Editorial | Clarity welcome on Cultural Revolution
- New references in latest China student textbook seek to address apparent confusion and misinterpretation prompted by previous instances
Last year state news agency Xinhua attempted to address the issue in an article that argued the “Cultural Revolution was not and could not be a revolutionary or societal advancement by any definition”, an assertion echoed in last year’s textbook.
Now, more comprehensively and explicitly, the current history textbook says the Cultural Revolution was “provoked by [party] leaders erroneously, and used by an anti-revolutionary syndicate” – a reference to ultra-leftists. It describes the era as one of “civil unrest that brought serious disaster to the country and the people”.
It also retains a reference from last year that says it was “not a revolution or social progress in any sense”. This is a rebuttal of some who have tried to characterise the era as one of progress, a trend that began after President Xi Jinping said in 2013 that former paramount leader Deng Xiaoping’s reformist policies could not negate the preceding 30 years of achievements.
In 1981, Deng and fellow party leader Hu Yaobang tried to draw a line under the era with a party resolution that called the Cultural Revolution a “gross error” and said Mao Zedong had made mistakes.