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 ...

, a Conservative Faction (), also called a Loyalist Faction (), referred to a group or a sociopolitical movement that embraced the local establishment. Composed of well-born children and political activists, the conservatives made up the majority of the Red Guards after

Red August Red August () is a term used to indicate a period of political violence and massacres in Beijing beginning in August 1966, during the Cultural Revolution. According to official statistics published in 1980 after the end of the Cultural Revolution ...

, but declined with the rise of the

rebels A rebel is a participant in a rebellion. Rebel or rebels may also refer to: People * Rebel (given name) * Rebel (surname) * Patriot (American Revolution), during the American Revolution * American Southerners, as a form of self-identification; ...

Origins

When

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 ...

launched the Cultural Revolution in 1966, the initial thrust was to attack the so-called "bourgeois reactionary authorities" and "white experts", and students who opposed their teachers and focused more on politics formed the Red Guards. However, after Red August, Mao began to have students attack the "

capitalist roaders In Maoism, a capitalist roader is a person or group who demonstrates a marked tendency to bow to pressure from bourgeois forces and subsequently attempts to pull the Chinese Communist Revolution in a capitalist direction. If allowed to do so, thes ...

of the Party", which led to a split in the Red Guards, with those who remained opposed to the "white experts" loosely being referred to as the Conservatives.

Structures

Conservative students

A fairly significant portion of students joined the conservatives.

Pro-establishment forces

In order to confront the rebels, who were supported by Mao and the left wing of the party, the committees in various places mobilized workers, members of the

Communist Youth League The Communist Youth League of China (CYLC; also known as the Young Communist League of China or simply the Communist Youth League or CYL) is a people's organization of the People's Republic of China for youth between the ages of 14 and 28, r ...

, who supported them.

Development

The conservative-rebel conflict in Wuhan is one notable case during the Cultural Revolution.

References

Red Guards {{improve categories, date=February 2024 Cultural Revolution Political movements in China History of the Chinese Communist Party