Date: Wednesday 29 April
Time: 7:15pm – 8:30pm (followed by a drinks reception)
Venue: Lewis Lecture Theatre, Malvern College
Cost: Free, but tickets must be booked in advance
We are delighted to be welcoming Professor Yang-Wen Zheng to Malvern College this spring to give the annual Blumenau Lecture.
In her talk – Mao Zedong’s Cultural Revolution, 1966-76 – Professor Zheng will discuss how Mao Zedong, ruler of China from 1949 to 1976 unleashed one of the biggest revolutionary upheavals of the 20th century in 1966 when he called on the Red Guards, China’s youth, to attack the Four Olds (Old thoughts, habits, traditions and culture). This resulted in a massive, violent purge carried out by the Red Guards, with the Chinese Communist Party itself one of the main targets. The Cultural Revolution did not officially end until Mao’s death, leaving deep scars in Chinese society, and profoundly shaped the CCP’s dramatic shift to reform and economic modernisation under Deng Xiaoping from the late 1970s onwards, transforming China into the economic superpower we see today.
Professor Zheng is arguably the leading expert on Chinese history in the UK and is regarded as one of the most engaging lecturers at University of Manchester, where she is Professor of Chinese History. She has written and published widely on 19th and 20th century Chinese history and we are certain this lecture will be insightful and thought-provoking for pupils, alumni and the Malvernian community.
The Blumenau Lecture takes place every year, named in honour of the College’s former head of history, Ralph Blumenau. We are thrilled to welcome Professor Zheng as our guest speaker this year.
We hope to see you there.