The Cultural Revolution & Aftermath, 1966-76 (Edexcel A Level History: Route E: Communist states in the twentieth century): Exam Questions

'The Cultural Revolution maintained its intensity from its launch in 1966 until Mao's death in 1976.'

How far do you agree with this statement?

Study Sources 1 and 2 before you answer this question.

Source 1: From the Communiqué of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party concerning Lin Biao's '12 September' anti-Party Incident, 18 September 1971. This was the official communication sent to the leadership cadres of the Party and labelled 'Top Secret'.

On 12 September, Chairman Mao was making an inspection tour in the South. Lin Biao took advantage of the opportunity and organised a plot to blow up the train in which Chairman Mao was travelling. That same afternoon, when the plot failed and was exposed, Lin Biao hurriedly left Beijing. He boarded a British-made aeroplane with the intention of surrendering himself to our enemy, the Soviets, and betraying his own country. After crossing the national border, his plane crashed in Mongolia. Lin Biao, his wife and son, and the pilot were all burned to death. By the act of betraying his own country to the enemy, Lin Biao invited his own destruction. Yet his death could not make amends for his crime, and his dishonour will last for ten thousand years to come.

What has been most intolerable is that Lin Biao stole a huge quantity of secret documents and foreign currencies. Lin Biao's sworn followers also attempted to escape from the country. They were intercepted by the Air Force and all the documents they had attempted to take with them were recovered. Lin Biao's daughter placed national interest above family devotion by refusing to escape with Lin Biao. She reported the situation in time, which led to the foiling of her father's monstrous conspiracy. She has thus performed a great service to the Party and the state and she has helped the Party Central Committee smash a serious counter-revolutionary coup d'état.

Source 2: From an official press release made by the Chinese embassy in Algeria, 28 July 1972. This was the first time that the death of Lin Biao had been officially reported outside of China by Chinese government representatives.

Lin Biao repeatedly committed errors and Mao Zedong had waged many struggles against him. Sometimes Lin Biao was able to control his arrogance and thus was able to accomplish some useful work. But he was not able to give up his underhanded nature. During the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution he appeared to support the Thought of Mao Zedong and made propaganda in favour of this Thought. He was thus able to fool the masses into becoming, in their eyes, the successor of Chairman Mao Zedong. But he was a double-crossing man. In reality he was opposed to the revolutionary line of Mao Zedong, especially after the Ninth Party Congress. He took part in anti-CCP activities in a planned, premeditated way with a well-determined programme. He aimed to take over power, so usurping the leadership of the party, the government and the army. Mao Zedong unmasked his plot and blocked the manoeuvre. Mao Zedong made efforts to rehabilitate him but Lin Biao did not change his perverse nature one bit. He attempted a coup d'état and tried to assassinate Mao Zedong. After his plot was foiled on 12 September, he fled towards the Soviet Union on a plane which crashed in the People's Republic of Mongolia.

How far could the historian make use of Sources 1 and 2 together to investigate the threat posed by Lin Biao, in 1971, to Mao's position?

Explain your answer, using both sources, the information given about them and your own knowledge of the historical context.

Study Sources 1 and 2 before you answer this question.

Source 1: From Li Zhensheng, Red-Color News Soldier, published 2003. When the Cultural Revolution began, Li was a CCP member working as a photo-journalist for a provincial Communist newspaper. He had been denounced in 1969 but was reinstated in 1971.

At the end of 1971, my wife and I returned from being re-educated. Life was very different from the one we had known before we were sent away. The Red Guards were gone. Lin Biao was gone. The mass criticism, the dunce caps, the placards – all of it was over. Everyone was more relaxed, wanted to stay home, bring up children, make furniture. The worst of the red storm was over. We quickly made up for lost time. We fetched our son from his grandparents' home. A toddler now, he had no memory of us. After the cold and lonely days of manual labour, I suddenly found myself with a family.

Like myself, many people were being restored to their former positions. But while the political winds had changed, it was not necessarily true of people's hearts and minds. Resentments lingered among old rivals, and even amongst old friends, sometimes continuing among their children. Distrust and suspicion remained part of the Cultural Revolution until its end. Under the new leadership, in the early 1970s, China quickly started to rebuild, but it was not the end of political movements. Set against the moderates stood the Shanghai Gang of Four, who wanted the revolution to go on forever.

Source 2: From Simon Leys, Chinese Shadows, published 1978. Leys was a European academic expert on Chinese affairs and a diplomat. As a frequent visitor to China, Leys used a pen-name to protect his real identity. Here he is reflecting on a visit he made to China in the years 1972–73.

On my return to China in 1972, I was surprised to see the pavements crowded with people doing very little – lots of young men smoking, talking, playing cards. Seeing this behaviour in the People's Republic, with its permanent mobilisation of the masses, was most surprising. The authorities had evidently realised it was necessary to give the masses some breathing space. For a while, no new mass movement started, and everyone made the most of it. This pause ended in 1973. Various reporters have said that the Mao cult was toned down, especially after the downfall of Lin Biao, but this does not appear to be totally true. Images of Mao were everywhere.

Years of violence and anarchy had undermined the prestige of traditional Communist authorities – the party, the cadres and the police. In the end, the army was trusted to re-establish control. Under the shadow of the guns, the old order could slowly be rebuilt. The army had the situation well in hand. However, it was not so easy to see to what degree revolutionary feelings had quietened down. Youth was potentially the biggest problem. Under army guidance many were deported for life to distant unfriendly regions far from their families. It is probable that the Cultural Revolution left other deeper scars on Chinese minds and feelings. I could not help noticing the charged tension in the air. I saw quarrels and even fights.

How far could the historian make use of Sources 1 and 2 together to investigate the impact of the winding down of the Cultural Revolution?

Explain your answer, using both sources, the information given about them and your own knowledge of the historical context.

How far do you agree that the most significant influence on the course of the Cultural Revolution, in the years 1968–76, was the political influence of Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping?

To what extent was Mao's personal power challenged by other leading members of the CCP in the years 1957–76?

How far do you agree that the Cultural Revolution had great success in eradicating the 'four olds' from Chinese society?