Cultural Revolution

American  

noun

1. 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.

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Cultural Revolution British  

noun

1. 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

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Etymology

Origin of Cultural Revolution

Translation of Chinese wénhuà gémìng

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Cultural Revolution

Jiang Qing, Mao Zedong’s wife, led the Gang of Four, a radical faction that used the 1966-1967 Cultural Revolution to persecute perceived enemies and throw China into upheaval.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026

Liang is no stranger to hardship, having gone hungry as a child in the Cultural Revolution.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 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

With the start of the Cultural Revolution all the stamp shops were closed down, because stamp collecting was considered bourgeois.

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