The January Storm, formally known as the January Revolution, was a ''
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup
, is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government elites to unseat an incumbent leadership. A self-coup is said to take place when a leader, having come to powe ...
'' in
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
that occurred between 5 January and 23 February 1967, during the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
. The coup, precipitated by the ''Sixteen Articles'' and unexpected local resistance towards
Maoism
Maoism, officially Mao Zedong Thought, is a variety of Marxism–Leninism that Mao Zedong developed while trying to realize a socialist revolution in the agricultural, pre-industrial society of the Republic of China (1912–1949), Republic o ...
in Shanghai, was launched by
Maoist rebel factions against the city's party leadership under the directives of the
Cultural Revolution Group (CRG) through Maoist leaders such as
Zhang Chunqiao
Zhang Chunqiao (; 1 February 1917 – 21 April 2005) was a Chinese political theorist, writer, and politician. He came to the national spotlight during the late stages of the Cultural Revolution, and was a member of the ultra-Maoist group dub ...
,
Wang Hongwen
Wang Hongwen (December 1935 – 3 August 1992) was a Chinese labour activist and politician who was the youngest member of the Gang of Four. He rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), after organizing the Shanghai Peo ...
and
Yao Wenyuan, with backing from
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
,
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975), born Zhang Zongke (), was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, politician and calligrapher best known for having overseen the work of the CCP's internal security and intelligence appara ...
, and
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing (March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and political figure. She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman of the Communis ...
. The coup culminated in the overthrow of the
Shanghai Municipal Committee of
Chen Pixian,
Wei Wenbo and
Cao Diqiu, and led to the creation of the
Shanghai People's Commune on 5 February 1967.
Modeled after the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
, the CRG leaders in Shanghai planned to introduce
direct democracy
Direct democracy or pure democracy is a form of democracy in which the Election#Electorate, electorate directly decides on policy initiatives, without legislator, elected representatives as proxies, as opposed to the representative democracy m ...
for the city's new leadership, but the nature of its implementation generated severe opposition among the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
(CCP)'s top echelons, who viewed it as a potential threat towards the
Central Committee and
State Council grip of power on China's domestic affairs. Meanwhile, the political instability from
seizure of powers and rise of violence through
violent struggles between rebel factions alarmed top generals of the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
, resulting in joint efforts by several CCP veterans to resist the radicalism of the Cultural Revolution in the
February Countercurrent. Ultimately, the commune collapsed within 18 days after Mao Zedong retracted his support, and was reformed under a
revolutionary committee jointly administered by a "triple alliance" of military personnel, revolutionary cadres, and the revolutionary masses.
Although the commune in Shanghai ended in failure, it was influential in inspiring rebel factions throughout China to form
revolutionary committees of their own, which eventually started a series of seizure of powers that led to armed violent struggles nationwide throughout 1967, effectively marking a new and more violent stage in the Cultural Revolution.
Background
On 16 May 1966,
Mao Zedong
Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...
,
paramount leader
Paramount leader () is an informal term for the most important Supreme leader, political figure in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). The paramount leader typically controls the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Liberatio ...
of China, launched the
Cultural Revolution
The Cultural Revolution, formally known as the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a Social movement, sociopolitical movement in the China, People's Republic of China (PRC). It was launched by Mao Zedong in 1966 and lasted until his de ...
through the
16 May Notification. At the end of 1966, it became evident that Mao and the
Cultural Revolution Group in
Beijing
Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...
had underestimated the ability of local party organizations to resist attacks from the
Red Guards
The Red Guards () were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.Teiwes
According to a ...
. While Maoist influence was strong around the capital, many regional party divisions resisted by merely paying lip service to Maoist teachings while countering attacks of local Maoists. To break the stalemate which had begun to form, Maoist leaders called for the "
seizure of power by proletarian revolutionaries", a concept originally mentioned in the ''Sixteen Articles'', an influential party statement of the aims of the Cultural Revolution approved by the
Chinese Communist Party
The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...
in August 1966.
Rising radicalism and discontent against Shanghai's leadership
Throughout the 1960s,
Shanghai
Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...
was the most industrialized city in China and accounted for almost half of the country's industrial production. When the Cultural Revolution began in the summer of 1966, the city experienced the formation of Red Guard groups proclaiming their loyalty to Mao. The movement quickly became highly radicalised and factionalised with attacks on local bureaucratic authorities and government buildings, challenging the administration of
Cao Diqiu, the Mayor of Shanghai,
Chen Pixian, the head of the Shanghai Municipal Committee, and
Wei Wenbo, the head of the Party's East China Bureau.
By autumn 1966, social unrest spread from institutions to factories. On 6 November, several rebel groups formed an alliance under the Headquarters of the Revolutionary Revolt of Shanghai Workers, led by
Wang Hongwen
Wang Hongwen (December 1935 – 3 August 1992) was a Chinese labour activist and politician who was the youngest member of the Gang of Four. He rose to prominence during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), after organizing the Shanghai Peo ...
, a textile worker and mid-level party functionary.
The formation of the Workers' Headquarters perplexed Shanghai's leadership; even Maoist leaders of the CRG did not take a clear position initially. The Shanghai bureaucracy under Chen and Cao opposed the group and declared it illegal, viewing the group as counterrevolutionary. Tensions escalated on 8 November 1966, when the Workers' Headquarters presented several demands to the
Shanghai Municipal Committee that attempted to challenge the party's power. The committee refused, causing a three-day siege at Anting. The reaction from Beijing was one of caution. Their first response was to send a telegram drafted by
Chen Boda
Chen Boda (; 29 July 1904 – 20 September 1989), was a Chinese Communist journalist, professor and political theorist who rose to power as the chief interpreter of Maoism (or "Mao Zedong Thought") in the first 20 years of the People's Republi ...
, which urged them to back down and return to work. However, the telegram was shunned by the Workers' Headquarters in an unprecedented manner.
After the impasse, the CRG sent
Zhang Chunqiao
Zhang Chunqiao (; 1 February 1917 – 21 April 2005) was a Chinese political theorist, writer, and politician. He came to the national spotlight during the late stages of the Cultural Revolution, and was a member of the ultra-Maoist group dub ...
to address the situation in Shanghai. The CRG did not give Zhang a specific mandate on his mission. Upon his arrival in Shanghai on 11 November, Zhang performed a thorough investigation and thereafter accepted their demands. After intense negotiations, Zhang reached an agreement with the Workers' Headquarters by officially recognising the group's legitimacy while resolving their disputes through local conferences in Shanghai, rather than with the Beijing leadership. Zhang's response was praised by the CRG and Mao.
Dismantling party authority in Shanghai
Although the crisis at Anting was dismantled, tensions remained with the Shanghai leadership because the agreement negotiated by Zhang contradicted the city's position. Local party officials responded by establishing the
Scarlet Guards, a "loyalist" group composed of skilled factory workers and technicians, aimed at opposing the Workers' Headquarters in favour of the legitimacy of local authorities. Further incidents occurred in December 1966, when the Workers' Headquarters accused the
Shanghai Municipal People's Government of causing several controversial political incidents, which severely disrupted the city's social order.
The conflict between the Workers' Headquarters and Scarlet Guards reached a high point in the early morning of 30 December 1966, when a riot erupted between both groups in the Shanghai party headquarters at Kangping Road. The
violent struggle, the first of its kind in Shanghai, injured 91 and led to over 300 arrests. By afternoon, a mission of ten thousand members of the Scarlet Guard left Shanghai for Beijing in an attempt to seek support from the
Central Committee for negotiations to resolve the conflict. On 31 December, the Scarlet Guards launched a general strike amidst chaos, paralysing Shanghai's economy. In a last ditch attempt, the city's officials attempted unsuccessfully to raise wages and bonuses to quell the unrest. On the other hand, the mission to Beijing was intercepted by the Workers' Headquarters while travelling towards
Kunshan
Kunshan is a county-level city in southeastern Jiangsu Province, Jiangsu province with Shanghai bordering its eastern border and Suzhou on its western boundary. It is under the administration of the prefecture-level city of Suzhou.
Name
Th ...
, causing another riot which damaged the
Shanghai–Nanjing railway. Even though party officials tried to call off the mission, six to seven thousand members continued and reached Beijing. After the incident at Kunshan, the group was dissolved and ceased to exist.
History
Launch of coup
On 1 January 1967, ''People's Daily'' published a New Years editorial titled ''Proceeding the Cultural Revolution until the very end'', which declared that 1967 will be a year of "violent struggles nationwide", and that it will be a year where "proletariats team up with a small party faction of ''capitalist roaders'' and
cow demons and snake spirits to attack
s. Afterwards, Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan represented the CRG as "researchers" to head for Shanghai to plan a hostile takeover against the city's administration.
On 4 January 1967, rebel factions seized control of
''Wenhui Daily''. A coalition of twelve rebel factions under the Workers' Headquarters drafted a pamphlet titled ''Message to all the people of Shanghai'' ''Capture the Revolution, boost production, utterly shatter the new offensive of the capitalist roaders'', which was signed and approved by Chen Pixian. The pamphlet was printed and organised into 290 thousand copies of ''Wenhui Daily'' that day and was distributed across the city. ''Message to all the people of Shanghai'' appeared as the front-page article of the same newspaper the next day. On 5 January, rebels seized control of ''
Jiefang Daily
''Jiefang Daily'' ( zh, s=解放日报, p=Jiěfàng Rìbào), also translated as ''Liberation Daily'', is the official daily newspaper of the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party.
History
''Jiefang Daily'' was first publish ...
''. The next day, 32 rebel factions under the leadership of the Workers' Headquarters initiated a
struggle session
Struggle sessions (), or denunciation rallies or struggle meetings, were violent public spectacles in Maoist China where people accused of being "Five Black Categories, class enemies" were public humiliation, publicly humiliated, accused, beaten ...
aimed at "overthrowing the Shanghai Municipal Committee". Those condemned and humiliated in the session included hundreds of bureaucrats involved within the party's East China bureau, the Shanghai Municipal Committee, and the Shanghai People's Committee, notably against Chen Pixian, Cao Diqiu, and
Wei Wenbo. The struggle session, witnessed by a million people, passed three resolutions:
# Cao Diqiu is dismissed as the mayor of Shanghai;
# Chen Pixian must explain his "anti-revolutionary crimes", and;
# The Central Committee must reshuffle the Shanghai Municipal Committee.
After the meeting, all party leaders were dismissed from their positions, while the administrative powers of the committee and the People's Committee were terminated. This struggle session is seen as the start of the coup d'état. On 7 January 1967, rebel factions took control of Shanghai Radio and Television. On 8 January, Zhang and Yao ordered the creation of the Shanghai Revolutionary Production Line Headquarters. The pair then created the Committee on Protecting the Cultural Revolution as the city's ''de facto'' judicial body. Later that day, rebel factions agreed to draft an ''Urgent Notice'' for the city, which was published in ''Wenhui Daily'' on 9 January under the agreement of Chen Pixian.
Mao proclaims support
On 8 January 1967, during a conversation with members of the CRG, Mao Zedong declared his support of the Shanghai rebel's actions. He stated that the events showed "a class overthrowing another class,
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
it is a great revolution", and stated that "
ebelsseizing powers of two newspapers is a national issue. We must support their seizure." He believed the "revolution" in Shanghai provided "hope" for China, in that the events would not just influence
East China
East China () is a geographical region in the People’s Republic of China, mainly consisting of seven province-level administrative divisions, namely the provinces (from north to south) Shandong, Jiangsu, Anhui, Zhejiang, Jiangxi, Fujian, ...
but nationwide. Under the instructions of Mao, the CRG represented the Central Committee and the
State Council in penning the congratulatory letters hailing all "revolutionary rebel factions" in Shanghai, and urged other revolutionaries in China to follow the Shanghai rebel's actions.
On 9 January 1967, ''People's Daily'' published the contents from ''Message to all the people of Shanghai'', adding an editorial supervised by Mao. The editorial stated that ''Message to all the people of Shanghai'' is a "document
hat
A hat is a Headgear, head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorpor ...
represents the wave of the great red flag towards the Great Cultural Revolution of Chairman Mao", and "blows the signal of the continuing offensive against the ''capitalist roaders''". On 11 January, under the direction of Mao, the Central Committee, State Council, Central Military Commission, and CRG issued a joint-statement congratulating the Shanghai rebel factions. The letters stated, "The series of revolutionary acts have become a model to follow for all workers, all people, and all revolutionaries." The statement was published in ''People's Daily'' the next day.
On 16 January, ''Red Flag'' published ''Proletarian Revolutionaries, Unite'', an editorial approved by Mao. The article stated, "The working class of Shanghai...have seized power from the small party faction of ''capitalist roaders''". For the first time, Mao urged revolutionaries to seize local power for the Central Committee. Seizure of power became legitimised under the leadership.
Creation of the Shanghai commune and faction infighting
On 19 January 1967, Zhang Chunqiao arrived at Shanghai and met several leaders of local rebel factions. On the same day, all rebel factions would open a meeting at the Shanghai Communist Party School, and proposed seizing power at the city to form a people's commune modeled after the Paris Commune. They named their ''coup d'état'' as the "January Revolution", intended to resonate with the similarly termed
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
, which received approval from members of the
Gang of Four.
After discussions, it was agreed that the body was to be named as the "New Shanghai People's Commune". Thirty-two major rebel factions were tasked to draft a proclamation, which was titled ''All hail the January Revolution'' '' The proclamation of the New Shanghai People's Commune.'' On 22 January, ''
People's Daily
The ''People's Daily'' ( zh, s=人民日报, p=Rénmín Rìbào) is the official newspaper of the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). It provides direct information on the policies and viewpoints of the CCP in multiple lan ...
'' published an editorial titled ''Proletarian Revolutionaries, Form a Great Alliance to Seize Power from Those in Authority Who are Taking the Capitalist Road!'' The article described the January Revolution as a "revolutionary storm". Even though Maoists rebel factions under the CRG and Workers' Headquarters were in a minority, the group had the backing of the central leadership in Beijing. After 23 January, the central leadership ordered local units of the
People's Liberation Army
The People's Liberation Army (PLA) is the military of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the People's Republic of China (PRC). It consists of four Military branch, services—People's Liberation Army Ground Force, Ground Force, People's ...
to support the Maoist cause, thus the Shanghai Garrison under its commander
Liang Zhengguo was compelled to provide assistance.
Despite the uniform stance of rebel factions during the toppling of the Shanghai bureaucracy, following the coup, a power vacuum had formed as no party had agreed on a united authority. Radical groups like the Workers' Second Regiment criticised this new commune as one imposed from Beijing rather than self-determined by the workers. Violence again broke out in between workers groups in the city and lasted through February 1967. Throughout this period, there were several coup attempts made by other organisations, but they were suppressed by Zhang's forces.
As early as 10 January, the headquarters of the Eighth Rebel Workers Army (Workers' Eighth Army) occupied the Shanghai party headquarters, declaring they had assumed control of the city. By 15 January, the headquarters of the Shanghai Third Red Guard Revolutionary Rebel Faction Army (Workers' Third Army) and the Workers' Headquarters Second Regiment declared a coup, announcing that they would assume control of the Shanghai Municipal Committee and the East China Bureau. Both factions sent a telegram to the Central Committee demanding that Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan be appointed as the mayor and deputy mayor of Shanghai, although Zhang did not endorse the attempt.
On the morning of 22 January 1967, the Workers' Third Army declared a new coup by taking control of the municipal committee, claiming to have received support from fifty rebel groups. On the night of 24 January, the Shanghai Vocational Schools Red Guards Revolutionary Committee (Red Revolutionary Society), whom had been a staunch ally of the Workers' Headquarters, declared a
countercoup by claiming support from 23 rebel factions. Between 28 and 30 January, the Red Revolutionary Society initiated the ''28 January Anti-Zhang Chunqiao Campaign'', which resulted in violent struggles; On the morning of 30 January, the CRG issued an emergency telegram to the Red Revolutionary Society, condemning the Red Revolutionary Society's actions and halting the campaign. After this incident, the rebel group was dissolved. On 2 February, members from the Workers' Second Regiment declared the formation of the Shanghai Revolutionary Rebel Coalition Committee, which announced another minor countercoup, but did not succeed.Following the coup's success, Mao Zedong recommended that the
people's commune
The people's commune ( zh, c=, p=rénmín gōngshè) was the highest of three administrative levels in rural areas of the People's Republic of China during the period from 1958 to 1983, until they were replaced by Townships of the People's Rep ...
in Shanghai be renamed as the "Shanghai Commune". After receiving a telephone call from
Wang Li, Zhang ordered the rebel factions to rename the local authority as the "Shanghai People's Commune", receiving approval from his superiors. On 5 February, the Shanghai People's Commune was formally established. In his inaugural speech, Zhang hailed the formation of the commune "as the collapse of the totalitarian capitalist rule of the municipal committee and people's committee" and the "seizure of power of the revolutionary proletariat of Shanghai."
Controversy once again ensued over the declaration. While finalising the ''Proclamation'', the thirty-two major rebel factions responsible for its drafting had disputes over the order of signatures, with most organisations attempting to put their names on top of the signatories. Furthermore, when news of the commune's founding was publicly announced, over six hundred independent rebel factions fought to join the commune's newly created regime. Zhang compromised with the rebel factions by promising the creation of a temporary "triple alliance" administrative authority, composed of military personnel, revolutionary cadres, and the revolutionary masses of the thirty-two major rebel factions.
Mao retracts support and collapse of commune
''The proclamation of the New Shanghai People's Commune'' stated that leadership of the commune was to be selected through democratic elections similarly employed in the
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
; while a
revolutionary committee was to be appointed as a transitional authority. In a meeting on the afternoon of 6 February with
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
, Chen Boda,
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing (March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and political figure. She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman of the Communis ...
and
Ye Jianying, Mao in turn criticised the Shanghai proclamation, calling it a "mistake". He refuted the proclamation's contents and feared that its implementation would reduce the Central Committee and State Council's influence on domestic affairs. He also ordered all newspapers to prevent the commune from publishing the proclamation. While a telegram sent by the commune's leadership to Beijing stated that the hostile takeover was inspired by Mao's campaign, Mao was publicly silent on the events in Shanghai. Subsequently, the
Xinhua News Agency
Xinhua News Agency (English pronunciation: ),J. C. Wells: Longman Pronunciation Dictionary, 3rd ed., for both British and American English or New China News Agency, is the official state news agency of the People's Republic of China. It is a ...
and ''People's Daily'' were muted on developments in Shanghai, in contrast to the latter's extensive coverage of the establishment of the people's commune in
Heilongjiang
Heilongjiang is a province in northeast China. It is the northernmost and easternmost province of the country and contains China's northernmost point (in Mohe City along the Amur) and easternmost point (at the confluence of the Amur and Us ...
.
Between 12 and 18 February 1967, Zhang Chunqiao and Yao Wenyuan returned to Beijing. In their consultations with Mao, he backtracked on his suggestion of calling the city government a "commune", stating that such a body is not compatible with the party as the party's authority should be paramount. Zhang and Yao would return to Shanghai to relay Mao's instructions. On 23 February, the Shanghai People's Commune was reformed as the
Shanghai Revolutionary Committee. The original transitional revolutionary committee remained, while the system of direct democracy modeled after the Paris Commune was abandoned. Zhang was appointed as the committee's director, while Yao, Wang Hongwen, and Xu Jingxian were appointed as deputy directors. Information of this change was made public in a televised address by Zhang on 24 February 1967, who was forced to explain the reasons of the withdrawal after the views of Mao's support towards the founding of the commune and its Marxist leadership were widely publicized. This address marked the collapse of the commune after only 18 days in existence.
Aftermath
Start of seizure of powers
After the outbreak of the January Storm, it created a ripple effect throughout China, causing a series of revolutions and seizures of power in several provinces, such as in Shanxi,
Shaanxi
Shaanxi is a Provinces of China, province in north Northwestern China. It borders the province-level divisions of Inner Mongolia to the north; Shanxi and Henan to the east; Hubei, Chongqing, and Sichuan to the south; and Gansu and Ningxia to t ...
,
Guizhou
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption =
, image_map = Guizhou in China (+all claims hatched).svg
, mapsize = 275px
, map_alt = Map showing the location of Guizhou Province
, map_caption = Map s ...
, Heilongjiang, and
Shandong
Shandong is a coastal Provinces of China, province in East China. Shandong has played a major role in Chinese history since the beginning of Chinese civilization along the lower reaches of the Yellow River. It has served as a pivotal cultural ...
. Revolutionary committees sprung up after violent seizure of powers, while rebel factions gained a foothold within the country's politics. From now on, the Cultural Revolution would take a new and more violent stage.
Violent struggles between rebel factions
During the coup, several rebel factions under the leadership of the Revolutionary Red Society initiated anti-Zhang protests throughout Shanghai, which was met with violent struggles with different rebel factions.
He Shu opined that the events in Shanghai did not result in a successful seizure of power as intended by the CRG, instead it backfired by generating infighting within the CCP through factional attacks on the CRG.
Influenced by the events in Shanghai, coup attempts occurred in numerous regions across China, but due to power struggles among different rebel factions, violent struggles became common. During the January Storm, factional conflicts increased in intensity as rebel factions began to attack soldiers and
arsenal
An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...
s, who opposed the "''capitalist roaders''" within the PLA, seizing weapons and creating militias, with some regions declared under
military administration
Military administration identifies both the techniques and systems used by military departments, agencies, and armed services involved in managing the armed forces. It describes the processes that take place within military organisations outs ...
due to the inflamed violence. On 6 June 1967, the Central Committee, State Council, CMC and CRG issued the ''June 6 Order'' in an attempt to halt violence within the Cultural Revolution. However, by summer, with the endorsement of
Jiang Qing
Jiang Qing (March 191414 May 1991), also known as Madame Mao, was a Chinese communist revolutionary, actress, and political figure. She was the fourth wife of Mao Zedong, the Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party, Chairman of the Communis ...
, nationwide violence escalated. In July, rebel factions in Shanghai engaged in
armed shootouts, resulting in 25 deaths by September 1967.
Following the events in January 1967, the Workers' Headquarters began to experience a factional split. A power struggle occurred between the central leadership of the organisation under Wang Hongwen and the ''
lumpenproletariat
In Marxist philosophy, Marxist theory, the ''Lumpenproletariat'' (; ) is the underclass devoid of class consciousness. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels coined the word in the 1840s and used it to refer to the unthinking lower strata of society expl ...
'', notably the Workers' Second Regiment under Geng Jinzhang, which threatened urban warfare in
Nanshi. During alleged peace talks, Geng was ambushed and imprisoned for over two months by Wang's forces, which resulted in the dissolution of the Workers' Second Regiment. Zhang's loyalty towards the party was also in question among the Central Committee. In late-March, Zhang had gone absent in two major conferences which was attended by top party officials such as
Lin Biao
Lin Biao ( zh, 林彪; 5 December 1907 – 13 September 1971) was a Chinese politician and Marshal of the People's Republic of China who was pivotal in the Chinese Communist Party, Communist Chinese Communist Revolution, victory during the Chines ...
,
Zhou Enlai
Zhou Enlai ( zh, s=周恩来, p=Zhōu Ēnlái, w=Chou1 Ên1-lai2; 5 March 1898 – 8 January 1976) was a Chinese statesman, diplomat, and revolutionary who served as the first Premier of the People's Republic of China from September 1954 unti ...
, and Mao Zedong. This absence spiraled into accusations of treachery, which was published in an article titled ''Ten Reasons'' in ''Wenhui Daily'' on 12 April 1967. On 20 April, a second ''Anti-Zhang Chunqiao'' ''Campaign'' was initiated in Shanghai, with a turnout well exceeding the first held by the Red Revolutionary Society.
In the months following the events in Shanghai, the nationwide political climate changed rapidly. Most independent rebel factions weakened and collapsed from constant conflict. In almost every city and
work unit, rebel factions would combine into two rival factions only. As time went on, the head-on clashes between rival factions became increasingly formalist and lacking in political content. Between 1968 and 1976, a million skilled workers from Shanghai were sent to rural underdeveloped areas in
Inner China to share their "revolutionary experiences" and to assist in national development. Some radical leaders who had opposed the January Revolution were publicly executed in April 1968.
Military opposition towards the coup
On 11 February 1967, during a
Politburo
A politburo () or political bureau is the highest organ of the central committee in communist parties. The term is also sometimes used to refer to similar organs in socialist and Islamist parties, such as the UK Labour Party's NEC or the Poli ...
meeting at Zhongnanhai, seven top generals in the PLA, Ye Jianying,
Nie Rongzhen,
Chen Yi,
Xu Xiangqian
Xu or XU may refer to:
Surnames
* Xu (surname 徐) ( ''Xú'')
* Xu (surname 許) (/ ''Xǔ'')
* Xu (surname 胥) ( ''Xū'')
The Tone (linguistics), tones of these surnames are different in Mandarin, but if the tone diacritics are omitted then eac ...
,
Tan Zhenlin,
Li Xiannian
Li Xiannian (; 23 June 1909 – 21 June 1992) was a Chinese Chinese Communist Party, Communist military and political leader, president of China from 1983 to 1988 under paramount leader Deng Xiaoping and then chairman of the Chinese People's Politi ...
, and
Li Fuchun, collectively nicknamed as the ''Three Olds and Four Marshals'' expressed their dissatisfaction on the events in the Cultural Revolution, blaming the CRG for promoting revolutionary behaviour among soldiers, creating instabilities within the army. In a confrontation at
Huairen Hall
The Huairen Hall or Huairentang () is a building inside Zhongnanhai, the Chinese government's leadership compound in Beijing. It has been the site of several major events in Chinese history. Huairen Hall is the main meeting place of the Politburo ...
, Ye condemned the CRG's actions in the presence of
Kang Sheng
Kang Sheng (; 4 November 1898 – 16 December 1975), born Zhang Zongke (), was a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) official, politician and calligrapher best known for having overseen the work of the CCP's internal security and intelligence appara ...
, Chen Boda and Zhang Chunqiao, questioning the motives of the CRG that had shrugged the Politburo's power.
A separate confrontation on the afternoon of 16 February in Zhongnanhai escalated the conflict between the politicians. When a request by Tan Zhenlin to reverse Chen Pixian's dismissal was ignored by Zhang Chunqiao, Tan furiously slammed Zhang for attempting to "eradicate the old party elements". On that night, Zhang, Wang Li, and Yao Wenyuan organised the statements made by the generals in the meeting, and under the arrangements of Jiang Qing and Kang Sheng, were sent to Mao for briefing on the morning of 17 February. On the night of 18 February, Mao chaired a Politburo meeting with other top leaders to express his support for the Cultural Revolution. He angrily criticised the seven generals for their remarks, stating that "if someone opposes the CRG I will resolutely oppose him!" Mao also threatened that "if the Cultural Revolution fails, I will personally leave Beijing with him (Lin Biao), and we will fight a guerilla war on the
Jinggang Mountains." He even taunted Chen Yi, stating that he and Tan Zhenlin that they could return the exiled
Wang Ming and
Zhang Guotao to the party, and said, "if we're still adamant that we're weak, why not let us ask the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
and
Soviet Union
The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
to come along?"
Mao ordered investigations to be made on Tan, Chen and Xu. He declared that the group was merely expressing its views, but required the three generals to conduct
self-criticisms." From 22 February to 18 March 1967, the Central Committee conducted seven meetings evaluating the generals, with Jiang, Kang and Chen Boda labeling this particular opposition as the
February Countercurrent. The generals were also denounced by Lin Biao as a "serious anti-party act". Afterwards, the Politburo would be suspended, with the CRG assuming its powers, becoming China's top decision making authority. Ye Jianying would be influential in executing the
Huairen Hall coup in October 1976 after
Mao Zedong's death, which led to the dissolution of the CRG and the downfall of the Gang of Four.
Evaluation
Consolidation of power and the "triple alliance" model
The ''Sixteen Articles'' of August 1966, an influential enactment which dictated Mao Zedong's leadership in the Cultural Revolution, included requirements of direct elections in the country for the creation of the CRG and related committees such as those in the Paris Commune. However, the decision by Mao Zedong in early-February 1967 to enact a "triple alliance" administrative model for the newly reformed-Shanghai Revolutionary Committee represented a complete deviation from the CRG's initial interpretations of the principles as dictated by the ''Sixteen Articles''.
Maurice Meisner
Maurice Jerome Meisner (November 17, 1931 – January 23, 2012) was an American sinologist and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. He studied the Chinese Communist Revolution and the People's Republic and held a strong interest i ...
wrote that the events in February 1967 "revealed that all political power in China ultimately resided in, and attributed to, one man (Mao Zedong) and his 'thought'," and that "the cult of Mao Zedong had now become all-persuasive that the Chairman could decide not only the fate of individuals but the destiny of social movements." Meisner concluded that the revolution in Shanghai effectively warned the proletariat that the "right to rebel" as encouraged in the Cultural Revolution, was "not a right inherent in the people but one granted them by the authority of the deified Mao."
No democratic elections of any kind were held in Shanghai as of 1970; the SRC's leadership was instead appointed and approved only by the Central Committee. Although Mao denied
universal suffrage
Universal suffrage or universal franchise ensures the right to vote for as many people bound by a government's laws as possible, as supported by the " one person, one vote" principle. For many, the term universal suffrage assumes the exclusion ...
in Shanghai, in other regions in China, the "triple alliance" model had indeed accommodated local elections. In spite of this, these electoral results proved to be heavily disadvantaged against the rebel factions and pro-CRG politicians, as conservative CCP politicians won landslide victories, such as in the Tianjin revolutionary committee elections of 23 March 1967. These events served to strengthen Mao and the CRG's distaste on direct elections in subsequent years.
Interpretation of the coup in China and reassessment
During the Cultural Revolution, propaganda magazines such as ''Red Flag'' portrayed the January Storm as the starting point for seizures of power throughout the country in 1967. In a political report from the
9th National Congress in April 1969, the overthrown bureaucrats of the Shanghai Municipal Committee and Shanghai People's Committee were described as ''capitalist roaders'' whose power "had been seized under the leadership and support of Chairman Mao and the headquarters of the proletariat".
However, reassessments of the coup after the end of the Cultural Revolution were negative, as the event became a typical example of politicking from the disgraced Gang of Four. CCP-sanctioned historian Jin Chunming wrote in 1988 that the January Storm was a proxy used by the Gang of Four to consolidate inner-party power. He wrote that the events in Shanghai "is not a revolutionary storm, but an anti-revolutionary countercurrent", and that the chaos resulted from the coup d'état was used advantageously by "a small group of nefarious individuals...to control the party's power". He Shu, on the other hand, argued that the actual importance of the coup was overblown by Mao, who "did not cared for the rebel factions who seized local political power in other provincial cities, but had sole affection towards the workers rebel factions in Shanghai who took the credit". Official histories published by the CCP described the January Storm as an event approved by the government that was "uncontrollable" and ended in "complete chaos" as "
he revolutionthat is 'against anything'... causing uncountable conflicts, even leading to deadly armed struggles".
Cultural adaptations
* ''January Revolution'', documentary shot by Tianma Studios, January 1967.
* ''January Storm'', a
play
Play most commonly refers to:
* Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment
* Play (theatre), a work of drama
Play may refer also to:
Computers and technology
* Google Play, a digital content service
* Play Framework, a Java framework
* P ...
written by the Shanghai Theatrical Society, 1967.
* ''January Storm'', a 16-page periodical published by the editing department of the ''Gong Zongsi'', June 1967.
* ''A grand festival'', movie directed by
Xie Jin, 1976; movie remains unfinished due to the downfall and arrest of the Gang of Four.
See also
*
February Countercurrent
*
Revolutionary committee
*
Violent struggle
*
October Revolution
The October Revolution, also known as the Great October Socialist Revolution (in Historiography in the Soviet Union, Soviet historiography), October coup, Bolshevik coup, or Bolshevik revolution, was the second of Russian Revolution, two r ...
*
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...
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Message of Greetings to Revolutionary Rebel Organizations in Shanghai From the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party, the State Council, the Military Commission of the Party's Central Committee and the Cultural Revolution Group Under the Party's Central Committeeat
Marxists Internet Archive
Marxists Internet Archive, also known as MIA or Marxists.org, is a non-profit online encyclopedia that hosts a multilingual library (created in 1990) of the works of communist, anarchist, and socialist writers, such as Karl Marx, Friedrich Enge ...
{{Cultural Revolution
1960s coups d'état and coup attempts
1967 in China
Cultural Revolution
January 1967 in Asia
Military coups in China
Military history of Shanghai