Recent research on factional conflicts during the initial years of the Cultural Revolution has revealed the deep involvement of the armed forces in factional battles among rebel forces and the striking extent to which regional army units themselves were divided into factions. The origins of these intra-army splits have received little attention. In a detailed examination of the course of the army’s involvement in the severe and prolonged factional infighting in the northern Jiangsu prefecture of Xuzhou, we trace intra-army splits to decisions made by local commanders in shifting circumstances, and their efforts to defend their initial actions after central policies changed, threatening to turn them into scapegoats. Pressures from above to force recalcitrant officers into line served to split local military commands and intensify alliances between opposed army and civilian factions. The complex organizational structure of domestic military commands exacerbated these locally generated divisions and made them more difficult to resolve. Xuzhou is an extreme case of a pattern that was likely repeated across hundreds of regions during this chaotic period, threatening the integrity of China’s armed forces and influencing Mao’s ultimate decision to curtail this phase of the Cultural Revolution.
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20.
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21.
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22.
Hongse huochetou (1967d) “Liu Ruxian tongzhi de jianghua” (Comrade Liu Ruxian’s speech). Hongse huochetou, Dec. 1: 3–4, 8.
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25.
Hongse huochetou (1968a) “Youqing fan’an feng zai gedi de biaoxian” (Various manifestations of the wind of right-wing reversal of verdicts). Hongse huochetou, May1: 3.
26.
Hongse huochetou (1968b) “Yiqun wugui wangbadan de wuhe—jiekai Huaihai ba.sanyi fan’geming tufei jituan zuzhi neimu” (A mob formed from a bunch of cuckolds and bastards—exposing the organizational network within the counterrevolutionary bandit organization Huaihai August 31st). Hongse huochetou, May24: 3.
27.
Hongse huochetou (1968c) “Yichou wannian de zui’e shi—‘Huaihai ba.sanyi’ zuixing lu” (A criminal history that will be infamous for ten thousand years—an account of the crimes of “Huaihai August 31st”). Hongse huochetou, May30: 3–4.
28.
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29.
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31.
LiuYonghua (2012) Interview, Dec. 30, in Xuzhou. Liu was a leader in the Support faction alliance.
32.
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33.
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36.
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44.
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45.
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46.
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49.
TianChao (1968) “Tian Chao jianghua de jiyao” (Minutes of Tian Chao’s speech), Jan. 2, 1968. Photocopy provided by informant who participated in the events in Xuzhou.
50.
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55.
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56.
WangYongquan (1999) “Wang Yongquan de huiyi” (Reminiscenses of Wang Yongquan). Unpublished manuscript. Wang Yongquan was head of the Security Office of the 68th Army’s Political Department and participated in the investigations into the campaign to blow up bridges and roads.
57.
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60.
Xuzhou fandaodi (1967b) “Tian Chao zhiliu zai fandong daolu shang yuehua yue yuan” (Tian Chao and his ilk slide ever further down their reactionary path). Xuzhou fandaodi, Dec. 27: 4.
61.
Xuzhou fandaodi (1968a) “Kan! Fan’geming tufei jituan de fandong jihua” (Look! The reactionary plans of a counterrevolutionary bandit clique). Xuzhou fandaodi, Feb. 14: 2.
62.
Xuzhou fandaodi (1968b) “Chedi zalan zichan jieji silingbu ‘Xugehui’” (Throroughly smash to a pulp the bourgeois headquarters “Xuzhou Revolutionary Committee”). Xuzhou fandaodi, Aug. 15: 1–8.
63.
Xuzhou gongren (1968a) “Langxin goufei—jiechuan Ma Jichang zhiliu de yige zui’e yinmou” (Cruel and unscrupulous: a criminal conspiracy by Ma Jichang and his ilk). Xuzhou gongren, May8: 4.
64.
Xuzhou gongren (1968b) “Qing kan fan’geming tufei de zhen mianmu—pouxi feishou Tian Chao de yipian heihua” (See the true face of a counterrevolutionary bandit—analyzing the malicious words of bandit chief Tian Chao). Xuzhou gongren, May8: 4.
65.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968a) “Fennu shengtao Tian Wu Zhang fan’geming tufei jituan taotian zuixing” (Angrily denounce the monstrous crimes of the Tian-Wu-Zhang counterrevolutionary bandit clique). Xuzhou hongweibing, Feb. 10: 2.
66.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968b) “Yang dai zongzhang chuanda Zhou zongli dui er.liu mingling de zhishi” (Acting Chief of Staff Yang transmits Premier Zhou’s instructions on the February 6 orders). Xuzhou hongweibing, Feb. 20: 4.
67.
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68.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968d) “‘Huaihai basanyi’ shi didi daodao de fan’geming tufei jituan” (Huaihai August 31st is an group of outright counterrevolutionary bandits). Xuzhou hongweibing, May25: 2–3.
69.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968e) “Feishou Tian Chao luowang” (The capture of bandit chief Tian Chao). Xuzhou hongweibing, July4: 2.
70.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968f) “‘Yongjunpai’ de lushan zhen mianmu” (The true face of the “Support the army faction”). Xuzhou hongweibing, July25: 2–3.
71.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968g) “Shei daibiao douzheng da fangxiang?” (Who represents the main orientation of the struggle?). Xuzhou hongweibing, July31: 1–4.
72.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968h) “Guanyu Wang Xiaoyu tongzhi chuli Xuzhou wenti de luzi—silun Xuzhou liangtiao luxian de douzheng” (Comrade Wang Xiaoyu’s approach to handling the Xuzhou problem—a fourth comment on the two line struggle in Xuzhou). Xuzhou hongweibing, Aug. 14: 1–4.
73.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968i) “Wuchan jieji zhuanzheng wansui” (Long live the proletarian dictatorship). Xuzhou hongweibing, Aug. 24: 2–4.
74.
Xuzhou hongweibing (1968j) “Shei shi geming sanjiehe fangxiang de hanweizhe” (Who are the guardians of the principle of the revolutionary three-in-one combination?). Xuzhou hongweibing, Sept. 15: 2–4.
75.
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76.
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77.
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78.
ZhangLiansheng (1968) Wen’ge biji (Cultural Revolution notebook), entries for Oct. 8–9. Zhang Liansheng was a rebel leader in Feng county.
79.
ZhangLiansheng (1969) Wen’ge biji (Cultural Revolution notebook), entries for May26.
80.
ZhangLiansheng (2014) Interview, Oct. 19, in Xuzhou.
81.
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82.
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83.
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84.
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85.
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86.
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