Xi Van Fleet’s presentation at the ‘With Liberty & Justice for All’ conference aims to provide a brief history of the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) launched by China’s then dictator Mao Zedong. The Cultural Revolution is Mao’s attempt to seize absolute power and to remake China according to his own image. Van Fleet provides a sketch of the Cultural Revolution by answering the basic questions of why, what, who, and how. Van Fleet also draws some parallels along the way to what is happening in America today. It is important to understand the historic backdrop and important political events that eventually lead to the outbreak of this revolution. Van Fleet covers the Land Reform (1950-1953), the Anti-Rightist Campaign (1956-1957), the Great Leap Forward Campaign, and the Great Famine (1995-1962), all of which will help to make more sense out of the Cultural Revolution.
