 | You can helpexpand this article with text translated fromthe corresponding article in Chinese. (March 2023)Click [show] for important translation instructions.
|
TheFour Olds (simplified Chinese:四旧;traditional Chinese:四舊;pinyin:sì jiù) refer to categories used by theRed Guards during theCultural Revolution to characterize elements ofChinese culture prior to theChinese Communist Revolution that they were attempting to destroy. The Four Olds were 'old ideas', 'old culture', 'old customs', and 'old habits'.[a][2] During theRed August of 1966, shortly after the onset of the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards' campaign to destroy the Four Olds began amid the massacres being carried out in Beijing.[3][4]
The term "Four Olds" first appeared on 1 June 1966, inChen Boda'sPeople's Daily editorial, "Sweep Away All Cow Demons and Snake Spirits", where the Old Things were described as anti-proletarian, "fostered by the exploiting classes, [and to] have poisoned the minds of the people for thousands of years".[5] However, which customs, cultures, habits, and ideas specifically constituted the "Four Olds" were never clearly defined.[6]
On 8 August, theCentral Committee of the Chinese Communist Party used the term at its8th National Congress. The term was endorsed on 18 August byLin Biao at a mass rally, and from there it spread toRed Flag magazine, as well as to Red Guard publications.[6]
Calls to destroy the "Four Olds" usually did not appear in isolation, but were contrasted with the hope of building the "Four News" (new customs, new culture, new habits, new ideas).[6]Newborn socialist things were said to struggle against the Four Olds.[7] The idea thatChinese culture was responsible for China's economic backwardness and needed to be reformed had some precedent in theMay Fourth Movement (1919), and was also encouraged by colonial authorities during theSecond Sino-Japanese War.[8]
The campaign to Destroy the Four Olds and Cultivate the Four News (Chinese:破四旧立四新; pinyin:Pò Sìjiù Lì Sìxīn) began inBeijing on 19 August during the "Red August".[5][9] Academic Alessandro Russo writes that the destruction of the Four Olds was an ambiguous campaign from the perspective of theChinese Communist Party.[10] He argues that in a time of increasing political pluralization, the Party sought to channel student activism towards obvious class enemies and less relevant objectives to make it easier for the Party to contain the situation.[10]
Across China, signs bearing old road names were vandalized and renamed.[11][12] The first things to change were the names of streets and stores: "Blue Sky Clothes Store" to "DefendingMao Zedong Clothes Store", "Cai E Road" to "Red Guards Road", and so forth.
In Beijing, the name of the road where the embassy of theSoviet Union was stationed was changed to "Anti-revisionism Road."[10] ThePeking Union Medical College Hospital, founded in 1921 by theRockefeller Foundation, was renamed "Anti-Imperialist Hospital".[13]
InHuangpu district ofShanghai, the city's commercial center, Red Guards tore down 93 percent of shop signboards (2,166 of 2,328), and renamed restaurants, schools and hospitals.[11] Red Guards also tookNanjing Road as their revolutionary headquarters in Shanghai, renaming it the "Anti-Imperialism Street".[11]
Many people across China also changed theirgiven names to revolutionary slogans, such as Zhihong (志红, "Determined Red"), Jige (继革, "Following the Revolution") and Weidong (卫东, "Safeguardthe Orient or Protect Mao").[6][12][14]
TheCemetery of Confucius was attacked in November 1966, during theCultural Revolution, when it was visited and vandalized by a team of Red Guards fromBeijing Normal University, led by Tan Houlan.[16][17] The corpse of the 76th-generationDuke Yansheng (a descendant of Confucius) was removed from its grave and hung naked from a tree in front of the palace during the desecration of the cemetery in the Cultural Revolution.[18]
The Chinese government stopped short of endorsing the physical destruction of products. In fact, the government protected significant archaeological discoveries made during the Cultural Revolution, such as theMawangdui, theLeshan Giant Buddha and theTerracotta Army.[8] Upon learning that Red Guards were approaching theForbidden City, PremierZhou Enlai ordered the gates shut immediately and deployed thePeople's Liberation Army against the Red Guards. After this incident, Zhou attempted to create a more peacefulcode of conduct for the Red Guards, with the support of cadresTao Zhu, Li Fuchuan, andChen Yi. This plan was foiled by the ultra-leftistsKang Sheng,Jiang Qing, andZhang Chunqiao. Although many of Zhou's other initiatives to stem the destruction failed because of their or Mao's own opposition, he did succeed in preventing Beijing from being renamed "East Is Red City" and theChinese guardian lions in front ofTian'anmen Square from being replaced with statues of Mao.[19]
In later stages of the campaign, examples ofChinese architecture were destroyed, classicalliterature andChinese paintings were torn apart, andChinese temples were desecrated.[6]
Other manifestations of the Red Guard campaign included giving speeches, postingbig-character posters, and harassment of people, such asintellectuals,[20] who defiantly demonstrated the Four Olds.[5] This escalated from accosting people in the streets due to their dress or hairstyle, to widespread murder, assault, arbitrary detention and the ransacking of private homes.[11] Red Guards broke into the homes of the wealthy and destroyed paintings, books, and furniture; all were items that they viewed as part of the Four Olds.[21]
Many artists and other cultural professionals were persecuted by vigilantes, although some cultural advances came about because of the period, including the integration of "new" western instruments andballet intoPeking opera.[citation needed]
Languages and customs ofethnic minorities in China were labeled as part of the Four Olds and texts in ethnic languages were burned.[22][23][24] Bilingual education was suppressed.[22]
![The Cemetery of Confucius was attacked by Red Guards in November 1966[25][26]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.m.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aKong_Yanjin_-_looking_north_-_P1060200.JPG)
No official statistics have ever been produced by the Communist party in terms of reporting the actual cost of damage. By 1978, many stories of death and destruction caused by the Cultural Revolution had leaked out of China and became known worldwide.[27]
During and after the Cultural Revolution, efforts were made to protect Chinese cultural artifacts. Shanghai officials intervened in Red Guard house searches, relocating items to safety and documenting those that couldn't be moved for future restoration.[28] Post-Cultural Revolution, there was a renewed effort to preserve cultural heritage, with initiatives like the Lost Cultural Relics Recovery Program and the establishment of the State Administration of Cultural Heritage to protect and manage historical sites and artifacts.[29]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is available under theCC BY 4.0 license.Ethnic languages were repudiated as one of the "four olds" and large numbers of books and documents pertaining to ethnic languages were burned.
Campaigns of 'class eradication' became more radical during the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) and had a disastrous effect on ethnic culture. Ethnic traditions were seen as part of the 'four olds' (old ideas, customs, culture and habits; in Chinese, sijiu) that had to be destroyed.
Traditional minority designs and colourful lace were marked as "four olds" (sijiu) and burnt.
