June 23, 2020

The Cultural Revolution through the lens of Li Zhensheng

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Swimmers read Quotations from Chairman Mao for spiritual guidance as they prepare to swim the Songhua River to commemorate the second anniversary of Mao’s swim in the Yangtze. Photo: Li Zhensheng

At a rally in Red Guard Square Ren Zhongyi, provincial Party secretary and first Party secretary of Harbin, being publicly shamed for being a "black gang element" in Harbin, China in 1966. Photo: Li Zhensheng

Kang Wenjie, a five-year-old prodigy selected as champion of "learning and applying Mao Zedong Thought," performs the "loyalty" dance in Harbin, China in 1968. Photo: Li Zhensheng

Swimmers in the Songhua River commemorate the one-year anniversary of Mao’s swim in the Yangtze, which marked his return to power, in Harbin, China. Photo: Li Zhensheng

Denunciations at an afternoon rally in Red Guard Stadium. Wang Yilun (left) and Chen Lei, both Provincial Communist Party Secretaries, accused of being "black gang elements" in 1966. Photo: Li Zhensheng

A public execution of seven men and one woman in the cemetery district of Huang Shan on the outskirts of Harbin, China. Photo: Li Zhensheng

People on a train participate in the "anti-Lin Biao, anti-Confucius" campaign initiated by Mao’s wife, Jiang Qing. Photo: Li Zhensheng

Intellectuals such as writers and artists were often sentenced to manual labor. Photo: Li Zhensheng

A large crowd cheer as rebel factions and PLA soldiers smash and burn the placard of the Harbin municipal government in Red Guard Square in Harbin, China. Photo: Li Zhensheng

Several thousand faculty members and students from Harbin's University of Industry take to the streets to celebrate Mao's first meeting with citizens supporting the Cultural Revolution. Photo: Li Zhensheng

As part of the monks’ self-criticism they are forced to hold a banner that reads, "To hell with Buddhist scriptures. They are full of dog farts”. Photo: Li Zhensheng

A crowd of over one million Red Guards assembled in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China to await Mao’s appearance on October 5, 1966. Photo: Li Zhensheng

A mourning service, at the office building of the Heilongjiang Provincial Party Committee, in memory of Chairman Mao who died on September 9, 1976. Photo: Li Zhensheng

Li Zhensheng photographed by local photographer, Liu Guoqi, at a "fight against the enemies" rally. Zhensheng holds a Russian-made Kiev 35mm camera and a German 6x6 Rolleiflex. Photo: Liu Guoqi

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As part of the monks’ self-criticism they are forced to hold a banner that reads, "To hell with...As part of the monks’ self-criticism they are forced to hold a banner that reads, "To hell with Buddhist scriptures....

June 23, 2020

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The Cultural Revolution through the lens of Li Zhensheng

Li Zhensheng (September 22, 1940 - June 22, 2020) was a Chinese photojournalist whose employment at the...

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