Question

Why did Mao start the cultural revolution (1966)?

Answer 1

Mao Zedong launched what became known as the Cultural Revolution in order to reassert his authority over the Chinese government. Believing that current Communist leaders were taking the party, and China itself, in the wrong direction, Mao called on the nation’s youth to purge the “impure” elements of Chinese society and revive the revolutionary spirit that had led to victory in the civil war 20 decades earlier and the formation of the People’s Republic of China.

Answer 2

He wanted to speed up change and eliminate Western, capitalist influence.

Context/explanation:

Mao Zedong began the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (its official name) in 1966.  A big part of the program was the closing of China's schools, because Mao saw the majority of educators as bourgeois types who were failing to support the communist revolution.  The Cultural Revolution was an insistence on loyalty to communist party ideology.  

The Red Guard was formed, which was made up of high school and college students (no longer attending school, since schools were shut down).  These radicalized students became militants for Mao over against those whom he considered not revolutionary enough.  The Red Guard destroyed historical artifacts and writings of the of China's former culture.  They also attacked persons who were seen to be resisting Chairman Mao's permanent revolution.