"All of the factionalism, fighting, the shifting alliances, and the different positions arose because the instructions of Chairman Mao just didn't work. He might say that all of the "left" should unite, but we were never to told how to determine who was "left" or "right". His statements are so general that everybody even those who opposed him could find something to justify his own position."
~Red Guard (Canton)
The Fall of the Red Guards
The Red Guards were originally established by a group of students from a middle school in Beijing during 1966. They were advocates of Mao Zedong thought. Eventually, word spread about this group. High school and college students from all over the country joined the movement. Workers and peasants also played a role. These Red Guards destroyed antiques, ancient texts, and Buddhist temples. They killed anyone who was considered a "counter-revolutionary." Many believed that the Red Guards had taken things too far. In December 1968, Mao called for the Down to the Countryside Movement. The Red Guards were exiled from large cities and forced to live and work in the countryside.
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“Red Guards Battle Song” (1968)
(Written by the Red Guards)
We are Chairman Mao’s Red Guards,
We steel our red hearts in great winds and waves.
We arm ourselves with Mao Zedong’s thought
To sweep away all pests.
We are Chairman Mao’s Red Guards,
Absolutely firm in our proletarian stand,
Marching on the revolutionary road of our forbears,
We shoulder the heavy task of our age.
We are Chairman Mao’s Red Guards,
Vanguards of the cultural revolution.
We unite with the masses and together plunge into the battle
To wipe out all monsters and demons.
[Refrain] Dare to criticize and repudiate, dare to struggle,
Never stop making revolutionary rebellion.
We will smash the old world
And keep our revolutionary state red for ten thousand generations!
(Written by the Red Guards)
We are Chairman Mao’s Red Guards,
We steel our red hearts in great winds and waves.
We arm ourselves with Mao Zedong’s thought
To sweep away all pests.
We are Chairman Mao’s Red Guards,
Absolutely firm in our proletarian stand,
Marching on the revolutionary road of our forbears,
We shoulder the heavy task of our age.
We are Chairman Mao’s Red Guards,
Vanguards of the cultural revolution.
We unite with the masses and together plunge into the battle
To wipe out all monsters and demons.
[Refrain] Dare to criticize and repudiate, dare to struggle,
Never stop making revolutionary rebellion.
We will smash the old world
And keep our revolutionary state red for ten thousand generations!