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Cultural Revolution

American

noun

a radical sociopolitical movement in China c1966–71, led by Mao Zedong and characterized by military rule, terrorism, purges, restructuring of the educational system, etc.

Cultural Revolution British

noun

Also called: Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. (in China) a mass movement (1965–68), in which the youthful Red Guard played a prominent part. It was initiated by Mao Tse-tung to destroy the power of the bureaucrats and to revolutionize the attitudes and behaviour of the people

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of Cultural Revolution

Translation of Chinese wénhuà gémìng

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

As a child born in 1965, Zhang was raised during Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, where she only saw “gray, expressionless” people around her.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

And the year marked the beginning of the Cultural Revolution in China.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

He entered a much more flexible job market in 1999 after a decade of reforms following the Cultural Revolution.

From Barron's • Jan. 9, 2026

The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution - campaigns led by Communist China's founder to reshape the nation's economy and society - resulted in millions of deaths.

From BBC • Oct. 19, 2025

No matter what I did and where I went, the Cultural Revolution followed me.

From "Red Scarf Girl: A Memoir of the Cultural Revolution" by Ji-li Jiang

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023