Guangxi Massacre

Guangxi Massacre
Part of the Cultural Revolution
Guangxi in China
LocationGuangxi, China
Date1967–1968
Attack type
Massacre, cannibalism, politicide, lynching, rape, torture, beheading, beating, live burial, stoning, drowning, boiling, disembowelment
Deaths
  • 70,400[1]–500,000[1]
  • Official: 100,000–150,000
  • At least 421 people eaten
Victims"Class enemies", including members of the Five Black Categories and their families
PerpetratorsRed Guards, members and ranking cadres of the Chinese Communist Party, local militia
Motive

The Guangxi Massacre (simplified Chinese: 广西大屠杀; traditional Chinese: 廣西大屠殺; pinyin: Guǎngxī dàtúshā) comprised a series of lynchings and massacres in the Chinese province of Guangxi between 1967 and 1968, during the Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).[2][1][3][4][5][6] The official record shows an estimated death toll between 100,000 and 150,000.[1][6] Methods of murder included beheading, beating, live burial, stoning, drowning, boiling, and disembowelling.[1][7]

In specific areas, including Wuxuan County and Wuming, Nanning, hundreds of incidents of human cannibalism occurred—even though no famine conditions existed.[1][3][4][8] According to records that have been made public, at least 137 people were eaten, with thousands of people having participated in the cannibalism.[5][9] Independent researchers have since identified 421 named individuals in total who were eaten, with there having been reports of cannibalism across dozens of counties in Guangxi.[6][9][10] Although the cannibalism was sponsored by local offices of the Communist Party and militia, no direct evidence suggests that anyone in the national Communist Party leadership including Mao Zedong endorsed the cannibalism or even knew of it.[5][9][11] However, some scholars have pointed out that Wuxuan County, through internal channels, had notified the central leadership about the cannibalism in 1968.[10]

After the Cultural Revolution, people who were involved in the massacre or cannibalism received legal punishments during the Boluan Fanzheng period. In Wuxuan County, where at least 38 people were eaten, fifteen participants were prosecuted, receiving up to 14 years in prison, while ninety-one members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were expelled from the party and thirty-nine non-party officials were either demoted or had a salary cut.[1][4][5][7][11]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Yan, Lebin. 我参与处理广西文革遗留问题 [The remaining issues I participated in handling regarding the Cultural Revolution in Guangxi]. Yanhuang Chunqiu (in Chinese). Archived from the original on 24 November 2020. Retrieved 29 November 2019.
  2. ^ Walder, Andrew G. (2022). "Anatomy of a Regional Civil War: Guangxi, China, 1967–1968". Social Science History. 46: 35–63. doi:10.1017/ssh.2021.42. ISSN 0145-5532. S2CID 245049438.
  3. ^ a b Song, Yongyi (25 August 2011). "Chronology of Mass Killings during the Chinese Cultural Revolution (1966–1976)". Sciences Po. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  4. ^ a b c Sutton, Donald S. (1995). "Consuming Counterrevolution: The Ritual and Culture of Cannibalism in Wuxuan, Guangxi, China, May to July 1968". Comparative Studies in Society and History. 37 (1): 136–172. doi:10.1017/S0010417500019575. ISSN 0010-4175. JSTOR 179381. S2CID 145660553.
  5. ^ a b c d Kristof, Nicholas D. (6 January 1993). "A Tale of Red Guards and Cannibals". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 26 March 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  6. ^ a b c "Interview: 'People Were Eaten by The Revolutionary Masses'". Radio Free Asia. 29 April 2016. Archived from the original on 10 April 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  7. ^ a b "How political hatred during Cultural Revolution led to murder and cannibalism in a small town in China". South China Morning Post. 11 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 May 2016. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  8. ^ Southerl, Daniel (7 July 1996). "Devouring Their Own". The Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 21 March 2020. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b c "Cannibalism in China 50 years on". Radio France Internationale. 22 May 2016. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 30 November 2019.
  10. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference :10 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  11. ^ a b Rudolph, Barbara (24 June 2001). "Unspeakable Crimes". Time. ISSN 0040-781X. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023.