Civil war in Guangxi : the Cultural Revolution on China's southern periphery

Chronology February 27. The Preparatory Committee issues an urgent directive to form local Revolutionary Committees as fast as possible. This leads to an upsurge of mass killings that accompany their formation in March and April. February 28. The April faction forms "fijield armies" to stop local massacres and support the April faction in rural regions. March 2. Large April faction rally demands the return of PLA unit 6984 to Nanning, charging that the transfer was in preparation for their suppression. March 15. The Military District sends a report to Beijing claiming the discovery of a counter-revolutionary organization in Ningming County headed by a former landlord; they send another report to Beijing the next day that denounces the April faction's "fijield armies" as preparing for large-scale warfare. March 18 and 19. The April faction sends a petition delegation of 400 to Beijing to protest their victimization at the hands of the Preparatory Committee. March 29. Leaders of the April faction split over the fijield armies. Those who refused to denounce them are removed from the Preparatory Committee. April 3. April faction leaders in Nanning declare their opposition to the formation of the Guangxi Revolutionary Committee and organize a large protest at the Military District Headquarters. The Allied Command responds that the formation of a Revolutionary Committee is a victory over counter-revolutionaries. April 9. Mass meeting is convened by the Preparatory Committee to celebrate the formation of the Nanning City Revolutionary Committee. Speakers denounce those who oppose the Revolutionary Committee, and claim they are planning massacres of Communists like those carried out by Chiang Kai-shek in 1927. April 11. Guangxi Daily calls for a "force 12 typhoon" of fijierce suppression against those who are resisting the formation of Revolutionary Committees and allegedly plotting to carry out mass killings across Guangxi. The Military District reports to Beijing that April faction fijighters in Wuzhou are out of control, fijighting against PLA and PAD forces. Several days later another report charges that the April faction is working together with former class enemies to oppose Communist Party rule. April 19. April faction delegation in Beijing lodges protest at the CCRG offfijices about false reports submitted by the Guangxi Military District. Mid-May. Allied Command forces seize arms and ammunition from PLA units. Zhou Enlai orders them to stop arms seizures and return the weapons. May 17. The Preparatory Committee and Military District submit a report to Beijing that claims the discovery of an underground organization linked to the Nationalist Party that has branches throughout Guangxi. They claim that its headquarters is a building on Liberation Road in Nanning that is the headquarters of the April faction. "Guangxi, a region on China's southern border with Vietnam, has a large population of ethnic minorities and a history of rebellion and intergroup conflict. In the summer of 1968, during the high tide of the Cultural Revolution, it became notorious as the site of the most severe and extensive violence observed anywhere in China during that period of upheaval. Several cities saw urban combat resembling civil war, while waves of mass killings in rural communities generated enormous death tolls. More than one hundred thousand died in a few short months. These events have been chronicled in sensational accounts that include horrific descriptions of gruesome murders, sexual violence, and even cannibalism. Only recently have scholars tried to explain why Guangxi was so much more violent than other regions. With evidence from a vast collection of classified materials compiled during an investigation by the Chinese government in the 1980s, this book reconsiders explanations that draw parallels with ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, Bosnia, and other settings. It reveals mass killings as the byproduct of an intense top-down mobilization of rural militia against a stubborn factional insurgency, resembling brutal counterinsurgency campaigns in a variety of settings. Moving methodically through the evidence, Andy Walder provides a groundbreaking new analysis of one the most shocking chapters of the Cultural Revolution"-- Provided by publisher Guangxi, a region on China's southern border with Vietnam, has a large population of ethnic minorities and a history of rebellion and intergroup conflict. In the summer of 1968, during the high tide of the Cultural Revolution, it became notorious as the site of the most severe and extensive violence observed anywhere in China during that period of upheaval. Several cities saw urban combat resembling civil war, while waves of mass killings in rural communities generated enormous death tolls. More than one hundred thousand died in a few short months. These events have been chronicled in sensational accounts that include horrific descriptions of gruesome murders, sexual violence, and even cannibalism. Only recently have scholars tried to explain why Guangxi was so much more violent than other regions. With evidence from a vast collection of classified materials compiled during an investigation by the Chinese government in the 1980s, this book reconsiders explanations that draw parallels with ethnic cleansing in Rwanda, Bosnia, and other settings. It reveals mass killings as the byproduct of an intense top-down mobilization of rural militia against a stubborn factional insurgency, resembling brutal counterinsurgency campaigns in a variety of settings. Moving methodically through the evidence, Andrew Walder provides a groundbreaking new analysis of one the most shocking chapters of the Cultural Revolution. Contents List of Illustrations and Tables Author’s Statement Acknowledgments Prologue 1. Puzzles 2. Origins 3. Spread 4. Stalemate 5. Escalation 6. Suppression 7. Narratives 8. Analysis Epilogue Appendix. The Sources and Data Set Chronology Glossary of Names Notes References Index