The Reconstruction of the Regime and the Shanghai Model

Abstract

Mao's support for the January Revolution in Shanghai allowed the Cultural Revolution to enter the third sub-movement period, which lasted from January 1967 to April 1969. The main objective for this sub-movement was building the Three-In-One Regime. During this period, Shanghai was taken as a model for the country’s regime reconstruction, and the Shanghai Workers’ Revolutionary Rebellion General Headquarters (hereinafter referred to as the “Workers’ General HQ”) commanded by Wang Hongwen replaced the student organizations as the main force of the Cultural Revolution. The workers’ rebel groups, which were not among the vested interest groups in the pre-Cultural Revolutionary’ times, were able to make their mark during this period. They gained the status of the highest privilege of revolution and thus the opportunity to seek power and benefits. The competition around various political rights and interests was more intense in the workers organizations because their involvement in interests at stake was more specific than that of the students, thus intensifying the rivalry between factions throughout the country. Armed conflict was a frequent occurrence. In this sense, it can be said that the January Revolution in Shanghai sparked national turmoil during the Cultural Revolution.