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What events marked the beginning and end of the Cultural Revolution?

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Cultural Revolution Mao Zedong reviewing troops at Tiananmen Square, Beijing, August 1966.

The Cultural Revolution was a decade-long period of political and social upheaval in China that began in 1966 and concluded in 1976.1

The Beginning

While the movement was formally launched by Mao Zedong at the Eleventh Plenum of the Eighth Central Committee in August 1966, its origins trace back to a Chinese Communist Party Central Committee document issued on May 16, 1966. This document outlined Mao’s concerns regarding "bourgeois" infiltrators within the government, and the movement began focusing on educational institutions shortly thereafter.12

The End

The revolution effectively ended in the fall of 1976, following two pivotal events:
* Mao Zedong’s death in September 1976.13
* The downfall of the Gang of Four, a radical faction of the CCP, in October 1976.13

Although these events brought the chaos to a close, the Cultural Revolution was not officially declared over until August 1977 by the 11th Party Congress.13