Red Guards

paramilitary social movement of young people in the People's Republic of China

Key facts

Founder: Chairman Mao Zedong
Leaders: Gang of Four and Cultural Revolution Group (until 1968 )
Country: China
Allegiance: Mao Zedong (ceremonial figurehead)
Motives: Preserving the revolutionary ideology of Mao Zedong and his position within the Chinese Communist Party
Active regions: Throughout much of China, particularly in Beijing and other urban areas
Ideology: Maoism
Political position: Far-left
Notable attacks: Red August (including the Daxing Massacre , the Guangxi Massacre , the Inner Mongolia incident ; the Guangdong Massacre ; the Yunnan Massacres ; and the Hunan Massacres )
Status: Forcefully suppressed by the PLA
Size: 11 to 12 million high school and university students, among other followers or supporters

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Image: Red Guards in Tian'anmen Square.jpg

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Commons category: Red Guards (China)

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Article

The Red Guards (Chinese: 红卫兵; pinyin: hóng wèibīng) were a mass, student-led, paramilitary social movement mobilized by Chairman Mao Zedong in 1966 until their abolition in 1968, during the first phase of the Cultural Revolution, which he had instituted.

According to a Red Guard leader, the movement's aims were as follows: