The four olds are a compilation of ideas, customs, habits, and items that were grouped together as things that an enemy of the countries government would support. More precisely was known as Old Habits, Old Culture, Old Customs, and Old Ideas Over time the government set plans in place through the use of the Red Guard to eliminate these things from China. The hunt for the removal of these olds eventually developed into violence due to the strong contradictory nature between the Four Olds and Chinese Communist ideals perpetuated by the countries government. While the hunt for the elimination of the Four Olds during the mid-1960s a number of notable events occurred which helped to better exemplify what the Red Guard considered to be the parts of Chinese culture which exemplified the Four Olds.
The 11th Plenum of the CPC Central Committee had ratified the 'Sixteen Articles' in August 1966, a document that stated the aims of the Cultural Revolution. It also highlighted the role students would be asked to play in the movement. After the 18 August rally, the Cultural Revolution Group directed the Red Guards to attack the 'Four Olds' of Chinese society (old customs, old culture, old habits and old ideas). For the rest of the year, Red Guards marched across China in a campaign to eradicate the 'Four Olds'. Old books and art were destroyed, museums were ransacked, and streets were renamed with new revolutionary names and adorned with pictures and the sayings of Mao.[1] Many famous temples, shrines, and other heritage sites in Beijing were attacked.[2]
The Cemetery of Confucius was attacked in November 1966 by a team of Red Guards from Beijing Normal University, led by Tan Houlan.[3][4] The corpse of the 76th-generation Duke Yansheng was removed from its grave and hung naked from a tree in front of the palace during the desecration of the cemetery.[5] Attacks on other cultural and historic sites happened between in 1966 and 1967. One of the greater damages was to the Ming Dynasty Tomb of the Wanli Emperor in which his and the empress’s corpses along with a variety of artifacts from the tomb were destroyed by student members of the Red Guard. Between the assaults on Wan Li and Confucius’ tombs alone, more than 6618 historic Chinese artifacts were destroyed in the desire to achieve the goals of the Cultural Revolution[6].
The property of individuals was also gone after by Red Guard members as well if considered to represent one of the Four Olds. Commonly religious texts and figures would be confiscated and burned. Other times items of historic importance would be left, but defaced, with examples such as Qin Dynasty scrolls having their writings partially removed and stone and wood carvings having the faces and words carved out of them. Re-education came alongside the destruction of previous culture and history, throughout the Cultural Revolution schools were a target of Red Guard groups to teach both the new ideas of the Cultural Revolution; as well as to point out what ideas represented the previous era idealizing the Four Olds. For example, one student, Mo Bo, described a variety of the Red Guards activities taken to teach the next generation what was no longer the norms. [7] This was done according to Bo with wall posters lining the walls of schools pointing out workers who undertook “bourgeois” lifestyles. These actions inspired other students across China to join the Red Guard as well. One of these very people, Rae Yang, described how these actions inspired students. Through authority figures, such as teachers, using their positions as a form of absolute command rather than as educators gave students a reason to believe Red Guard messages[8]. In Yang’s case it is exemplified through a teacher using a poorly phrased statement as an excuse to shame a student to legitimize the teachers own position.
[1]Attacks on culture quickly descended into attacks on people. Ignoring guidelines in the 'Sixteen Articles' that stipulated that persuasion rather than force were to be used to bring about the Cultural Revolution, officials in positions of authority and perceived 'bourgeois elements' were denounced and suffered physical and psychological attacks.[1] On August 22, 1966, a central directive was issued to stop police intervention in Red Guard activities.[9] Those in the police force who defied this notice were labeled "counter-revolutionaries." Mao's praise for rebellion was effectively an endorsement for the actions of the Red Guards, which grew increasingly violent.[10]
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- ^ a b Meisner, p. 339
- ^ Esherick, Joseph, Paul Pickowicz, Andrew George Walder (2006). The Chinese cultural revolution as history. Stanford University Press. p. 92. ISBN 0-8047-5350-4.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Ma, Aiping; Si, Lina; Zhang, Hongfei (2009), "The evolution of cultural tourism: The example of Qufu, the birthplace of Confucius", in Ryan, Chris; Gu, Huimin (eds.), Tourism in China: destination, cultures and communities, Routledge advances in tourism, Taylor & Francis US, p. 183, ISBN 978-0-415-99189-6
- ^ Asiaweek, Volume 10
- ^ Jeni Hung (April 5, 2003). "Children of confucius". The Spectator. Retrieved 2007-03-04.
- ^ "Burn, loot and pillage! Destruction of antiques during China's Cultural Revolution". AFC China. February 10, 2013.
- ^ bo, Lo (April 1987). "I Was a Teenage Red Guard". New Internationalist Magazine.
- ^ Yang, Rae (1997). Spider Eaters. University of California Press. p. 116.
- ^ MacFarquhar, Roderick and Schoenhals, Michael. Mao's Last Revolution. Harvard University Press, 2006. p. 124
- ^ MacFarquhar & Schoenhals; pp. 515