The origins of the Cultural Revolution in China : the dispute over 'liberalisation', 1956-1957
China's leaders are currently reassessing the cultural revolution unleashed by Mao Tee-tung in 1966. This 8eCOM rewriting of the history of the 1950s and 1960s by Chinese propagandists makes objective analysis of the period by outsiders more urgent. The present stu&y focuses on the dispute over 'liberalisation' during the so-called 'hundred flowers' period of 1956-7 and argues that the seeds of the cultural revolution were sown then. At that time, Mao became convinced of the importance of improving relations between party and people. In particular, he sought to conciliate the non-communist intellectuals whose skills were needed for economic development. But after Khrushchev's denounciation of Stalin and the Hungarian revolt, Mao saw that more fundamental questions about the nature of communist society and the role of the communist party within it were involved. Mao proposed to improve the conduct of party members in the governance of China by a 'rectification campaign' in which excesses would be exposed and expunged by a process of open discussion. Some party leaders, notably Liu Shao-ch'i (later the principal victim of the cultural revolution) disapproved of the haste with which Mao launched the campaign
Macfarquhar, Roderick Lemonde
Mao
The origins of the Cultural Revolution in China : the dispute over 'liberalisation', 1956-1957. China's leaders are currently reassessing the cultural revolution unleashed by Mao Tee-tung in 1966. This 8eCOM rewriting of the history of the 1950s and 1960s by Chinese propagandists makes objective analysis of the period by outsiders more urgent. The present stu&y focuses on the dispute over 'liberalisation' during the so-called 'hundred flowers' period of 1956-7 and argues that the seeds of the cultural revolution were sown then. At that time, Mao became convinced of the importance of improving relations between party and people. In particular, he sought to conciliate the non-communist intellectuals whose skills were needed for economic development. But after Khrushchev's denounciation of Stalin and the Hungarian revolt, Mao saw that more fundamental questions about the nature of communist society and the role of the communist party within it were involved. Mao proposed to improve the conduct of party members in the governance of China by a 'rectification campaign' in which excesses would be exposed and expunged by a process of open discussion. Some party leaders, notably Liu Shao-ch'i (later the principal victim of the cultural revolution) disapproved of the haste with which Mao launched the campaign
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