BEIJING (AP) – A time of massive upheaval, violence and chaos, China’s 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution, was launched 50 years ago by Communist Party leader Mao Zedong, who began it by purging officials considered insufficiently loyal. Over its course longstanding party officials, intellectuals and teachers came under violent attack, while traditional Chinese thought and culture were condemned along with foreign influences.
The violence largely abated in 1968 when the People’s Liberation Army was brought in to impose order, but normal government functions were not restored until after Mao’s death in September 1976. Below are some of the key developments in the Cultural Revolution.
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May 16, 1966 – An expanded meeting of the Communist Party’s decision-making Politburo is called at which four leading officials are purged and a document issued announcing the start of what was formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.
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