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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

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

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

Following the violent chaos of the Cultural Revolution, there was "a disbelief among many Americans - how could the Chinese be living in angry isolation?"

From BBC • Dec. 30, 2024

Before the Cultural Revolution she had been a Model Teacher.

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