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Mao's Last Revolution
The Cultural Revolution was a watershed event in the history of the People's Republic of China, the defining decade of half a century of communist rule. Before 1966, China was a typical communist state, with a command economy and a powerful party able to keep the population under control. But during the Cultural Revolution, in a move unprecedented in any communist country, Mao unleashed the Red Guards against the party. Tens of thousands of officials were humiliated, tortured, and even killed. Order had to be restored by the military, whose methods were often equally brutal.
In a masterly book, Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals explain why Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, and show his Machiavellian role in masterminding it (which Chinese publications conceal). In often horrifying detail, they document the Hobbesian state that ensued. The movement veered out of control and terror paralyzed the country. Power struggles raged among Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Qing—Mao's wife and leader of the Gang of Four—while Mao often played one against the other.
After Mao's death, in reaction to the killing and the chaos, Deng Xiaoping led China into a reform era in which capitalism flourishes and the party has lost its former authority. In its invaluable critical analysis of Chairman Mao and its brilliant portrait of a culture in turmoil, Mao's Last Revolution offers the most authoritative and compelling account to date of this seminal event in the history of China.
In a masterly book, Roderick MacFarquhar and Michael Schoenhals explain why Mao launched the Cultural Revolution, and show his Machiavellian role in masterminding it (which Chinese publications conceal). In often horrifying detail, they document the Hobbesian state that ensued. The movement veered out of control and terror paralyzed the country. Power struggles raged among Lin Biao, Zhou Enlai, Deng Xiaoping, and Jiang Qing—Mao's wife and leader of the Gang of Four—while Mao often played one against the other.
After Mao's death, in reaction to the killing and the chaos, Deng Xiaoping led China into a reform era in which capitalism flourishes and the party has lost its former authority. In its invaluable critical analysis of Chairman Mao and its brilliant portrait of a culture in turmoil, Mao's Last Revolution offers the most authoritative and compelling account to date of this seminal event in the history of China.
693 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2006
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About the author
Roderick MacFarquhar
25 books48 followersRoderick Lemonde MacFarquhar was a Harvard University professor and China specialist, British politician, newspaper and television journalist and academic orientalist.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 56 reviews
January 30, 2021
If it were possible to give a book zero stars, this book would receive it. This is the first book I have started on Goodreads that I have been unable to continue.
There is no pretense of scholarly neutrality, nor even critical academic appraisal within this book. MacFarquhar and Schoenhals switch between degrading the "mob" of the Cultural Revolution whilst claiming the masses were entirely opposed to the effort; the authors proceed from an assumption that all the actors within the GPCR were simply Machiavellian manipulators, there were no external motivating factors like class or material situation, even ideology is assumed to be a fog of war for some kind of Hobbesian struggle for power; sources cited include Li Zhisui, Mao's physician whose accounts have been discredited in the mainland since 1995 (see: "Testimony of the personnel who had worked with Mao Zedong") and in Western scholarship since 1996 (see Frederick Teiwes); the authors frequently mention events, policies, or people without a rundown of who they were, nor the role they played within China or the CR itself.
This poor excuse for academic literature is a tirade against Mao Zedong (which would be acceptable were this a political tract, not an academic work!), supported by yellow peril-like descriptions of Chinese behavior; personal details about Mao Zedong meant to be unsavory or negative are inserted in passages where it has no relevance. There is no historical or academic value in this work aside from surface-level, run-of-the-mill observations of the CR by two Western historians.
It is interesting to parallel this work and its Machiavellian depiction of Mao with a quote from MacFarquhar's early work for the Fabian society: "This is not to say that Mao imposes his will and ideas, Stalin-style, upon his colleagues. There is no evidence of that."
Everything in this book focuses upon the leadership, there is hardly a mention of mass action aside from condemnation of the "mob" in the form of the Red Guards, etc. Mao's motivation was power, he was willing to take out Party members, and that's all one needs to know. There is no mention of the impact upon rural China, upon the impoverished in both the rural and urban areas. People are not motivated by a poster, Mao was not God, he could not telepathically control the Red Guards, the student movement. There were real motivations, real material realities that led to the Cultural Revolution, and the mistakes that occurred during it. But you won't get any of that from this work.
There is no pretense of scholarly neutrality, nor even critical academic appraisal within this book. MacFarquhar and Schoenhals switch between degrading the "mob" of the Cultural Revolution whilst claiming the masses were entirely opposed to the effort; the authors proceed from an assumption that all the actors within the GPCR were simply Machiavellian manipulators, there were no external motivating factors like class or material situation, even ideology is assumed to be a fog of war for some kind of Hobbesian struggle for power; sources cited include Li Zhisui, Mao's physician whose accounts have been discredited in the mainland since 1995 (see: "Testimony of the personnel who had worked with Mao Zedong") and in Western scholarship since 1996 (see Frederick Teiwes); the authors frequently mention events, policies, or people without a rundown of who they were, nor the role they played within China or the CR itself.
This poor excuse for academic literature is a tirade against Mao Zedong (which would be acceptable were this a political tract, not an academic work!), supported by yellow peril-like descriptions of Chinese behavior; personal details about Mao Zedong meant to be unsavory or negative are inserted in passages where it has no relevance. There is no historical or academic value in this work aside from surface-level, run-of-the-mill observations of the CR by two Western historians.
It is interesting to parallel this work and its Machiavellian depiction of Mao with a quote from MacFarquhar's early work for the Fabian society: "This is not to say that Mao imposes his will and ideas, Stalin-style, upon his colleagues. There is no evidence of that."
Everything in this book focuses upon the leadership, there is hardly a mention of mass action aside from condemnation of the "mob" in the form of the Red Guards, etc. Mao's motivation was power, he was willing to take out Party members, and that's all one needs to know. There is no mention of the impact upon rural China, upon the impoverished in both the rural and urban areas. People are not motivated by a poster, Mao was not God, he could not telepathically control the Red Guards, the student movement. There were real motivations, real material realities that led to the Cultural Revolution, and the mistakes that occurred during it. But you won't get any of that from this work.
January 24, 2011
I had no idea.
Everyone knows about Mao. He's on all the RMB notes, the Beatles sing about him, his face is now emblazoned on the ironic t-shirts of liberal arts students across the world. He is everywhere in China.
Like all dictators, you get the idea that he was officially a great man and unofficially a real son of a bitch. It is commonplace, when discussing dictators, to hear "pragmatic, realpolitik" opinions about the positive economic or political impact of these leaders. Not all bad, one is supposed to conclude.
Well, Mao is as close to "all bad" as I've encountered. Certainly, beyond his military days before 1952 I've seen little evidence of his good side. This is an admittedly emotional stance, however.
Mao's Last Revolution is a serious book about a very specific period: 1966-1976 and the Cultural Revolution. It is not strictly "academic" - any such work would probably span three or four times as much as this already substantial tome. The authors do, however, take care to detail each important event on a month-to-month basis, introducing dozens of key players and political movements through most of China's provinces.
Although the prose is easy to read, the amount of detail and the dry tone can bore you down. The unbelievable events that are successfully portrayed, however, compensate more than enough to keep you going. The details that color the narrative make a world of difference to just reading the Cultural Revolution wikipedia.
I can't recommend this book more if you are really interested in this period.
Everyone knows about Mao. He's on all the RMB notes, the Beatles sing about him, his face is now emblazoned on the ironic t-shirts of liberal arts students across the world. He is everywhere in China.
Like all dictators, you get the idea that he was officially a great man and unofficially a real son of a bitch. It is commonplace, when discussing dictators, to hear "pragmatic, realpolitik" opinions about the positive economic or political impact of these leaders. Not all bad, one is supposed to conclude.
Well, Mao is as close to "all bad" as I've encountered. Certainly, beyond his military days before 1952 I've seen little evidence of his good side. This is an admittedly emotional stance, however.
Mao's Last Revolution is a serious book about a very specific period: 1966-1976 and the Cultural Revolution. It is not strictly "academic" - any such work would probably span three or four times as much as this already substantial tome. The authors do, however, take care to detail each important event on a month-to-month basis, introducing dozens of key players and political movements through most of China's provinces.
Although the prose is easy to read, the amount of detail and the dry tone can bore you down. The unbelievable events that are successfully portrayed, however, compensate more than enough to keep you going. The details that color the narrative make a world of difference to just reading the Cultural Revolution wikipedia.
I can't recommend this book more if you are really interested in this period.
November 24, 2016
-Tragicomedia de horror naif, y además real.-
Género. Historia.
Lo que nos cuenta. Narración de los hechos conocidos como La Revolución Cultural que, durante una época, supusieron un latigazo al devenir de la China de Mao pero que marcaron su futuro hasta el país que conocemos en la actualidad.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
Género. Historia.
Lo que nos cuenta. Narración de los hechos conocidos como La Revolución Cultural que, durante una época, supusieron un latigazo al devenir de la China de Mao pero que marcaron su futuro hasta el país que conocemos en la actualidad.
¿Quiere saber más de este libro, sin spoilers? Visite:
http://librosdeolethros.blogspot.com/...
May 7, 2021
La Revolución Cultural China: El último episodio de la tragedia comunista china, fue uno de los movimientos más extraños durante la era de posguerras, sin parangón alguno en otras sociedades de corte comunista y que supuso la persecución, encarcelamiento y muerte de cientos de miles de personas junto con la destrucción de invaluables reliquias y sitios históricos, culturales y religiosos durante casi 10 años; determinó además el futuro de China y forjó el camino que llevaría ese país a lo que es hoy en día.
Este movimiento es ampliamente explicado a través de esta monumental obra producto del trabajo conjunto del periodista, orientalista y experto en estudios regionales del lejano oriente, Roderick MacFarquhar junto con el sinólogo y profesor de estudios chinos Michael Schoenhals, quienes escribieron el que es considerado por muchos como el “libro definitivo” acerca de la Revolución Cultural. Este es un texto eminentemente académico cuyo protagonista no es realmente la narración fluida sino la exposición pormenorizada y supremamente detallada de las minucias políticas durante la década de horror y confusión que vivió China. Seremos testigos del precario estado en el que se encontraba Mao Zedong como líder y dirigente supremo de China luego de la debacle que supuso El Gran Salto Adelante y la posterior Gran Hambruna que acabaría con una cifra aproximada de 45 millones de personas.
Ante este panorama y con una obsesión patológica con el estado continúo de revolución así como ahogado en una paranoia extrema, en el verano de 1966 Mao decide lanzar la “Gran Revolución Cultural Proletaria”, movimiento que pretendía erradicar los restos de “revisionismo soviético”, “elementos burgueses” y “caminos capitalistas” al interior del Partido Comunista Chino (PCCh), así como atacar las tradiciones confucionistas y los rezagos de “feudalismo” que aún permeaban la sociedad china. Sin embargo, esta sólo fue la excusa para desatar una de las purgas más grandes y violentas al interior del PCCh, liberando además a los canes de la violencia irracional, la brutalidad, la represión y la destrucción a lo largo de toda China a manos de los llamados “Guardias Rojos”, compuestos en su inmensa mayoría por jóvenes bachilleres y universitarios quienes respondieron al llamado de Mao para “destruir a los cuatro viejos”: viejas costumbres, ideas, cultura y hábitos, lo que supuso cientos de miles de asesinatos, abusos, humillaciones públicas, torturas, detenciones forzadas y destrucción de reliquias históricas, como la profanación de las tumbas de varios emperadores de la dinastía Ming. Un vorágine de caos y desgracia que llevaría al punto más alto y extremo del culto a la personalidad de Mao y al maoísmo como doctrina política irrebatible, así como al perfeccionamiento de la técnica de manipulación de masas a través de la propaganda (al mejor estilo de Goebbels) y la movilización de grandes grupos humanos en pos de la voluntad del líder.
El movimiento terminaría paralizando China tanto en lo económico como en lo social, desgastando además la propia imagen de Mao, quien absolutamente enfermo y paralizado muere en septiembre de 1976, con lo que se da por cerrado el capítulo de la Revolución Cultural y se inicia el de la lucha por la sucesión en el poder entre la viuda de Mao, Jiang Qing (protagonista, instigadora y cerebro detrás de las purgas en la Revolución Cultural) y su radical grupo de izquierda “Banda de los Cuatro” por un lado, y Deng Xiaoping por el otro, quien abogaba por reformas estructurales a la economía. Resultando victorioso este último, el caos, el asesinato y la represión de la Revolución Cultural, llevaron a China y al PCCh a abandonar la versión de país que Mao quiso imponer en la última década de su vida, hacia el tren de modernización y economía de mercado de estilo occidental que se había probado tan efectiva en sitios como Taiwán y Japón. Esa fue la gran ironía de la historia y el resultado innegable de años de sangre y destrucción.
“Mao’s Last Rvolution” puede leerse casi como un thiller político lleno de intrigas, traiciones, purgas y luchas por el poder. El libro es casi que un material de consulta obligado sobre el tema y referencia ineludible para trabajos posteriores. Si bien es cierto que el aspecto narrativo no es lo que más destaca aquí y que el lector no sólo requiere un conocimiento previo de la historia de la China comunista antes de 1966, además el detalle, la cantidad de tramas paralelas y nombres que van apareciendo a lo largo del relato, pueden llegar a pasmarlo y desanimarlo para arribar al final del texto. Aún así es una lectura obligada para todo aquel que desee conocer a fondo el último capítulo de la sangrienta historia de China en el siglo XX.
Este movimiento es ampliamente explicado a través de esta monumental obra producto del trabajo conjunto del periodista, orientalista y experto en estudios regionales del lejano oriente, Roderick MacFarquhar junto con el sinólogo y profesor de estudios chinos Michael Schoenhals, quienes escribieron el que es considerado por muchos como el “libro definitivo” acerca de la Revolución Cultural. Este es un texto eminentemente académico cuyo protagonista no es realmente la narración fluida sino la exposición pormenorizada y supremamente detallada de las minucias políticas durante la década de horror y confusión que vivió China. Seremos testigos del precario estado en el que se encontraba Mao Zedong como líder y dirigente supremo de China luego de la debacle que supuso El Gran Salto Adelante y la posterior Gran Hambruna que acabaría con una cifra aproximada de 45 millones de personas.
Ante este panorama y con una obsesión patológica con el estado continúo de revolución así como ahogado en una paranoia extrema, en el verano de 1966 Mao decide lanzar la “Gran Revolución Cultural Proletaria”, movimiento que pretendía erradicar los restos de “revisionismo soviético”, “elementos burgueses” y “caminos capitalistas” al interior del Partido Comunista Chino (PCCh), así como atacar las tradiciones confucionistas y los rezagos de “feudalismo” que aún permeaban la sociedad china. Sin embargo, esta sólo fue la excusa para desatar una de las purgas más grandes y violentas al interior del PCCh, liberando además a los canes de la violencia irracional, la brutalidad, la represión y la destrucción a lo largo de toda China a manos de los llamados “Guardias Rojos”, compuestos en su inmensa mayoría por jóvenes bachilleres y universitarios quienes respondieron al llamado de Mao para “destruir a los cuatro viejos”: viejas costumbres, ideas, cultura y hábitos, lo que supuso cientos de miles de asesinatos, abusos, humillaciones públicas, torturas, detenciones forzadas y destrucción de reliquias históricas, como la profanación de las tumbas de varios emperadores de la dinastía Ming. Un vorágine de caos y desgracia que llevaría al punto más alto y extremo del culto a la personalidad de Mao y al maoísmo como doctrina política irrebatible, así como al perfeccionamiento de la técnica de manipulación de masas a través de la propaganda (al mejor estilo de Goebbels) y la movilización de grandes grupos humanos en pos de la voluntad del líder.
El movimiento terminaría paralizando China tanto en lo económico como en lo social, desgastando además la propia imagen de Mao, quien absolutamente enfermo y paralizado muere en septiembre de 1976, con lo que se da por cerrado el capítulo de la Revolución Cultural y se inicia el de la lucha por la sucesión en el poder entre la viuda de Mao, Jiang Qing (protagonista, instigadora y cerebro detrás de las purgas en la Revolución Cultural) y su radical grupo de izquierda “Banda de los Cuatro” por un lado, y Deng Xiaoping por el otro, quien abogaba por reformas estructurales a la economía. Resultando victorioso este último, el caos, el asesinato y la represión de la Revolución Cultural, llevaron a China y al PCCh a abandonar la versión de país que Mao quiso imponer en la última década de su vida, hacia el tren de modernización y economía de mercado de estilo occidental que se había probado tan efectiva en sitios como Taiwán y Japón. Esa fue la gran ironía de la historia y el resultado innegable de años de sangre y destrucción.
“Mao’s Last Rvolution” puede leerse casi como un thiller político lleno de intrigas, traiciones, purgas y luchas por el poder. El libro es casi que un material de consulta obligado sobre el tema y referencia ineludible para trabajos posteriores. Si bien es cierto que el aspecto narrativo no es lo que más destaca aquí y que el lector no sólo requiere un conocimiento previo de la historia de la China comunista antes de 1966, además el detalle, la cantidad de tramas paralelas y nombres que van apareciendo a lo largo del relato, pueden llegar a pasmarlo y desanimarlo para arribar al final del texto. Aún así es una lectura obligada para todo aquel que desee conocer a fondo el último capítulo de la sangrienta historia de China en el siglo XX.
March 18, 2012
I find this book too detailed with chronological events, and not helpful in understanding the cultural revolution.
For an understanding of why the cultural revolution took place, I recommend Han Suyin's "The morning deluge" published in 1972, and Robert Tay Lifton's "Revolutionary immortality: Mao Tse-tung and the chinese revolution".
Its interesting to know that MacFarquhar had not been to China, and Schoenhals was there only once for a year. In contrast, Han Suyin was born in China, lived in China, and visited China often.
For an understanding of why the cultural revolution took place, I recommend Han Suyin's "The morning deluge" published in 1972, and Robert Tay Lifton's "Revolutionary immortality: Mao Tse-tung and the chinese revolution".
Its interesting to know that MacFarquhar had not been to China, and Schoenhals was there only once for a year. In contrast, Han Suyin was born in China, lived in China, and visited China often.
January 20, 2016
Thoroughly researched and engagingly presented.
May 18, 2022
2022-02-10 中文版。目前為止我讀過的最好的共和國史。不多說，必讀。
March 1, 2011
On a subject like the Cultural Reovlution, one doesn't expect to find much decent material. The secrecy of China, their attempts to sweep Mao's evil beneath a rug, and the lack of English sources that covered the events make the subject somewhat bleak for those interested. Roderick MacFarquhar, in this book, has written easily the most in depth, and interesting book on the subject. To immerse yourself in the world of Post Revolution China, for even an avid amateur historian like myself, can be overwhelming. The author explains the events up to, during, and after the cultural revolution with an ease that they impart to the reader. The book is a mix of accounts and actual transcriptions of Communist Party Meetings. It tells the tale of Mao, and how he used the cult of personality he had fostered, to turn it against his detractors in the government. Stalin always threatened to use his cult, but Mao actually did. When they tried to oust him from power, he appealed to the people and they responded in defense of a man, and an idea in a way that is unmatched in history. This book details the process by which Mao sorted out his enemies and sicced his masses on them in a way that could only be decsribed as evil.
August 6, 2007
Mao's Last Revolution is the first academic-level full exploration of the Cultural Revolution. It's depth and level of insight is staggering. The authors have made full use of sources as recent as Jung Chang and Jon Halliday's Mao: The Unknown Story as well as recently opened archives in China. I think it would have been helpful to have a detailed timeline (I almost started making one to keep things straight). I greatly appreciated the glossary of names included in the back. I would not recommend it for the casual reader (try Red China Blues: My Long March From Mao to Now by Jan Wong for an easier read) but the student of modern Chinese history or politics would be seriously remiss to not have this on their shelves.
See my full review:
http://tushuguan.blogspot.com/2007/08...
See my full review:
http://tushuguan.blogspot.com/2007/08...
March 24, 2008
I am actually reviewing my markings in this book. It is a daunting project to start reading,but SO GOOD. The authors are highly respected historians who thought they could produce a book on the cultural revolution in 2 years or so. Ten years later this volume came out. In part the delay was that when it was known they were writing, more and more material was given to them. This book truly changes, deepens, informs one's understanding of the development of the cultural revolution, the influence of international events, the incredible sophistication of Mao in his moves, the duplicity of all involved, the scope of what went on. If readers have read accounts of individuals and are interested in this period and in current China, I strongly recommend getting started with a book that will alter, expand and deepen perspectives.
November 15, 2020
Very interesting. A great analysis of Communist China under the leadership of Chairman Mao.
March 20, 2023
The history of the Cultural Revolution is thus being continually revised. It is best that you do not try to write a history, but only to look back upon your own experiences. Furthermore, it is very likely that when people have forgotten about it, it will make a comeback, and people who have never gone crazy will go crazy, and people who have never been oppressed will oppress or be oppressed. This is because madness has existed since the birth of humanity, and it is simply a question of when it will flare up again.
One of the more interesting threads through the Cultural Revolution is the struggle between Russian and Chinese Communism. Arguably, the CR started primarily as a response to Khrushchev's Secret Speech denouncing Stalin, a man Mao modelled most of his political beliefs after. From this tensions flare up between the two countries with a couple of border skirmishes near North Korea, China realizing that it cannot depend upon Russia. In a strange twist of fate, this pushes China into the arms of the US, Nixon's famous visit happening during the drawn out end of the CR. The chaos and degradation of industry in the period leads to Deng Xiaoping being disillusioned with Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy (while being exiled from the party early in the CR, keeping his hands clean of any of the mess of it). Deng's clean hands and relatively moderate views put him in a perfect position to take power after Mao, pushing his industrialization efforts and further coupling of the Chinese and American economies. The ironic end of Mao's push for a culture of anti-revisionism is China's capitalist turn.
One of the more interesting threads through the Cultural Revolution is the struggle between Russian and Chinese Communism. Arguably, the CR started primarily as a response to Khrushchev's Secret Speech denouncing Stalin, a man Mao modelled most of his political beliefs after. From this tensions flare up between the two countries with a couple of border skirmishes near North Korea, China realizing that it cannot depend upon Russia. In a strange twist of fate, this pushes China into the arms of the US, Nixon's famous visit happening during the drawn out end of the CR. The chaos and degradation of industry in the period leads to Deng Xiaoping being disillusioned with Marxist-Leninist orthodoxy (while being exiled from the party early in the CR, keeping his hands clean of any of the mess of it). Deng's clean hands and relatively moderate views put him in a perfect position to take power after Mao, pushing his industrialization efforts and further coupling of the Chinese and American economies. The ironic end of Mao's push for a culture of anti-revisionism is China's capitalist turn.
March 28, 2023
I really enjoyed it as a good account of all the intrigues happening at the highest political level of the PRC during the Cultural Revolution. Nonetheless, the omission of anything happening below this level bothers me, as I think it comes from some bias of the authors wanting to reduce the GRCP as palace intrigues.
Additionally, basing the whole psychology and personality of Mao Zedong on only one account who, moreover, as far as I know is a bit polemical, seems far from ideal. Especially considering that the personality of the Chairman is used to push some thesis.
Despite this, it was a really valuable and insightful reading to me.
Additionally, basing the whole psychology and personality of Mao Zedong on only one account who, moreover, as far as I know is a bit polemical, seems far from ideal. Especially considering that the personality of the Chairman is used to push some thesis.
Despite this, it was a really valuable and insightful reading to me.
January 10, 2021
The best complete history of cultural revolution I ever read. Detailed investigations on every perspective——from power struggle within the party to normal people’s life in the revolution——provide those who had ambiguous impression of cultural revolution a comprehensive description of this ten-year event. Compared with some other emotional and agitative works that emphasis the anti-CCP ideology(like Dikotter’s series), Mao’s last revolution is more professional and rigorous but also readable. Highly commended for everyone curious about Maoism, Cultural Revolution, CCP and today’s China
October 3, 2025
“We must firmly implement the Chairman’s instructions, whether we understand them or not,” he suggested.
too focused on the elite, “inside the beltway” (so to speak) perspective; many fascinating tidbits in that arena! but i found myself wanting more social history, more about why 1960s china was such a powder keg, more about the experience of normal folks who were accused, beaten, killed.
January 21, 2025
Really good
December 19, 2021
★★★★☆ - Definitely helpful for my thesis.
As some of you might know, I was writing a thesis about the Chinese Cultural Revolution for my master's degree. Now, I am finally done and can fully enjoy my Christmas holidays.
Concerning this book, don't read it if you are not doing some research thing or just want to learn more about Cultural Revolution. This book is super complicated and I am 99% sure if you do not know about Cultural Revolution, you won't be able to understand it.
However, if you already know quite a few things, this might be a great book (but it's very long).
So I definitely recommend it if you're writing a thesis, like me!
As some of you might know, I was writing a thesis about the Chinese Cultural Revolution for my master's degree. Now, I am finally done and can fully enjoy my Christmas holidays.
Concerning this book, don't read it if you are not doing some research thing or just want to learn more about Cultural Revolution. This book is super complicated and I am 99% sure if you do not know about Cultural Revolution, you won't be able to understand it.
However, if you already know quite a few things, this might be a great book (but it's very long).
So I definitely recommend it if you're writing a thesis, like me!
September 28, 2015
can be used as a textbook in undergrad courses ... extensive details about chain of events around CR
December 8, 2024
Being very impressed with MacFarquhar's 'Origins' trilogy, I simply had to read the book he co-authored about the Cultural Revolution itself. It's widely considered to be *the* one-volume work on the subject, and it's not hard to see why. His mastery over sources is again obvious and it covers the entire decade in appropriate detail.
However, in contrast to his earlier work, 'Mao's Last Revolution' simultaneously manages to be less clear while also making use of a much narrowed vocabulary. It also adopts a tone which is more emotional than dispassionate and analytical, and does not have the same single-minded focus on elite political maneuvering as 'Origins' as it includes various anecdotes about the lives of average people (although this is to be expected when covering an event characterized by the mobilization of the masses). I don't know whether to attribute these changes simply to time or to the influence of his co-author, Michael Schoenhals.
I am also disappointed with some of the claims made about Mao personally; there is much reliance on the unreliable testimony of his doctor (who claims to have perfectly remembered the Chairman's utterances decades afterwards) as well as completely unsubstantiated accusations such as that on Page. 102 where Mao is quoted as praising violence for violence's sake and invoking Hitler which is cited like this: "From a very reliable source seen by one of the authors." One may as well say the quote came to them in a dream. Another patently ridiculous claim is that made on Page. 190 alleging Mao castigated his wife because of his 'patriarchal' attitude.
What the book did reveal quite plainly is the Chairman's Machiavellianism; it lays out in great detail his scheming both at the beginning and end of the Cultural Revolution. The reason presented for why Mao rehabilitated Deng Xiaoping in 1973 was interesting; in the aftermath of his great ideological campaign he wanted to provide the people a material improvement in their standard of living. He wanted Deng and Zhang Chunqiao to reconcile, and when this failed rather than give power directly to the radicals (which he knew would never be acceptable to the old guard) he handed it to a moderate beneficiary of the Cultural Revolution, Hua Guofeng, who was indebted to the campaign and who thus would have a reason to safeguard it's legacy. Yet the radicals continued to attack him and alienated the moderates, and were promptly removed.
It also reveals plainly why the post-Mao government declared the Cultural Revolution to be "responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Party, the state and the people since the founding of the People’s Republic." It details how tens of thousands of homes of those with 'bourgeois' backgrounds were looted and goods worth 65 tons of gold were confiscated, how various historic sites were destroyed, how the education system was excessively politicized and how nearly 1/3rd of China's libraries which were open at its beginning were closed by the time it finished. Many thousands lost their lives in futile factional struggles, plan targets were consistently unfulfilled and it resulted in major shortages of consumer goods.
Yet, as Mao once opined, 'Out of bad things can come good things' for as MacFarquhar at the beginning of the book notes, among Sinologists "A common verdict is: no Cultural Revolution, no economic reform."
However, in contrast to his earlier work, 'Mao's Last Revolution' simultaneously manages to be less clear while also making use of a much narrowed vocabulary. It also adopts a tone which is more emotional than dispassionate and analytical, and does not have the same single-minded focus on elite political maneuvering as 'Origins' as it includes various anecdotes about the lives of average people (although this is to be expected when covering an event characterized by the mobilization of the masses). I don't know whether to attribute these changes simply to time or to the influence of his co-author, Michael Schoenhals.
I am also disappointed with some of the claims made about Mao personally; there is much reliance on the unreliable testimony of his doctor (who claims to have perfectly remembered the Chairman's utterances decades afterwards) as well as completely unsubstantiated accusations such as that on Page. 102 where Mao is quoted as praising violence for violence's sake and invoking Hitler which is cited like this: "From a very reliable source seen by one of the authors." One may as well say the quote came to them in a dream. Another patently ridiculous claim is that made on Page. 190 alleging Mao castigated his wife because of his 'patriarchal' attitude.
What the book did reveal quite plainly is the Chairman's Machiavellianism; it lays out in great detail his scheming both at the beginning and end of the Cultural Revolution. The reason presented for why Mao rehabilitated Deng Xiaoping in 1973 was interesting; in the aftermath of his great ideological campaign he wanted to provide the people a material improvement in their standard of living. He wanted Deng and Zhang Chunqiao to reconcile, and when this failed rather than give power directly to the radicals (which he knew would never be acceptable to the old guard) he handed it to a moderate beneficiary of the Cultural Revolution, Hua Guofeng, who was indebted to the campaign and who thus would have a reason to safeguard it's legacy. Yet the radicals continued to attack him and alienated the moderates, and were promptly removed.
It also reveals plainly why the post-Mao government declared the Cultural Revolution to be "responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Party, the state and the people since the founding of the People’s Republic." It details how tens of thousands of homes of those with 'bourgeois' backgrounds were looted and goods worth 65 tons of gold were confiscated, how various historic sites were destroyed, how the education system was excessively politicized and how nearly 1/3rd of China's libraries which were open at its beginning were closed by the time it finished. Many thousands lost their lives in futile factional struggles, plan targets were consistently unfulfilled and it resulted in major shortages of consumer goods.
Yet, as Mao once opined, 'Out of bad things can come good things' for as MacFarquhar at the beginning of the book notes, among Sinologists "A common verdict is: no Cultural Revolution, no economic reform."
September 1, 2025
一本很有意思的书，但是我觉得不是最好的概述。
This has been on my list for years, and I'm glad I finally read it but my goodness was it a slog. I think if I'd read this in physical form I'd have given up because of how huge it is. In a way, this is surely the definitive account of the Cultural Revolution, but I really can't recommend it for the general reader because it is simply too detail and process-heavy. I knew a few of the CCP's main players and they key events before coming to this book, but my knowledge was clearly insufficient. I should have started with an overview of the rise of the CCP beforehand. There are so many names to remember, and so much of this history is told as a series of achingly dull bureaucratic machinations. Which working group, which subcommittee, which revision of which document, which zhongfa - it became impossible to figure out the truly influential policy decisions and how one politburo member could supplant another. In a way, when laid out in this way it's ironically (or who knows, intentionally?) as chaotic and overwhelming as it likely felt to live through the very events. I'm glad I didn't give up on it, but I still feel like I have unanswered questions. I'd like to read Wild Swans even more now, and perhaps some more history of the civil war and the long march.
It's also very clear this was published before the rise to power of Xi Jinping, who in hindsight may be the Cultural Revolution's greatest legacy, as his father was a victim of the purges and taught the young Xi some valuable lessons on the nature of power. While Mao's Last Revolution is correct to label the Cultural Revolution as the economic and social watershed of modern Chinese history, I also think the authors' insistence that it marked the 'last stand of Chinese conservatism' is wildly off the mark. Having lived there I think it's in many ways an incredibly conservative society, although I concede that labels like 'liberal' and 'conservatives' are only so helpful when analysing China. Overall, this is an exhaustive and exhausting history of an event that I paradoxically still don't feel I fully understand. Much of this is due to the nature of the CCP, but I would say the general reader would be better served with an overview of the 1949 revolution or a biography of Mao before coming to this paving slab of a book.
This has been on my list for years, and I'm glad I finally read it but my goodness was it a slog. I think if I'd read this in physical form I'd have given up because of how huge it is. In a way, this is surely the definitive account of the Cultural Revolution, but I really can't recommend it for the general reader because it is simply too detail and process-heavy. I knew a few of the CCP's main players and they key events before coming to this book, but my knowledge was clearly insufficient. I should have started with an overview of the rise of the CCP beforehand. There are so many names to remember, and so much of this history is told as a series of achingly dull bureaucratic machinations. Which working group, which subcommittee, which revision of which document, which zhongfa - it became impossible to figure out the truly influential policy decisions and how one politburo member could supplant another. In a way, when laid out in this way it's ironically (or who knows, intentionally?) as chaotic and overwhelming as it likely felt to live through the very events. I'm glad I didn't give up on it, but I still feel like I have unanswered questions. I'd like to read Wild Swans even more now, and perhaps some more history of the civil war and the long march.
It's also very clear this was published before the rise to power of Xi Jinping, who in hindsight may be the Cultural Revolution's greatest legacy, as his father was a victim of the purges and taught the young Xi some valuable lessons on the nature of power. While Mao's Last Revolution is correct to label the Cultural Revolution as the economic and social watershed of modern Chinese history, I also think the authors' insistence that it marked the 'last stand of Chinese conservatism' is wildly off the mark. Having lived there I think it's in many ways an incredibly conservative society, although I concede that labels like 'liberal' and 'conservatives' are only so helpful when analysing China. Overall, this is an exhaustive and exhausting history of an event that I paradoxically still don't feel I fully understand. Much of this is due to the nature of the CCP, but I would say the general reader would be better served with an overview of the 1949 revolution or a biography of Mao before coming to this paving slab of a book.
May 16, 2018
This book is well-documented and well-reasoned. Where sources conflict, the authors reason to the best explanation and usually share that reasoning for the reader him or herself to evaluate. The story told is comprehensive without being boring. It sometimes reads with all the drama of a movie, as in the account of the Gang of Four being arrested (spoiler alert--they are picked off one by one, each with a different reaction, as they show up for a special Politburo Standing Committee meeting). The book is a political rather than a social history of the Cultural Revolution. This is a strength rather than a weakness--it stakes its domain and explores it thoroughly. For those looking for how the Cultural Revolution affected everyday life, Dikötter's _The Cultural Revolution: A People's History_ is recommended.
June 19, 2021
Exhaustively detailed, but reasonably readable, narrative of the Cultural Revolution that shook China from the mid-60 to the mid-70s. The authors avoid sensationalism and voyeurism for the most part, balancing the internal politics swirling around Mao with the events unfolding in the cities and countryside. I'll supplement with The World Turned Upside Down, telling the story from Chinese perspectives, but my guess is this will stay the go-to history. The political angle is clearly anti-Mao, but not in a doctrinaire manner, and I can't imagine any other angle that deals honestly with the facts.
July 29, 2022
A very detailed account of the Cultural Revolution. Impressively so, but you only ought to read this book if you are really interested in the minutia of the Cultural Revolution, more so than me anyway. A lot of these details are truly academic rather than practical, because whether someone was in or out of favor with Mao (and much of the book covers Mao's opinion of people) shifted multiple times. I found myself doing a bit of skimming and skipping. But I can't hold that against the book, its well written and well researched.
October 12, 2025
Excelentemente documentado y en absoluto sesgado, se trata de un libro que detalla con minuciosidad los entresijos de la Revolución Cultural. Hasta aquí, nada que objetar.
El único problema es que, con tanta academicidad, la lectura se hace árida. Abundan los nombres de personas y organizaciones que van y vienen lo que, unido al carácter cambiante de la Revolución Cultural, hace que la lectura sea un tanto confusa. Hubiera sido conveniente incidir un poco más en los testimonios personales, en la mentalidad de los líderes y sus motivaciones.
El único problema es que, con tanta academicidad, la lectura se hace árida. Abundan los nombres de personas y organizaciones que van y vienen lo que, unido al carácter cambiante de la Revolución Cultural, hace que la lectura sea un tanto confusa. Hubiera sido conveniente incidir un poco más en los testimonios personales, en la mentalidad de los líderes y sus motivaciones.
March 25, 2021
This is now probably the definitive political history in English of the Cultural Revolution. It brings a clarity to the chronology which something like Dikotter’s book on the Cultural Revolution does not. It does not go much into the social or economic aspects of the CR but it is not trying to. What you get is a very close analysis of events sometimes day by day or even hour by hour. It has helped me pick apart what is often presented as one undifferentiated period. Highly recommended.
March 28, 2022
四平八稳的经典文革通史，600多页的大部头。有两点瑕不掩瑜的缺憾：以高层权力政治为主线辅以少量经济后果的讨论，对基层群众运动情况的关注稍显不足（而我觉得这是文革之于人类历史最特别的一点）；文革是权斗和乌托邦理想的混合产物，但本书对毛个人动机和思想根源及其变化的讨论很少。本书以这句话结尾：“如果是这样的话，毛常爱表达的一个观点（“坏事可以变成好事”）也可以适用于文革：文革虽然是一个恐怖的时代，但是从其之中孕育出一个更加明智、更加繁荣、也许有一天还会是民主的中国。到那时，中国人也许会公开面对在文革中彼此犯下的恶行，并对导致这一切的主席的责任做出最后的结论。”令人遗憾的是，当下的时代与这个愿景渐行渐远。更令人担忧的是，在近十年宣传部门的努力下，文革的幽灵正在重现。
February 18, 2026
I’ll preface this by stating that it’s my understanding that MacFarquhar is well-respected in his field. That said, this book is essentially a laundry list of names, bureaucratic acronyms, specific dates and times, etc. If there’s an underlying narrative arc or ideological axe to grind in here it’s far too subtle for my palette. A glorified (albeit well-researched) Wikipedia entry.
April 23, 2018
A thorough and yet remarkably clear narrative of the major events of the Cultural Revolution, with a focus on central, elite politics. This is a spine off of which further exploration of the CR can be done, without which a new visitor to this time and place would become quickly lost.
April 23, 2021
A comprehensive tome that captures the complexity and turmoil of the Cultural Revolution, as told from various perspectives. Keeping in mind a rough timeline of the Cultural Revolution will be helpful.
November 13, 2021
时至今日，悲哀的是，在文革的故乡，中国大陆，人们依然没有正视那场四十多年前的灾难，对文革的讨论因为涉及到其发动者的历史地位与权威而被限制在最小程度，引起这场灾难的罪责被归咎于林彪和江青，而二者只不过是这场运动中毛的从属者和协作者罢了，正如文革中千千万万的红卫兵和互相批斗迫害的人们一样。
大陆唯一的文革博物馆于2015年被悄悄关闭，相对于其开放的10年间，政府的不干涉不支持的态度，毫无疑问，展示了当局的倒退封闭而非反思自省。
大陆唯一的文革博物馆于2015年被悄悄关闭，相对于其开放的10年间，政府的不干涉不支持的态度，毫无疑问，展示了当局的倒退封闭而非反思自省。
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