Cultural Revolution

The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution ({{zh-stpl|s=无产阶级文化大革命|t=無產階級文化大革命|p=wú chǎn jiē jí wén huà dà gé mìng|l=Proletarian Cultural Great Revolution}}; often abbreviated to 文化大革命 wén huà dà gé mìng, literally "Great Cultural Revolution", or simply 文革 wén gé, literally "Cultural Revolution") in the People's Republic of China was a revolutionary upsurge by Chinese students and workers against the bureaucrats of the Chinese Communist Party. It was launched by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 to secure Maoism (known domestically as Marxism-Leninism-Mao Tse-tung Thought) in China as the state's dominant ideology and eliminate political opposition. Though Mao himself officially declared the Cultural Revolution to have ended in 1969, the term is today widely used to also include the period between

Time dominated by Lin Biao

Transition of the party apparatus

On April 1, 1969, at the CCP's Ninth Congress, Lin was the big winner, officially becoming China's second in charge, and also holding military power. Lin's biggest political rival, Liu Shaoqi, had been purged, and Zhou Enlai's power was gradually fading.

Related Topics:
April 1 - 1969 - Ninth Congress - Liu Shaoqi - Zhou Enlai

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The Ninth Congress started with Lin Biao delivering a Political Report, being critical of Liu and other "counter-revolutionaries", and continuously quoting Mao's Little Red Book. The second thing to be tackled was the new party constitution, when it was modified to officially design Lin as Mao's successor. Henceforth, at all occasions, Mao's name was to be linked with Lin's. Thirdly, a new Politburo was elected with Mao Zedong, Lin Biao, Chen Boda, Zhou Enlai, and Kang Sheng being the five new members of the Politburo Standing Committee. This new politburo consisted mostly of those whom had arisen because of the Cultural Revolution, with Zhou barely keeping his status; as he ranked fourth.

Related Topics:
Little Red Book - Politburo Standing Committee

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Attempts at expanding power base

After being confirmed as Mao's successor, Lin's focus lay on the restoration of the State President position, which was abolished by Mao, only because of Liu Shaoqi's dismissal from power. His aim was to become Vice-President, with Mao holding onto the position of State President.

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On August 23rd, 1970, the Second Plenum of the CCP's Ninth Congress was once again held in Lushan. Chen Boda was the first to speak, widely praising Mao, boasting of Mao's status (with the intentions of raising his own). At the same time, Chen was asking for the return of the position of State President. Mao was deeply critical of the speech delivered by Chen, and removed him from the position of Politburo Standing Committee member. With this event, there started a series of criticism sessions across the country for people who used "deceit" for gains, calling them "Liu Shaoqi's representative for Marxism, and political liars".

Related Topics:
August 23 - 1970 - Lushan - Chen Boda - Marxism

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Chen's removal from the Politburo Standing Committee was also seen as a warning, directed toward Lin Biao. After the Ninth Congress, Lin continuously asked for promotions within the party and the Central Government, leading Mao to think that Lin wanted supreme power, and intended to oust Mao himself. Chen's speech also added to Mao's apprehensions. If Lin were to become Vice-President, then after the President's death, he would legally have supreme power and control of the country -- a clear danger to Mao's safety.

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Lin's attempted military coup

Because of Mao's refusal to let Lin gain more prominence within the party and the government, Lin became deeply angered. Moreover, his power base was shrinking day by day within the Party apparatus; Lin decided to use the military power still within his hands, to try to oust Mao in a coup. Soon afterwards, Lin and his son Lin Liguo and other loyal comrades, founded a coup organ in Shanghai (many Chinese believe that Lin's son was solely responsible for the coup, and Lin Biao didn't know anything about it, until the coup failed, and Lin was being hunted by the Chinese government), aimed solely at ousting Mao from power by the use of force. In one of the known documents, Lin stated in Shanghai that "A new power struggle has surged upon us, if indeed we could not take control of revolutionary activity, then these control powers will fall upon someone else."

Related Topics:
Coup - Lin Liguo

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Lin's plan consisted mainly of aerial bombardments, and the widespead use of the Air Force. If the plan were to succeed, Lin could successfully arrest all of his political rivals, and gain the supreme power he wanted. But if his plan were to fail, there would be great and dire consequences awaiting him.

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Assassination attempts were made against Mao in Shanghai, from September 8 to September 10, 1971. It was learned that before these attacks upon Mao, there was initial knowledge of Lin's activities on the part of local police, who stated that Lin Biao had been coordinating a huge political plot, and Lin's loyal backers were receiving special training in the military.

Related Topics:
Shanghai - September 8 - September 10 - 1971 - Military

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From these events onward, came continuous allegations and reports of Mao being attacked. One of these reports suggested that en route to Beijing in his private train, Mao was physically attacked; another alleged that Lin had bombed a bridge that Mao was to cross to reach Beijing, which Mao avoided because of intelligence suggesting such an incident -- causing him to change routes. In these nervous days, guards were placed every 10–20 meters on the railway tracks of Mao's route to avoid attempts at assassination.

Related Topics:
Beijing - Train - Bridge - Meter - Assassination

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Although these reports were conflicting, and sometimes fabricated, it is known for sure that after September 11 of the same year, Lin never appeared in public again, nor did his backers, most of whom attempted to escape to Hong Kong. Most of these attempts failed, and around twenty army generals were arrested.

Related Topics:
September 11 - Hong Kong

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It was also learned that on September 13, 1971, Lin Biao and his family travelled by plane to the Soviet Union. En route, Lin's plane crashed in Mongolia, killing all on-board. On the same day, the CCP Politburo met in an emergency session, to discuss matters pertaining to Lin Biao. Only on September 30, was the information of Lin's death confirmed in Beijing, which led to the cancellation of the National Day celebration events, that had been scheduled for the following day.

Related Topics:
September 13 - 1971 - Soviet Union - Mongolia - CCP Politburo - September 30 - National Day

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The exact cause of the plane crash remains a mystery; although it is widely-believed that Lin's plane ran out of fuel, or that there was an abrupt engine failure. There was also speculation that the plane was shot down by the Chinese. It could also have been the Soviet forces, who later claimed the bodies of those on board. Nonetheless, Lin's attempted coup had failed, and it led to the complete destruction of his image in the CCP and China.

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