This map shows violent incidents in 1967 related to the Cultural Revolution, as reported on by British government officials in a series of Foreign Office files.
The interactive version of this map is hosted on an external site that does not yet meet our criteria for accessibility. In the meantime, we provide an accessible spreadsheet of all events featured on the map.
View the interactive map of the Cultural Revolution.
Please note that some of the descriptions in the map may be distressing to read. The descriptions contain references to death and injury, often on a large scale. Please be aware of this when presenting to students or other users.
1967 was the year Mao referred to as ‘all-around civil war’. This period was marked by chaos, with cities, counties, provinces, and even factories splitting into factions that often clashed. The People’s Liberation Army (PLA) was told to join the Cultural Revolution early in the year in a bid to restore order, but it too began splitting into factions and adding to the violence.
The Cultural Revolution was a violent moment in history that caused an estimated 500,000 to 2 million deaths. This map can help visualise why and how this violence occurred.
The information in this map comes from the files FO 1110/2317-2319 prepared by the Foreign Office in 1967. The reports were collected from news media, Chinese wall posters, anecdotes from travellers, and miscellaneous other sources. The information in these sources cannot be assumed to be completely accurate and it’s important to remember the perspectives they come from.
*Note: This map does not reflect the exact location of any of these incidents. Where very vague location information is provided, the point has been placed randomly within the province/city.
This is an interactive map of violent incidents recorded in British government documents in 1967 – the year that ‘all-around civil war’ broke out across China.
- Look at Starter task a (the map). Choose three points from different parts of the map at random. Compare them using the questions below:
- What happened?
- Why do you think this event happened?
- How would you have felt if you had read about this event in the news in 1967?
- Use the pie charts attached to the map to see which groups were involved. What does this tell you about who was involved in the Cultural Revolution?
- Can you spot any similarities and differences between the events you have explored using the map?
- Look at Starter task b (the photos). Can you find the burning of the British legation on the map?
- Why do you think the British legation [diplomatic mission similar to an embassy] was burned by protestors?
- What does this event infer about the role of Red Guard in the Cultural Revolution?
- How could an event such as this affect international diplomacy?
- Use the map to find out about other embassies or missions that were attacked during the Cultural Revolution.
- What does this map and these photos tell you about the Cultural Revolution?