[If You Look Closely] Why Did the 'Good Kids' Kill the Physics Professor? (Part 1)

Cultural Revolution Explored Through Netflix's 'The Three-Body Problem'
Red Guards Originating from Middle and High School Boys
'Quotations from Chairman Mao' Became the Bible for Chinese Youth
The Moment Mao Zedong Felt Threatened by the Red Guards

In the Netflix series The Three-Body Problem, Ye Wenjie (Jin Cheng·Rosalind Chao) works at a secret research facility that communicates with extraterrestrials. She becomes the first human to receive a radio signal from an alien civilization. The message is chilling beyond words.

"Do not reply. I am a pacifist of this world. It is your civilization's luck that I received this message first. I warn you, do not reply. If you reply, we will come. We will occupy your world. Do not reply."

Ye Wenjie ignores the warning. She immediately sends a message that plunges humanity into crisis. "Come, our civilization has already lost self-sufficiency. I will help you occupy this world."

She believes there is no hope for humanity. The root of her negative thinking is the death of her father, Ye Zhetai. In 1966, at a public criticism session at Tsinghua University, he was labeled a counter-revolutionary. The reason was that he taught Einstein's theory of relativity in his physics class. He died under the relentless belt beating by the Red Guards.

The ideological weapon of the Red Guards was socialist theory. Following their education, they identified and monitored the bourgeoisie and launched violent attacks. This is not just a thing of the past. In the 2000s, the emerging "angry youth" also armed themselves with patriotism and acted similarly. The only difference is that their main targets are foreign countries.

At the center of both groups is Sinocentrism. Both disparage and criticize the West. They loudly proclaim that China should be the center of the world. Leaders politically exploited this. Mao Zedong, who was politically threatened after the failure of the Great Leap Forward, used the Red Guards to seize power from the party faction. The angry youth were used to redirect the anger that arose when the Communist Party faced a crisis after the Tiananmen incident toward foreign countries.

Even now, when cynicism toward communism is widespread, the current remains. President Xi Jinping is attempting once again to launch a Cultural Revolution to control ideology. The Cultural Revolution is a very familiar culture to him. Korean China researcher Kim In-hee wrote the following in her book Chinese Patriotism: Red Guards and Angry Youth:

"President Xi was born in 1953 as the son of Xi Zhongxun, a close aide of Zhou Enlai and Vice Premier of the State Council. He lived in Zhongnanhai from a young age and attended the 81 Middle School, which was for children of Communist Party cadres. However, when his father was sent down in 1965 for political reasons (a movement to prevent bureaucratization of party members or officials by sending them to rural or factory labor for a period), he was criticized at 81 Middle School as a 'child of the dark forces.' (Omitted) President Xi's youth coincided with the Cultural Revolution. The Cultural Revolution likely played an important role in shaping the young Xi's thinking. Perhaps recalling his childhood in Zhongnanhai, he might have thought of becoming the Mao Zedong of the 21st century."

'Things to know' are conveyed in a somewhat disorganized manner. This is a tip for enjoying movies and series more interestingly.

* Mao Zedong called the Red Guards "good children."

* Wuhan, from Zhejiang Province, graduated from the History Department of Tsinghua University in 1934 and worked as a professor at Yunnan University and Southwest Associated University. After the establishment of the Chinese Communist regime in 1949, he held public offices such as Vice Mayor of Beijing. He joined the Communist Party in 1957 and suffered severe trials due to his work Haixie Pavilion written in November 1960.

* The person who clung to Haixie Pavilion was Mao Zedong's fourth wife, Jiang Qing. She first met Wuhan at Mao's dog meat party. Mao, who was knowledgeable about history, exchanged interesting historical stories with Wuhan. Jiang Qing, who did not know much about history, had no chance to speak for a long time. When she finally interrupted with a comment, Wuhan pointed out that it was wrong. Jiang Qing was angry at Wuhan, who showed no consideration for her, but could not say anything because Mao was present. Waiting for revenge, when the script of Haixie Pavilion was announced, she raised objections. She considered the possibility of changing the unjustly dismissed Haixie to Peng Dehuai, who was dismissed as an anti-party element after criticizing the errors of the Great Leap Forward led by Mao. Wuhan's praise of Haixie was misunderstood as praise for Peng Dehuai, and the related content was published in the military central newspaper Jiefangjun Bao and the party organ Renmin Ribao, escalating the issue. Ironically, Haixie Pavilion was a work written with Mao's prior approval. However, Mao regarded this work as a subtle criticism of himself.

* Wuhan, at age 57, was subjected to all kinds of mockery and contempt by Red Guards who were barely 15 years old. The Red Guards heated sand and put it on his neck and beat his whole body with belts. They even twisted his ears severely to cause pain. After returning home, Wuhan was placed under house arrest and was frequently dragged out to clean the streets. For various reasons, he was repeatedly forced to kneel on coarse sand by the roadside until his knees bled. In March 1968, Wuhan was denounced as a traitor by students and arrested by the public security. On October 11 of the following year, he died coughing up blood in injustice.

* Wuhan's wife was sent to a labor reform camp for defending her husband. Her illness worsened, and when she was sent home, the hospital refused treatment upon learning she was Wuhan's wife, and she died shortly after. Their daughter, who was 15 at the time, suffered a severe mental shock from the sudden disaster. She lived each day in pain and developed appendicitis but could not undergo surgery for the same reason as her mother. She died after taking painkillers and sleeping pills.

* The Cultural Revolution that shook China began with middle and high school boys. On May 25, 1966, Nie Yuanzi, a philosophy department party secretary at Peking University, posted a big-character poster on campus. Students from Tsinghua University affiliated middle school, including Bu Dahua, Wang Ming, Luo Xiaohai, Zhang Xiaobing, and Tao Zheng, saw it on May 29 and held a meeting at the ruins of Yuanmingyuan. They decided to create an organization similar to the Soviet youth guard during World War II. They named it "Red Guards," meaning "Red Guards protecting Chairman Mao." It was the moment when the Red Guards, aged 13 to 19, were formed.

* The decisive trigger for youth to enter the political stage at a young age was the May 16 Notice of 1966. It stated, "Our country is currently experiencing the great climax of the proletarian cultural revolution. This climax strikes powerfully at all corrupt ideological and cultural strongholds still preserved by the bourgeoisie and feudal remnants," and "Raise high the banner of the proletarian cultural revolution, thoroughly expose the so-called 'academic authority' of the bourgeois reactionary stance that is anti-party and anti-socialist, thoroughly criticize the bourgeois reactionary ideology in academia, education, press, literature, and publishing, and seize leadership in these cultural areas." It was an attempt to turn academic issues into political struggles between classes.

* From the second half of 1965 to early 1966, Mao Zedong was in political crisis. Then Chairman Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping expressed critical views on the Great Leap Forward and emphasized the need to moderate the pace of the socialist movement. Mao criticized the emergence of revisionism within the party aiming to take the capitalist road. On July 8, 1966, while staying in Wuhan, he wrote a letter to Jiang Qing saying, "Only after great chaos arises in the world can the world be well governed." Mao intended to launch the proletarian great revolution, i.e., the Cultural Revolution, to eliminate forces criticizing him, including Liu Shaoqi. After much consideration, he thought youth were the most active, least conservative ideologically, and sufficiently knowledgeable to carry out the Cultural Revolution.

* On July 28, 1966, Mao received a big-character poster titled "Long Live the Spirit of the Revolutionary Morning Breakfast" from Jiang Qing, written by the Red Guard organization of Tsinghua University affiliated middle school. The "morning breakfast spirit" meant the spirit of rebellion. Mao sent a letter to the Red Guards saying, "It is justified to be angry, denounce, and rebel against all landlords, bourgeoisie, imperialist revisionists, and their running dogs. We send you our enthusiastic support." This official recognition of the Red Guards triggered their rapid emergence nationwide.

* On August 23, 1966, People's Daily editorial stated, "Chairman Mao Zedong himself decided on the proletarian cultural revolution." Quoting Mao, it wrote, "The stubborn party faction following the capitalist road resists the decision of the proletarian cultural revolution by various means and suppresses mass movements to destroy the Cultural Revolution. It is very good that revolutionary students rise widely to oppose the old people who want to take the capitalist road. If their stubbornness reaches the point of not repenting even in death, it is no problem to overthrow them, and it is also a good thing. Revolutionary student organizations such as the Red Guards and Red Flag Combat Teams are legal organizations under the dictatorship of the proletariat. Their actions are revolutionary and legal. Anyone opposing the revolutionary actions of revolutionary students directly violates Chairman Mao's leadership and the decisions of the Party Central Committee." Through this editorial, Mao encouraged the Red Guards to eliminate the party faction, i.e., his political opponents Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. He also declared that the Red Guards were his army and no one should stop them.

* During the Cultural Revolution, worship of Mao Zedong reached its peak. The Red Guards used Mao's instructions as their weapon.

* On August 18, 1966, Mao Zedong, dressed in military uniform and wearing a Red Guard armband, met one million Red Guards for the first time at Tiananmen Square. He publicly expressed support and met 12 million Red Guards over eight meetings. Mao ascended the Tiananmen Gate Tower to greet the Red Guards. Whenever he appeared, the song "The East is Red" played, symbolizing Mao as the red sun of the East. When Mao left Tiananmen Square, the song "When Sailing the Seas, Rely on the Helmsman" was played, with the helmsman symbolizing the same meaning.

* Mao was inspired by the Long March of the Red Army (the Red Army, forged through rural land revolution and guerrilla tactics, broke through the encirclement and pursuit of the Kuomintang army, crossing eighteen mountain ranges and seventeen rivers, covering 12,500 km). He launched the Great Exchange Movement. The Red Guards were given free train tickets and traveled nationwide to spread the Cultural Revolution. Red Guards in Beijing toured schools and factories across the country to propagate the ideology. Local Red Guards flocked to Beijing to study. When transportation problems arose due to the Great Exchange, Mao advised them to travel on foot, following the experience of revolutionary predecessors.

* On November 10 and 11, 1966, Mao met two million Red Guards gathered from all over Beijing for the seventh time. When he ascended the gate tower, the Red Guards shouted, "Long live Chairman Mao!" The young revolutionary commanders wore bright red "Red Guard" armbands and held red-glowing "Quotations from Chairman Mao." The vehicle procession formed a huge red stream stretching over 30 li.

* The revolution bypassed loyalty to the people or the party. It only pointed to loyalty to Mao Zedong. Mao became an object of faith rather than respect. Every household hung a portrait of Mao, and signs with Mao's quotations were installed everywhere. Mao's quotations were studied daily, and his ideology was propagated. Every morning, workplaces bowed three times to Mao's portrait, seeking his guidance. After work, they repeated the same act, reporting the day's achievements to Mao.

* Teachers and students at a military nursing school loved Mao so much that they made a flag embroidered with the words "Long live Chairman Mao" in splendid thread on red silk. The character for longevity (壽) was embroidered stitch by stitch by all teachers and students over two sleepless nights.

* Lin Biao proposed binding Mao's quotations into a small book and having soldiers memorize it. The "Quotations from Chairman Mao," also called the "Little Red Book" due to its red cover, was published in 1964. It became the Bible of Chinese youth and a talisman worshiping Mao personally. Thus, the whole country became a school studying Mao's thought. The Red Guards did not stop at studying and propagating Mao's thought. As the vanguard of class struggle, they directly engaged in social purification. They used Mao's slogan, "Revolution is rebellion, and not rebelling is 100% revisionism," and exercised violence. Mao emphasized that revolution was violent action by one class overthrowing another.

* The violent actions of the Red Guards intensified and expanded. From schools to society, from Beijing to nationwide, from teachers and friends to "Wu Gui Sha Shen" (literally "five ghosts and snake spirits"), and then to powerful party factions. "Wu Gui Sha Shen" referred to people associated with feudal and bourgeois elements during the Cultural Revolution.

* Those targeted by the Red Guards faced all kinds of criticism and brutal punishment. In October 1966, the Red Guards identified and criticized about 20,000 "Wu Gui Sha Shen." Hundreds of thousands of their family members were also expelled from cities.

* Among Mao's quotations frequently cited by the Red Guards was, "If the enemy opposes, we will support; if the enemy supports, we will oppose." The Red Guards divided the complex society into proletariat and bourgeoisie, destroying all thoughts, objects, and traditions related to modernization as feudal, capitalist, or revisionist.

* The goal of the Cultural Revolution was to block all holes leading to capitalism and smash all incubators nurturing revisionism. People with long hair or perms were forcibly cut on the streets as wrong hairstyles. Bourgeois flower shops were destroyed. Cats, symbols of decadent bourgeoisie, were massacred.

* Comparing violent acts during the Cultural Revolution, women were more brutal than men, and middle school students were more brutal than university students. Shen Pan, a writer who participated in the Red Guard movement, was twelve at the time. He recalled the moment when the Red Guards judged General Luo, commander of the People's Liberation Army: "Even seeing that terrible scene, I felt no sympathy. I shouted slogans through the loudspeaker. My blood boiled, and my anger against the enemy in front of me grew. When the meeting was halfway through, the old general's body collapsed forward again. We shouted, 'He's faking death again! Hurry and raise him up! Hurry!' But the general was really dead."

* Mao began to realize the Red Guards were dangerous about two months after officially recognizing them. On October 1, 1966, the 17th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Mao met the Red Guards for the fourth time. The 1.5 million Red Guards gathered that day. After the morning meeting, Mao planned to rest at the Great Hall of the People and then return to Tiananmen to enjoy fireworks and National Day events with the Red Guards. However, his car had to turn back due to the enthusiastic Red Guards on the way to Tiananmen Square. This incident made Mao begin to doubt the existence of the Red Guards. When he met them for the fifth time on October 18, his expression showed irritation. On November 3, during the sixth meeting, he looked more tired and reluctantly participated.

* From the second half of 1966, armed struggles broke out across China. Many factories shut down. Transportation was paralyzed due to the Red Guards' Great Exchange. Mao met the Red Guards on November 25 and 26 and notified that no conveniences would be provided during the Great Exchange. After a power struggle in January the following year, armed conflicts broke out within the morning breakfast faction, plunging the country into civil war. The scale of the Red Guards' violent acts grew so large that the military intervened in many areas, deploying guns, cannons, and tanks.

* In 1967, Mao published an editorial in People's Daily titled "Let the Proletarian Cultural Revolution Go to the End," attacking the Red Guards. "In our modern history, revolutions all began with student movements and developed into workers' and peasants' movements, which is an objective discipline. The Cultural Revolution will further develop according to this discipline." This was essentially a declaration that the historical mission of the Red Guards had ended. On March 14, 1967, the Central Committee of the Communist Party and the State Council notified, "Students should all return to their original production units or schools to review the revolution and participate in productive labor."

* On December 22, 1968, People's Daily published an editorial titled "We Have Two Hands, But We Cannot Eat Free Meals in the City," conveying Mao's instructions. It emphasized, "It is very necessary for educated youth to go to the countryside and be re-educated by poor peasants." Subsequently, a large-scale "Up to the Mountains and Down to the Countryside Movement" began nationwide. Many educated youths moved to rural, mountainous, and border areas to participate in agricultural production and labor training. From then on, the Red Guards were replaced by the name "educated youth." From 1968 to 1980, 12 to 18 million students were expelled from cities.

References: Kim In-hee, Chinese Patriotism: Red Guards and Angry Youth (2021, Blue History); Bill Hayton, translated by Jo Yulli, China: The Silent Superpower (2023, Dasan Chodang); Kim Jae-sun, Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution (Korean Academic Information); Kim Beom-song, Mao Zedong and the Chinese Revolution 1 (2024, Yeokrak); Philip Short, translated by Yang Hyun-soo, Mao Zedong 2: The Red Emperor of the Cultural Revolution 1937?1976 (2019, Gyoyangin), etc.