Why was the Shanghai Commune replaced by a revolutionary committee?

During the Cultural Revolution, the Shanghai Commune was replaced by a revolutionary committee because Mao Zedong viewed the commune model as inadequate for maintaining state power.1

When Shanghai leftists Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan presented the newly formed Shanghai Commune to Mao in February 1967, he rejected the structure for several reasons:

• Rejection of Anarchism: Mao characterized the local demand for the abolition of leaders as "extreme anarchism" and "most reactionary," asserting that there would "always be heads".1
• Need for Control: He argued that communes were "too weak when it came to suppressing counterrevolution" and insisted that the new organs of power required formal Chinese Communist Party leadership.1
• Standardization: Consequently, Mao ordered the dissolution of the commune and mandated its replacement with a "revolutionary committee," a structure that integrated former party cadres, young activists, and representatives of the People’s Liberation Army.12

This shift marked a transition from the initial, chaotic "power seizure" phase toward a more centralized administrative structure that remained in place until the late 1970s.23