... was initiated by Mao Zedong with the aim of preserving 'true' Communist ideology in China by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements, and to re–impose Maoist thought as the dominant ideology within the Party. It marked his return to a position of power after the failure of the Great Leap Forward (1958–61), but in fact it paralysed China politically, and significantly affected the country both economically and socially.
© Haydn Thompson 2019