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8 - Narratives and Voices of Cultural Revolution “Perpetrators”

from Part IV - Memory

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 August 2023

Daniel Leese
Affiliation:
University of Freiburg
Amanda Shuman
Affiliation:
University of Freiburg
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Summary

This chapter captures and closely analyzes the multiplicity of narratives developed by designated Gang of Four followers purged from the regime following the end of the Cultural Revolution. The CCP authorities have labeled these so-called followers as “perpetrators” of the Cultural Revolution. Using oral histories, the chapter shows how those officially labeled as “perpetrators” rarely and only indirectly portray themselves as such; more often they see themselves as victims or even heroes. The chapter further illustrates how the party-state has never been able to silence alternative voices on the Cultural Revolution within society, nor can it addresses the issue of responsibility for past violence by categorizing perpetrators and victims, two categories that are often confronted with a complex reality. The chapter argues that the processes of punishing perpetrators in post-Cultural Revolution China, or the absence thereof, have continued to influence the way the past is remembered and not remembered in present Chinese society.

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Chapter
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Justice After Mao
The Politics of Historical Truth in the People's Republic of China
, pp. 193 - 215
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2023

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