Editing Cultural Revolution (section)

===Slogans and rhetoric===
[[File:1967-04 1967年革命无罪造反有理.jpg|thumb|right|A Red Guard holding up the ''[[Selected Works of Mao Zedong]]'', with "revolution is no crime, to rebel is justified" written on a flag next to him, 1967]]
Huang claimed that the Cultural Revolution had massive effects on Chinese society because of the extensive use of political slogans.<ref name="huang">{{Cite book |title=The power of words: political slogans as leverage in conflict and conflict management during China's cultural revolution movement |editor-first1=G. |editor-last1=Chen |editor-first2=R. |editor-last2=Ma |publisher=Greenwood}}</ref> He claimed that slogans played a central role in rallying Party leadership and citizens. For example, the slogan "to rebel is justified" ({{zhi|c=造反有理|p=zàofǎn yǒulǐ}}) affected many views.<ref name=huang/>

[[File:Cultural revolution anhui.jpg|thumb|The remnants of a banner containing slogans from the Cultural Revolution in [[Anhui]]]]
Huang asserted that slogans were ubiquitous in people's lives, printed onto everyday items such as bus tickets, cigarette packets, and mirror tables.<ref name=Gao/>{{rp|14}} Workers were supposed to "grasp revolution and promote production".<ref name=huang/>{{Page needed|date=November 2024}}

Political slogans had three sources: Mao, Party media such as ''People's Daily'', and the Red Guards.<ref name=huang/> Mao often offered vague, yet powerful directives that divided the Red Guards.{{sfn|Chang|Halliday|2005}} These directives could be interpreted to suit personal interests, in turn aiding factions' goals in claiming loyalty to Mao.<ref name=huang/>{{Page number|date=November 2024}}

Dittmer and Ruoxi claim that the [[Chinese language in the United States|Chinese language]] had historically been defined by subtlety, delicacy, moderation, and honesty, as well as the cultivation of a "refined and elegant literary style".<ref name=Dittmer>{{Cite book |last1=Dittmer |first1=Lowell |url={{google books |plainurl=y |id=7NkhMkuCs7QC}} |title=Ethics and Rhetoric of the Chinese Cultural Revolution |last2=Chen |first2=Ruoxi |year=1981 |publisher=Center for Chinese Studies, Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California |isbn=978-0-912966-47-2}}</ref> This changed during the CR. These slogans were an effective method of "thought reform", mobilizing millions in a concerted attack upon the subjective world, "while at the same time reforming their objective world."<ref name=huang/>{{Page number|date=November 2024}}<ref name=Dittmer/>{{rp|12}}

Dittmer and Chen argued that the emphasis on politics made language into effective propaganda, but "also transformed it into a jargon of stereotypes—pompous, repetitive, and boring".<ref name=Dittmer/>{{rp|12}} To distance itself from the era, Deng's government cut back on political slogans. During a eulogy for Deng's death, [[Jiang Zemin]] called the Cultural Revolution a "grave mistake".<ref>{{cite book |last1=Paulson |first1=Henry M. |title=Dealing with China: an insider unmasks the new economic superpower |year=2015 |location=New York |publisher=Grand Central Publishing |isbn=978-1455504213 |page=4}}</ref>