Britannica
Sources used in this answer
- Red Guards
- history of China - Attacks on party members
- history of China - Attacks on cultural figures
- history of China - Consequences of the Cultural Revolution
- China - Seizure of power
- China - Consequences of the Cultural Revolution
- education - Communism and the intellectuals
- China - Attacks on cultural figures
How did Red Guard attacks affect intellectuals and elderly people in China?
Created from Britannica articles
using AI.
AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.
Cultural Revolution
Mao Zedong reviewing troops at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, August 1966.
During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76), the Red Guards—paramilitary units of students mobilized by Mao Zedong—targeted intellectuals and elderly people as part of a campaign to eliminate the "Four Olds" (old ideas, customs, culture, and habits).12
Intellectuals, including professors, teachers, and scholars, were primary targets because they were viewed as products of "bourgeois" and "feudal" education. They faced systematic persecution, which included:23
- Physical and Psychological Abuse: Intellectuals were subjected to public criticism, insults, humiliation, and torture. Students were encouraged to slap and spit at their teachers.23
- Forced Labor and Displacement: Many were sent to the countryside or to "May 7th cadre schools" to undergo "thought remodeling" through manual labor.3
- Fatalities: The intensity of these persecutions was severe, and many intellectuals chose suicide to escape the abuse, while others died as a direct result of the violence.123
Elderly people were similarly targeted as representatives of traditional views and customs. Like intellectuals, many elderly individuals suffered physical abuse and death during the widespread turmoil and outrages committed by the Red Guards.12