9. To what extent was the Cultural Revolution a success?

About this Lecture

Lecture

In this module, we think about the extent to which the Cultural Revolution was a success, focusing in particular on: (i) Mao’s aims in the Cultural Revolution – both political and ideological – and the extent to which these aims were achieved; (ii) the key figures in the final years of the Cultural Revolution, and the extent to which each of them represented viable successors to Mao; (iii) the destruction wrought by the Cultural Revolution – social, political, economic, and ecological; and (iv) the success of what came after the Cultural Revolution: Deng Xiaoping and the Opening of China.

Course

In this course, Professor Michael Dillon (Durham University) explores the Cultural Revolution in China through nine key questions: (1) What was the meaning of the name ‘Cultural Revolution’?; (2) Why did Mao launch the Cultural Revolution when he did?; (3) Is it accurate to describe the Cultural Revolution as the ‘decade of disaster’?; (4) To what extent were Mao’s motives ideological rather than political?; (5) What was the role of the Red Guards in Mao’s strategy?; (6) Why was traditional Chinese culture a prime target in the Cultural Revolution?; (7) What part did Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing, play in the Cultural Revolution?; (8) How important was Lin Biao in the Cultural Revolution?; and (9) To what extent was the Cultural Revolution a success?

Lecturer

Michael Dillon was founding director of the Centre for Contemporary Chinese Studies at Durham University, where he taught courses on modern China, Chinese history, and Chinese language. He has also been a visiting professor at Tsinghua University, is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Asiatic Society, and a member of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.