Claim: Mao Zedong was a political leader.

The Cultural Revolution , formally the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution , was a sociopolitical movement that took place in China from 1966 until 1976 . Set into motion by Mao Zedong , then Chairman of the Communist Party of China , its stated goal was to preserve ` true ' Communist ideology in the country by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society , and to re-impose Maoist thought as the dominant ideology within the Party . The Revolution marked the return of Mao Zedong to a position of power after the Great Leap Forward . The movement paralyzed China politically and negatively affected the country 's economy and society to a significant degree .   The Revolution was launched in May 1966 , after Mao alleged that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society at large , aiming to restore capitalism . To eliminate his rivals within the Communist Party of China , Mao insisted that these `` revisionists '' be removed through violent class struggle . China 's youth responded to Mao 's appeal by forming Red Guard groups around the country . The movement spread into the military , urban workers , and the Communist Party leadership itself . It resulted in widespread factional struggles in all walks of life . In the top leadership , it led to a mass purge of senior officials , most notably Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping . During the same period Mao 's personality cult grew to immense proportions .   Millions of people were persecuted in the violent struggles that ensued across the country , and suffered a wide range of abuses including public humiliation , arbitrary imprisonment , torture , hard labor , sustained harassment , seizure of property and sometimes execution . A large segment of the population was forcibly displaced , most notably the transfer of urban youth to rural regions during the Down to the Countryside Movement . Historical relics and artifacts were destroyed . Cultural and religious sites were ransacked .   Mao officially declared the Cultural Revolution to have ended in 1969 , but its active phase lasted until the death of the military leader Lin Biao in 1971 . After Mao 's death and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976 , reformers led by Deng Xiaoping gradually began to dismantle the Maoist policies associated with the Cultural Revolution . In 1981 , the Party declared that the Cultural Revolution was `` responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Party , the country , and the people since the founding of the People 's Republic '' .