Eyewitness of the Cultural Revolution

Author(s): Foreign Expert

Source: The China Quarterly, No. 28 (Oct. - Dec., 1966), pp. 1-7
Published by: Cambridge University Press on behalf of the School of Oriental and African
Studies
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 RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Eyewitness of the Cultural Revo

By A "FOREIGN EXPERT"

DRAWING a picture of China on the basis of personal experience alone

presents several problems. First, "foreign experts" generally did not
have access to much more material or information than did foreign
journalists; when the movement began to make itself felt in foreign
language institutes, in March or April, we were told categorically that
it had nothing whatever to do with foreigners. Second, our outstanding
advantage as observers-contact, and on the whole good relations, with
students-was in general little exploited, in the beginning because we
did not appreciate the importance of what was happening, and later, for
fear of provoking our employers. Third, much of the most interesting
"( news " came as rumour from somewhere within the large body of
foreigners living in the Friendship Hostel, and these sources were
inevitably imprecise in their dating.
The advantages we did have over non-resident observers lay partly
in what we saw and heard at first hand, which often did not reach the
newspapers, and partly in the opportunity to compare notes with a large
number and variety of foreigners. I estimate that at some time I dis-
cussed the Cultural Revolution, at length, with some thirty or more
people of various nationalities and from four cities apart from Peking.
Of these, about a third had a fair knowledge of spoken and written
Chinese; all were interested in what was happening. We differed widely
in our interpretations, but regularly exchanged personal experiences,
which were all the more valuable since we worked in different institu-
tions, including both translation bureaus and Peking University.*

Phase One: November 1965 to August 1966

The first three or four months of newspaper criticisms which grew
into the Cultural Revolution made little impact on the self-contained

* For obvious reasons I have refrained from naming my sources, and as an additional
safeguard have not indicated whether a particular item comes from my own reper-
toire or was reported to me. All sources are "unofficial," and I have not used
newspapers to supplement first-hand accounts, although in fact I followed the
printed word with care at the time. While thanking all those whose experiences I
have used here, I should make it quite clear that I alone am responsible for the
facts and opinions presented in this essay.
1

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 THE CHINA QUARTERLY

and highly artificial world of the " foreign experts." Nor

indication elsewhere that great matters were afoot. I
considered the movement very important before April
began to devote more of their time to criticising W
to language study. By the end of April, however, post
had appeared on selected walls within educational establi
still only as echoes of criticisms in the daily press. Ce
dramatic seemed to be happening in any of the langua
which we taught.
The attack on Teng T'o in early May threw the m
higher gear. This was reflected in the ratio of tim
students on political meetings as opposed to academ
number of posters, slogans and essays grew. Lessons we
or cancelled to make way for "reports." There was
loss of concentration, and evening meetings length
students were not loth to talk to me about the movement, but did so
entirely in terms of slogans and political theory. When at one point I
asked whether P'eng Chen had been criticised, the suggestion was
vehemently denied as quite impossible. In the streets there was still
little sign of activity. Indeed, as the campaign grew steadily more
serious, its literary manifestations were more zealously guarded. Few
foreigners-and only selected Chinese-could view many of the
innumerable posters written within educational, and later cultural,
establishments.
It was not until late in May that we ecountered any signs of violence,
and even then it was confined to Peking University. The publication
on June 1 of the poster attacking the Chancellor, Lu P'ing, and other
officials was a signal for greater activity everywhere. But we were not
allowed to see it. Those institutes which had not already suspended
lessons now did so very quickly. A few foreigners continued to work
in middle schools, and one or two still had access to their places of
work. But on the whole, except for translators and "polishers" who
continued to work as usual, we were strictly barred. Many of us
began to wonder whether, or when, we would be dismissed from our
jobs and sent home. (In fact this never happened, though many left,
some with the prospect of returning later.)
It was soon clear that Peking University was to be the centre of
the Cultural Revolution, at least as far as Peking students were con-
cerned. The anti-Lu P'ing poster, written by cadres and students from
the philosophy department, was put up on May 25-a week or so
before it was actually published in the press-and it was torn down
the same night. On the whole there does not seem to have been
a great deal of resistance to the Party line, though there was some.
2

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 Front page of a Peking Red Guard newspaper. facing p. 2.

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 EYEWITNESS OF THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

The working party sent in by the new Peking

not questioned or refused entry, as at Ch'in
evening mass meetings, now little more than h
of an increasing number of people and equally
of loyalty to Mao, lengthened into all-night se
hua were often reinforced by large contingents f
Virtually all academic staff and many admini
in varying degrees. Those guilty of the most
placed in special compounds or fields and made
work. They were also subjected to constant ri
It was estimated that within a week or two of the denunciation of the
Chancellor 20,000 "sightseers" were visiting Peking University each
day, partly to read the wall-posters, partly to watch and abuse the
" criminals." (A seasonal variant of pulling up grass, cleaning lavatories
and carrying night-soil, was picking up melon seeds spat out at random
by the visitors.)
Although Peking University seemed to have been deliberately chosen
as the focal point of the movement, a measure of what seemed to be
spontaneous chaos soon erupted there. A mass meeting planned for a
re-denunciation and trial of Lu P'ing in the Workers Stadium was
somehow turned into criticism of the head of the outside working party,
Comrade Chang. In early June Chang and his companions were
apparently responsible for saving a number of people from severe
physical punishment, denouncing students who went too far as counter-
revolutionary. In other institutes too there was soon friction between
the indigenous population and members of the groups sent in by the
reorganised Peking Party Committee. In late July Chou En-lai is
reported to have all but apologised to a meeting of Peking student
representatives for having sent in the working parties.
Some very curious stories emerged from both Peking and Ch'ing-hua
Universities and personalities played a large part. Liu Shao-ch'i's wife,
Wang Kuang-mei, and Ch'en Po-ta are said to have taken up residence
at Ch'ing-hua early in June. Mrs. Liu was bitterly criticised for her
bourgeois ways. The student leader at Ch'ing-hua, K'uai, was rumoured
to have criticised Mao himself in a poster commenting on the scandal,
involving both Peking and Ch'ing-hua Universities, of exposing "volun-
teers " to uranium 273 isotopes for testing purposes in 1961. (I imagine
that what he actually said was that Mao could not have sanctioned
such experiments, as was claimed at the time, because they were
inhuman-not that Mao was inhuman for having done so.) Mao's wife
certainly visited both universities fairly often, usually in the company
of Ch'en Po-ta. At first she consistently referred all questions from
the students to Ch'en, claiming that she was a mere housewife and
3

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 THE CHINA QUARTERLY

had no authority to speak. Later, however, she took

initiative of denouncing Lu P'ing, and possibly others.
This period, from May till August, was an extremely
Peking generally, but the gongs, cymbals, drums and fl
accompanied by physical violence. Credible reports appear
within the universities, as well as severe physical maltreat
the few deaths at this stage seem to have been caused larg
neglect of old or sick "criminals." In the rest of the cou
was a time-lag, and generally the lead was taken from Pek
foreigners outside Peking stopped working several weeks
Although youth was at the centre of the movement, it
longer confined either to the young or to places of educ
where there were signs of activity behind the scenes as
constant parades in public. A glimpse into a courtyard w
the writings of a diligent street committee. A restaurant win
overlook a passage or yard plastered with the literary ef
cooks and waiters. The middle-aged and the old also marched and
paraded, though with noticeably less panache than the young. They
also attended all-night meetings, contributing to the regular nocturnal
hubbub throughout the city.

Phase Two: August to October 1966

By mid-August many of us were convinced-and some had been
mistakenly convinced several times already-that the Cultural Revolu-
tion had now reached a period of consolidation and that nothing new
would happen. The launching on August 18 of the Red Guards, com-
posed of students and schoolchildren who already looked exhausted
from interminable meetings and much parading, took us by surprise.
By then the movement had become more boring than stimulating, and
we hoped for a return to some sort of normality before very long. Even
when we learned that there would be no teaching in September we did
not envisage a greater role for the students than that of ambassadors
to the country at large. On the whole we regarded the anti-bourgeois
movement as a necessary evil, at least when viewed from the Party's
point of view. A struggle for power among the leaders was not then
an obviously important ingredient of the Cultural Revolution. Some
harm had already been done, and perhaps some good; but the sooner
it ended the better it would be for China.
Reactions to the Red Guards differed though most, I think, felt
some fear during the first two weeks. Many of us were involved in
minor skirmishes with them, generally for taking photographs or paus-
ing to read particular posters. Three days after the Red Guards began
their activities in Peking we heard that three had been killed, and the
4

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 EYEWITNESS OF THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

mood of the youngsters hardened. As far a

foreign pressmen and diplomats were actua
incidents all centred on the demonstrations o
But the hostility to foreigners was evident
quantity of film was surrendered to avoid ph
exceptions however. Our treatment seemed
particular group of youths rather than on
cases foreigners were actually escorted about th
Violence, torture and humiliation seem to have been less marked-
or better concealed-in Peking than elsewhere, though we saw enough.
In Tientsin, for instance, people were seen being made to kneel, either
in the street or on narrow raised planks for several hours at a stretch,
heads bent and arms raised. They were constantly reviled, prodded and
beaten, made to confess their crimes, then paraded round the town
in groups. When asked how they chose their victims, one Red Guard
said that a group would think hard about the people they knew until
someone remembered, for instance, that in the past a certain woman
had worn cosmetics or frequently had her hair permed. The group
would then proceed to the woman's home and point out the error of
her ways.
Among the many posters we read, a large number were either
impractical or completely irrelevant, and often amusing. The con-
demning of all leather shoes, irrespective of style, did not last. But all
save the plainest spectacle frames remained taboo. A large number of
girls and women lost their plaits, if necessary at the hands of an
enthusiastic amateur barber in the street. Not a few young men
appeared with heads shaved bald-but caps are frequently worn in
China, irrespective of time or place.
Stamps bearing the Queen's head, imported from Hong Kong and
offered for sale to collectors, were displayed as a sign of ultimate
decadence. Outside restaurants not only the customary steaming towels
but even toothpicks were condemned as bourgeois. The number of
roads newly named "The East Is Red Street" or "Red Flag Road"
would have created an administrative nightmare if officially adopted.
All foreign cars, buses and lorries-that is the majority of vehicles-
were labelled either "Anti-Imperialism Brand" or "Anti-Revisionism
Brand," according to their origin.
The revolutionising of the Friendship Hostel was among the most
comical sights. Solemn processions of youths, each bearing a part of
the new name, marched to the front of each building and duly pasted up
appropriate titles. But the food in the Revolutionary Dining Hall
was not noticeably different the next day; and the cheaper Yenan Dining
Hall was now forbidden to Chinese.
5

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 THE CHINA QUARTERLY

Despite the occasional comedy, the first two wee

Guards was not a pleasant period. The treatment of
accused of spying, though they had not left their conve
tion-was uncivilised and unnecessary. So too was th
foreign cemetery out in the suburbs. We saw people of
and wearing placards or the tall conical hats of shame,
or driven in lorries about the city. Children too young
part in the movement and thus on prolonged holiday fr
eager observers of acts of cruelty and humiliation. Fr
versity we heard a Chinese estimate of 200 suicides in that
alone. Posters which appeared later-that is, after Sept
firmed reports of terrorism on an appreciable scale.
The attitude of the Red Guards towards foreigners
extent towards Chinese too changed dramatically after
rally on September 1. It was difficult to believe we w
same people. The emphasis placed by the leadership
papers on "literary struggle" as opposed to "physical s
duced smiles, cheers and handclaps for us, and a mark
of personal violence for the Chinese. We now know that
not the end, and with hindsight we can see that it coul
the end. A great deal of heat had been generated, and
of positive value accomplished.
From mid-summer on, the adoration of Mao and the
writings were taken to incredible lengths. By October
people were Red Guards and everyone seemed to posse
a copy of Mao's "Quotations." The parade on Nation
fascinating psychological experience. The young Chines
close to us who shouted slogans in cracked, hysterical voices con-
tinually from 9 a.m. till 4 p.m. were clearly experiencing an emotional
event of great power. Contrast this with the dutiful, lukewarm applause
or-as in my case-the unutterable boredom displayed by most
foreigners. For us it had neither impact nor relevance. But for the
couple of million unsophisticated young people who took part-most
of them from the provinces-I am certain it was the moment of a
lifetime.
The overall impression I retain of Peking during an unusually warm
September and October is one of shambling chaos, punctuated by out-
bursts of feverish, if purposeless activity. Most shops had returned to
normal; virtually the only items no longer available were books-
particularly second-hand ones, which had all disappeared-works of
art, and the more extreme luxury goods such as jewellery. But the city
itself had changed, if temporarily, for it accommodated a shifting
population of some two million provincial Red Guards, perhaps more.
6

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 EYEWITNESS OF THE CULTURAL REVOLUTION

They came to "exchange revolutionary expe

counterparts. They travelled about the city
of which they had brought with them. Th
visited Peking University, for they formed
the road leading there. Within the establis
billeted they often clashed, verbally at least, w
They also toured the city, had their photo
T'ien An Men, read the posters with which
was plastered, and bought P.L.A. hats and
profile. They cluttered the streets and clog
system. Some wrote posters and handbill
fight when they appeared on the streets. T
air of purposeful dedication for each of the
general the atmosphere seemed sluggish. B
doubtless more action, as was shown by th
with the Peking Party Committee's handling
But this seemed only to be coming to a hea
new poster I saw, stuck to a lamp-post, sai
the new first Party secretary of Peking.
I left China depressed rather than frighte
prevailing atmosphere. So much anger an
produced, and to be likely to produce, so li
mixed one of slight disbelief that so ma
much ballyhoo with such seriousness. Per
longer in a condition to judge rationally, bu
process of departure half-persuaded me th
the singing of revolutionary songs and reci
plane-load of Chinese officials and a dele
was the request at the customs house, not
volumes a few pages of worthless articles by
to obliterate every last trace of these poison
I suppose it did happen; the faces around
offending names were certainly tense with
whole though I doubt whether many Chines
about their Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.

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