & Bul,

&2HH, reprinted in Pe?ing Review, ol 2, @o :, Bul, &2HH, available athttps%QQepress.anu.edu.auQsub=ectQchinaQpe?ing"reviewQ&2HHQPR&2HH":a.ht! .
https://epress.anu.edu.au/subject/china/peking-review/1966/PR1966-27a.htmhttps://epress.anu.edu.au/subject/china/peking-review/1966/PR1966-27a.htm


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in fact deploed si!pl to !as? the real nature and ai! of the !ove!ent, that

is, of re!oving 0aos rivals and detractors fro! the CCP. 7o!e have even

referred to the GPCR as an instance of largel >contrived class struggle &I. This

conception of the GPCR however, fails to recognise the wider i!portance of class

for the Chinese population. 4t is not clear without further research whether non"

elites were particularl concerned with the continuit of class di5erentiation

under socialis!, however, what does appear to have !attered to people was

preferential access to those goods and services that higher class status enabled.

Chan et al.s research of students in Guanghou during the GPCR show that in

the ears prior to its the launch of the GPCR (&2H"H3), students of the jieji

chengfen buhaode or hiyuan classes were often sub=ected to (sincere)

e*hortations during s!all"group sessions of class!ates (as well as in the !edia),

to >draw a line between the!selves and their parents in order to further their

own opportunities to education, urban e!plo!ent and political advance!ent&2.

8lthough such rhetoric !a have been e!ploed b 0aoist elites to =ustif

purges within the leadership, it does not account for wh such large nu!bers of

Chinese, especiall outh, heeded 0aos call to attac? those in power. The

catalst for action a!ongst radical ouths was, in actualit, a response to

Chinas econo!ic opportunities and their own self"interest based on class. This

&: 7i!on 1es, The Chairmans New Clothes Mao and the Cultural Revolution,

p. &F Roderic? 0ac/arquhar and 0ichael 7choenhals, Maos 'ast Revolution,(Ca!bridge% #arvard niversit Press, EEH). /or a critique 0ar/arquhar and

7choenhals 0ao"centred approach see 1nn -hite, >0ao and the Cultural

Revolution in China,(ournal of Cold $ar Studies, ol. &E, @o. , EEI, p. 2I"&EF

Tang Tsou, >The Cultural Revolution and the Chinese Political 7ste!, The China

Quarterly, ol. I, &2H2, p. I;.

&I Philip 9ridgha!, >0aos LCultural RevolutionM% +rigin and Develop!ent, p. &.

&2 8nita Chan, 7tanle Rosen A Bonathan nger, >7tudents and Class -arfare%the 7ocial Roots of the Red Guard Con$ict in Guanghou (Canton), p. ;&;.


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can be seen b the fact that students fro! the sa!e inherited class were,

overwhel!ingl, !e!bers of the sa!e factions of Red Guards, and that the Red

Guard factions which opposed each other had as a base a certain class. 8s Chan

et al. de!onstrate, b the !id"&2HEs urban high school students faced

narrowing prospects for upward !obilitE, this situation arose concurrentl to a

shift towards greater reliance on class origin as a criterion on which educational

opportunities were o5ered&. Thus class origin beca!e an i!portant factor in

deter!ining ones potential for advance!ent.

The re"e!ergence of class as a salient factor in Chinese political discourse was

initiated with the launch of the >class struggle b 0ao at the Tenth Plenu! of the

Central Co!!ittee in 7epte!ber &2H. 8lthough the reason behind this

ca!paign !a have been the i!perative to e*plain past failures of Part polic,

in particular the G1/, as largel the handiwor? of >foreign and do!estic class

ene!ies, rather than an ideological belief in the actual need for a widespread

ca!paign to battle class structure, the eventual result (i.e. the GPCR) was a class

E This was due to the bab boo! of the &23Es, coupled with a relativel oung

established wor?force with the result that !ore and !ore people were see?ing to

6ll a li!ited nu!ber of vacancies due to low rates of retire!ent. 0oreover, since

education levels had greatl e*panded in the post"revolutionar period, there

were !an !ore educated ouths who were in the position of not being able to

obtain urban e!plo!ent, and were faced to !ove to !ore !enial positions in

the countrside. 8nita Chan, 7tanle Rosen A Bonathan nger, >7tudents and

Class -arfare% the 7ocial Roots of the Red Guard Con$ict in Guanghou(Canton), p. 2I";E&.

& This resulted in increased pressure to be accepted in the Co!!unist 0aos LCultural RevolutionM% +rigin and Develop!ent, The

China Quarterly, @o. ;&, &2:E, p. I.

4bid. p. 2.


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struggle, although a fractious one, with !an parties, alliances of convenience,

and the use of language couched in 0ar*ist ter!s that served onl to obscure

the rival goals of each ca!p, as each clai!ed to represent the proletariat in a

struggle against those >ta?ing the capitalist road. #owever, there are good

reasons to thin? that the GPCR was not solel a !anifestation of inter"elite power

struggles;.

0ao considered class struggle to be necessar for two reasons. /irst, he

considered class struggle to be an ongoing process, one that had to be renewed

each generation to ensure that the class beliefs of the for!er bad classes were

eradicated and not passed down through fro! generation to generation, and to

ensure that those who had onl lived under CCP rule would not ta?e the bene6ts

of socialis! for granted. 7econd, he feared the >re!aining !e!bers of the old

e*ploiting classes being =oined and supplanted b new class ene!ies3. -ith the

high level of econo!ic equalit, and the absence of individual ownership over

the factors of production, 0ao concluded that political power had co!e to

replace econo!ic power as the basis of class distinction. Those with greater

control of the distribution of goods and services fro! the state, that is, the

bureaucratic and political elite, beca!e a new privileged class, and began to

institutionalise the bequeathing of political power to their childrenH through

privileged access to education, PartQstate e!plo!ent, and personal

acquaintance with other elites.

; 0ichael Dutton, )olicing Chinese )olitics* # +istory, (1ondon% Du?e niverist

Press, EE3), p. ;.

3 Richard Curt Jraus, >Class Con$ict and the ocabular of 7ocial 8nalsis in

China, The China Quarterly, ol. H2, &2::, p. H.

H 4bid. p. H.


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0ao further developed an e!erging theor of class relations, designed for

application to socialist societies, b noting how a revolutionar group can

degenerate, beco!e estranged fro! the !asses, usurp privilege and pursue self"

interested policies:. Thus, according to this theor, not onl does class continue

under socialis!, but that new classes arise in response to changed

circu!stancesI. 8s the Chair!an hi!self declared, >in a socialist societ,

!eanwhile, new ele!ents of class of the bourgeoisie !a e!erge. Class and

class struggle re!ain during the entire period of socialis!2. This would appear

to be con6r!ed b the research underta?en b both 8ndreas, and Chan et al.,

described above, which de!onstrated that class, based on political and cultural

power, rather than on econo!ic power, was the !ost i!portant deter!ining

factor in the position ta?en b students, both in 9ei=ing and in Guanghou, in

either supporting or opposing the radical (0aoist) ele!ent of the CCP. /ro! this

evidence, we can conclude that social class, whilst a5ected b the radical

changes of socialis!, continues to e*ist, and will probabl continue to e*ist

under an econo!ic or political sste! where there e*ists the possibilit of

di5erentiation.

To conclude, it would appear that the GPCR did constitute an instance of class

struggle. -ith possessors of cultural and political capital, the new elite classes,

both clashing with each other, and alling to defend their privileged positions

: 7uch a theor, although absent fro! 0ar*, had preoccupied both Trots? and

D=ilas. Richard Curt Jraus, >Class Con$ict and the ocabular of 7ocial 8nalsis in

China, p. H"H;. /or instance, see 0ilovan D=ilas, The New Class, (@ew Tal? 8t 8n Snlarged -or?ing Conference Convened 9 The CentralCo!!ittee +f The Co!!unist Part +f China, E Banuar &2H, Selected $or%s of Mao

Tse&tung, available at http%QQ!ar*ists.orgQreferenceQarchiveQ!aoQselected"wor?sQvolu!e"IQ!swvIH.ht!.
http://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htmhttp://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htmhttp://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htmhttp://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htm


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against non"elites. 0oreover, whilst the GPCR was certainl at one level a

internal power struggle within the CCP, this situation was e*ploited b those

outside the leadership as an opportunit to further their own class interests, b

either defending or attac?ing the status quo. /inall, we can conclude that

socialis! as an econo!ic and political sste!, whilst its class structure will be

di5erent to that found under co!!unist of feudal societies, is li?el to still

witness co!petition between classes. 4n fact, considering the greater

centralisation of political and econo!ic power, and thus the greater the bene6ts

accruing to those who obtain power, it see!s intuitive that the factional struggle

for control over the state would be !ore intense under socialis! than under

co!peting sste!s of govern!ent.

Bere! Rees

EIE;;

9ibliograph%

" 8ndreas, Boel, >9attling over political and cultural power during the Chinese

Cultural Revolution, Theory and Society, ol. &, EE." 8ndreas, Boel, >The 7tructure of Charis!atic 0obiliation% a case stud of

rebellion during the Chinese Cultural Revolution, #merican Sociological

Review, ol. :, Bune EE:." 9ridgha!, Philip, >0aos LCultural RevolutionM% +rigin and Develop!ent,

The China Quarterly, @o. ;&, &2:E." Ditt!er, 1owell, >L1ine 7truggleM in Theor and Practice% The +rigins of the

Cultural Revolution Reconsidered, The China Quarterly, ol. :, &2::." D=ilas, 0ilovan, The New Class, (@ew


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" Jraus, Richard Curt, >Class Con$ict and the ocabular of 7ocial 8nalsis in

China, The China Quarterly, @o. H2, &2::." Jraus, Richard Curt, The Cultural Revolution a very short introduction,

(#ants% +*ford niversit Press, E&)." 1es, 7i!on, The Chairmans New Clothes Mao and the Cultural

Revolution, (1ondon% 8llison and 9usb, &2::)." 0ac/arquhar, Roderic?, and 0ichael 7choenhals, Maos 'ast Revolution,

(Ca!bridge% #arvard niversit Press, EEH)." 0ao, Kedong, >Tal? 8t 8n Snlarged -or?ing Conference Convened 9 The

Central Co!!ittee +f The Co!!unist Part +f China, E Banuar &2H,

Selected $or%s of Mao Tse&tung, available at

http%QQ!ar*ists.orgQreferenceQarchiveQ!aoQselected"wor?sQvolu!e"

IQ!swvIH.ht!." 0ao, Kedong, >@otes on Co!rade Chen Ceng"=ens Report on his

L7quatting PointM, Selected $or%s of Mao Tse&Tung, Banuar 2, &2H3,

available at http%QQwww.!ar*ists.orgQreferenceQarchiveQ!aoQselected"

wor?sQvolu!e"2Q!swv2;:.ht!." Renmin Ribao, >1ong 1ive 0ao Tse"Tungs Thought% 4n Co!!e!oration of

the ;3th8nniversar of the founding of the Co!!unist Part of China,

editorial & Bul, &2HH, reprinted in Pe?ing Review, ol 2, @o :, Bul, &2HH,

available at https%QQepress.anu.edu.auQsub=ectQchinaQpe?ing"

reviewQ&2HHQPR&2HH":a.ht!." Tsou, Tang, >The Cultural Revolution and the Chinese Political 7ste!, The

China Quarterly, ol. I, &2H2.

" /oru! discussion, >0ao and the Cultural Revolution in China, (ournal of

Cold $ar Studies, ol. &E, @o. , EEI.
http://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htmhttp://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htmhttps://epress.anu.edu.au/subject/china/peking-review/1966/PR1966-27a.htmhttps://epress.anu.edu.au/subject/china/peking-review/1966/PR1966-27a.htmhttp://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htmhttp://marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-8/mswv8_62.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htmhttp://www.marxists.org/reference/archive/mao/selected-works/volume-9/mswv9_47.htmhttps://epress.anu.edu.au/subject/china/peking-review/1966/PR1966-27a.htmhttps://epress.anu.edu.au/subject/china/peking-review/1966/PR1966-27a.htm


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Class Struggle and the Cultural Revolution

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