Red Guards after The Cultural Revolution

Red Guards were a student movement supported by Mao Zedong in 196667 during the Cultural Revolution A group of students at Qinghua University who issued 2 bigcharacter posters in MayJune 1966 called themselves Red Guards The students criticised the university administration of elitism and bourgeois tendencies In August 1966 Mao Zedong expressed support for the Red Guards This gave the student movement political legitimacy and it spread outside Beijing The Red Guards started to attack the Four Olds and marched across China to eradicate old ideas old cultures old customs and old habits Ultimately the struggle between different Red Guard factions led to a chaotic civilwarlike situation During 196768 the Peoples Liberation Army got the movement under control and restored social order Beginning late 1968 members of the Red Guard movement were sent to the countryside to undergo reeducation We met and filmed them in August 1971