Five Black Categories
During the period of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) in the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong identified groups that he considered enemies of the Revolution (and thus himself). The phrase Five Black Categories (simplified Chinese: 黑五类; traditional Chinese: 黑五類; pinyin: Hēiwǔlèi) referred to the following five political identities. These groups were:
- Landlords (地主, dìzhǔ)
- Rich farmers (peasants) (富农, fùnóng)
- Counter-revolutionaries (反革命, fǎngèmíng)
- Bad-influencers ["bad elements"] (坏分子, huàifènzǐ)
- Rightists (右派, yòupài)
On the other hand, Mao Zedong categorised groups of people, such as members of the Communist Party of China, poor farmers and low-class workers, as Five Red Categories. This new Red/Black class distinction was used to create a status society, determined by birth. People in the Five Black Categories were separated out for struggle sessions, humiliation, re-education, beating, and persecution. Mao believed that victimizing these people, as well as other groups of citizens – such as teachers, educated intellectuals, and enemies of the Communist Party (cadres) – was a necessary component to initiate the changes in the Chinese culture that he desired. He believed that those who were victimized either deserved it or became better citizens as a result of it. According to a speech by Jiang Qing, his wife and Party leader, “If good people beat bad people, it serves them right; if bad people beat good people, the good people achieve glory; if good people beat good people, it is a misunderstanding; without beatings, you do not get acquainted and then no longer need to beat them” (Walder 149).
See also
References
- MacFarquhar, Roderick, John K. Fairbank, and Denis C. Twitchett, eds. “Mass Mobilization.” The Cambridge History of China, Volume 15, The People's Republic Part 2. Revolutions within the Chinese Revolution, 1966–1982. 545. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1991. Print.
- WALDER, Andrew G. Fractured Rebellions: The Beijing Red Guard Movement. Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 2009. Print.
- Yongyi, Song. “Chronology of Mass Killings during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976).” Online Encyclopedia of Mass Violence. 25 August 2011. Web. 31 March 2014.