China's Cultural Revolution: The Black Decade

In 1949, Mao Zedong led a Communist revolution in China. But by 1966, he believed the revolution had gone stale and that those in charge were too comfortable. He decided to clean out the upper ranks of bureaucracy. He used the teenagers of his country to do it. Purging the nation of impure socialist elements gave Mao the opportunity to consolidate his own power while creating a powerful cult of personality. The movement was known as the Chinese Cultural Revolution, but amounted to what many call a civil war.

Steve Wadhams, one of CBC Radio's finest documentary makers, retires this month. He's made many documentaries over the years and today we present one from 1981. It's called The Black Decade. 

Mao's Cultural Revolution began in schools where students were inspired by slogans from the Little Red Book. They became the Red Guard, which sought to crush all opposition. They tortured their teachers, burned temples, attacked police stations and became seasoned and experienced killers. But as they became intoxicated with power and divided into various splinter groups with each faction claiming allegiance to Mao. They began to fight one another. Many became disillusioned as they saw poverty around the country, counter to what Mao had told them. As the infighting continued, Mao asked the army to restore order. He exiled the Red Guard to the hinterlands, often for long periods of time away from their families. Today, members of Mao's Red Guard are referred to as China's "lost generation."

Coming up in Part Two next week, and interview with Jan Wong, a Canadian born journalist, who as a teenager embraced the cultural revolution.