Abstract

This chapter focuses on the role of the judicial system in the Cultural Revolution, an era that is often reduced to political turmoil, lawlessness, Red Guard brutality, and mass killings. Little ink has been spilled on describing the day-to-day function and practice of the judicial system in this significant period. In the first two years, the Communist judicial system was clouded by inaction and revolutionary chaos as judicial cadres were involved in factional fights but stayed mostly free of street violence. Starting from early 1968, the military took over the judicial system. Unlike local gazetteers that tend to emphasize the harsh punishments of military-controlled courts, local archives offer a more moderate picture of courts that is consistent with the early years of the PRC. As had happened several times in the past, the judicial rehabilitation began as early as 1970 and it lasted until the spring of 1976. While judicial and official violations of the law were excessive, they were not as egregious as in some other periods of Mao's China.

Keywords: Cultural Revolution, six regulations of public security, military control committee of the police department, restoration of the People’s Court, not the worst period