国家地理杂志里的一篇关于文化大革命的文章

[九妹]

On August 13, 1966, China officially launched the “Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution.” The Cultural Revolution was a massive political campaign designed by Communist Party Chairman Mao Zedong and his wife, Jiang Qing, to strengthen their leadership and discredit their political opponents.
The Cultural Revolution is often associated with the Red Guards. Mao had closed China’s schools as part of the Cultural Revolution, and groups of young people were organized into units (Red Guards) who violently opposed the “Four Olds”: old customs, old culture, old habits, and old ideas. Traditional Chinese names of businesses, streets, and even people were changed; examples of classic Chinese architecture were destroyed; and books were burned.
The Red Guards also accused and publicly denounced teachers, elected officials, and even their parents. Mao’s political rivals were imprisoned or killed, and thousands of urban youths were “sent down” to do manual labor in rural areas.
The Cultural Revolution only ended with Mao’s death ten years later. More than a million people had been killed, and even more were imprisoned, tortured, lost their homes and property , or forced into exile Denied an education, former Red Guards and other young people of the Cultural Revolution are called the “Lost Generation.”