Editing Red Guards (section)

==== Murder and oppression ====
{{See also|Guangxi Massacre|List of massacres in China}}
Attacks on culture quickly descended into attacks on people. Ignoring guidelines in the 'Sixteen Articles' which stipulated that [[persuasion]] rather than force were to be used to bring about the Cultural Revolution, officials in positions of authority and perceived 'bourgeois elements' were denounced and suffered physical and [[Psychological abuse|psychological]] attacks.<ref name="Meisner339" /> On 22 August 1966, a central directive was issued to stop police intervention in Red Guard activities.<ref name="mac124">[[Roderick MacFarquhar|MacFarquhar, Roderick]] and Schoenhals, Michael. ''Mao's Last Revolution''. [[Harvard University Press]], 2006. p. 124</ref> Those in the police force who defied this notice were labeled "counter-revolutionaries." Mao's praise for rebellion effectively endorsed the actions of the Red Guards, which grew increasingly violent.<ref>MacFarquhar & Schoenhals; p. 515</ref>

[[Public security]] in China deteriorated rapidly as a result of central officials lifting restraints on violent behavior.<ref name="MacFarquhar126" /> [[Xie Fuzhi]], the national police chief, said it was "no big deal" if Red Guards were beating "bad people" to death.<ref name="MacFarquhar125">[[Roderick MacFarquhar|MacFarquhar, Roderick]] and Schoenhals, Michael. ''Mao's Last Revolution''. [[Harvard University Press]], 2006. p. 125</ref> The police relayed Xie's remarks to the Red Guards and they acted accordingly.<ref name="MacFarquhar125" /> In the course of about two weeks, the violence left some 100 teachers, school officials, and educated cadres dead in Beijing's western district alone. The number injured was "too large to be calculated."<ref name="MacFarquhar126">[[Roderick MacFarquhar|MacFarquhar, Roderick]] and Schoenhals, Michael. ''Mao's Last Revolution''. [[Harvard University Press]], 2006. p. 126</ref>

The most gruesome aspects of the campaign included numerous incidents of torture, murder, and public humiliation. Many people who were targets of 'struggle' could no longer bear the stress and committed [[suicide]]. In August and September 1966, there were 1,772 people murdered in Beijing alone. In [[Shanghai]] there were 704 suicides and 534 deaths related to the Cultural Revolution in September. In Wuhan there were 62 suicides and 32 murders during the same period.<ref>MacFarquhar & Schoenhals; p. 124</ref>

Intellectuals were to suffer the brunt of these attacks. Many were ousted from official posts such as university teaching, and allocated manual tasks such as "sweeping courtyards, building walls and cleaning toilets from 7am to 5pm" which would encourage them to dwell on past "mistakes."<ref>Howard, p. 169.</ref> An official report in October 1966 stated that the Red Guards had already arrested 22,000 'counterrevolutionaries'.<ref>Karnow, p. 209</ref>

The Red Guards were also tasked with rooting out '[[capitalist roader]]s' (those with supposed '[[Right-wing politics|right-wing]]' views) in positions of authority. This search was to extend to the very highest echelons of the CCP, with many top party officials, such as Liu Shaoqi, [[Deng Xiaoping]] and [[Peng Dehuai]], being attacked both verbally and physically by the Red Guards.<ref>Karnow, pp. 232, 244</ref> Liu Shaoqi was especially targeted, as he had taken Mao's seat as [[President of the People's Republic of China|State Chairman]] (Chinese President) following the [[Great Leap Forward]]. Although Mao stepped down from his post as a sign of accepting responsibility, he was angered that Liu could take the reins of communist China.