Guangxi Massacre
Guangxi, ChinaThe Guangxi Cultural Revolution Massacre refers to the large-scale mass killings and brutal repression of perceived enemies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) during the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976). The Cultural Revolution was a decade-long political campaign launched by Mao Zedong to reassert his authority over the Chinese state by purging opponents and consolidating power. In Guangxi province, the CCP’s local leaders launched a particularly severe campaign of mass killings and repression.
Official records suggest between 100,000 and 150,000 people died due to various violent means such as beheading, beating, live burial, stoning, drowning, boiling, and disemboweling. In areas like Wuxuan County and Wuming District, cannibalism occurred even though no famine was present. Public records indicate the consumption of at least 137 people, though the actual number may be higher. Thousands of people in Guangxi are believed to have taken part in cannibalism, and some reports name 421 victims.
Following the Cultural Revolution, individuals who were implicated in the massacre or cannibalism were given light punishments during the "Boluan Fanzheng" period; in Wuxuan County, where a minimum of 38 people were eaten, fifteen of the participants were put on trial and were jailed for up to 14 years, ninety-one members of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were dismissed from the party, and thirty-nine non-party officials were either demoted or had their wages reduced. Even though the cannibalism was sanctioned by regional offices of the Communist Party and militia, no hard proof indicates that anyone in the national Communist Party leadership including Mao Zedong supported the cannibalism or even knew of it. However, some experts have noted that Wuxuan County, through internal pathways, had informed the central authorities regarding the cannibalism in 1968.