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.

---

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

---

Etymology

Origin of Cultural Revolution

Translation of Chinese wénhuà gémìng

Example Sentences

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

Issued under Deng Xiaoping, Document 19 was often presented to the outside world as a liberalizing gesture, since it criticized the excesses of the Cultural Revolution and permitted “normal religious activities” under state supervision.

From The Wall Street Journal • Nov. 20, 2025

At the same time, the middle managers, the men in the gray flannel suits, on occasion they got doses of rhetoric that the Cultural Revolution would've been proud of.

From Salon • Apr. 26, 2025

For fans of The Three-Body Problem, which features an alien civilisation and is set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution, the parallels were clear.

From BBC • Apr. 1, 2024

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