During the Cultural Revolution, a Conservative Faction (Chinese: 保守派; pinyin: Bǎoshǒu pài), also called a Loyalist Faction (Chinese: 保皇派; lit. 'Protecting-the-emperor Faction'), referred to a group or a sociopolitical movement that embraced the local establishment. Composed of well-born children and political activists, the conservatives made up the majority of the Red Guards after Red August, but declined with the rise of the rebels.
Origins
When Mao Zedong launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the initial thrust was to attack the so-called "bourgeois reactionary authorities" and "white experts", and students who opposed their teachers and focused more on politics formed the Red Guards. However, after Red August, Mao began to have students attack the "capitalist roaders of the Party", which led to a split in the Red Guards, with those who remained opposed to the "white experts" loosely being referred to as the Conservatives.[1][2]
Structures
Conservative students
A fairly significant portion of students joined the conservatives.[2][3]: 135
Pro-establishment forces
In order to confront the rebels, who were supported by Mao and the left wing of the party, the committees in various places mobilized workers, members of the Communist Youth League, who supported them.[4]: 200 [2][5]
Development
The conservative-rebel conflict in Wuhan is one notable case during the Cultural Revolution.[4]: 203
References
- ^ Unger, Jonathan (18 January 2019). "Turmoil at the Grassroots in China's Cultural Revolution: A Half-Century Perspective". Made in China Journal. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ a b c Yin, Hongbiao (November 1996). "Ideological and political tendencies of factions in the red guard movement". Journal of Contemporary China. 5 (13): 269–280. doi:10.1080/10670569608724255. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
- ^ Zhang, Joshua; Wright, James D. (18 December 2017). Violence, Periodization and Definition of the Cultural Revolution. Brill. ISBN 978-90-04-36047-1.
- ^ a b Wemheuer, Felix (2019). A Social History of Maoist China: Conflict and Change, 1949–1976. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-12370-0. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
- ^ "Intelligence Report: MAO'S "CULTURAL REVOLUTION" IN 1967 : THE STRUGGLE TO "SEIZE POWER"" (PDF). Central Intelligence Agency. 24 May 1968. Retrieved 7 February 2024.
This page was last edited on 5 March 2024, at 13:09