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THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION "The goal was to construct a strong China." -- Retired Government Worker

SETTING THE STAGE FOR REVOLUTION

China's Cultural Revolution (1966-76) was a time of great hope and great sorrow. For thousands of years, China had been an agricultural society under an imperial ruler. In 1949 the charismatic revolutionary Mao Zedong and the Communist Party took control of the country, promising a break with the agrarian past. They had a dream of a strong, independent, more egalitarian China. The People's Republic of China was born.

THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

The Communists worked for the poor, and united a nation that had been shattered by warring factions. But communal work and ownership of land only brought their own set of problems. By 1966, Mao was dissatisfied with the direction and slow pace of his own revolution, and was in conflict with other Communist leaders. He launched a radical attempt at further transformation: the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Idealist youth-committed to building a utopian society-were mobilized as "Red Guards." They were urged to go on the road and make revolution. It was an extraordinary, contradictory time, of exalted idealism and horrific mistakes.

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