Factional Warfare in China's Countryside

What is it about?

Factional warfare spread in China's countryside during the Cultural Revolution. Using the county-level data of Shaanxi Province, this article traces the processes in which the breakdown of the regional military structure intensified factional violence and explains why this happened.

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Why is it important?

Despite the severe damage it caused to China's countryside, the rural factional warfare of the Cultural Revolution has been little studied. This article focuses on the processes in which a misguided central policy led to a breakdown of the regional military structure, and in turn caused the spread of factional violence in the countryside.