Cultural Revolution Simulation Game

Synopsis: Students will understand (1) the progressing chaos of the Cultural Revolution (2) how the Cultural Revolution changed every day social interactions in China. Students are assigned an identity as bourgeois or proletariat; proletariats try to form groups of only other proletariat while the bourgeois try to infiltrate proletariat groups.

This game can be used to introduce students to the Cultural Revolution, but I find it most effective if students have a bit of background already. At a minimum, students need to understand terms like "bourgeois" and "proletariat." You can also teach them the insults used during the Cultural Revolution, like "Capitalist Roadster," "Class Enemy," "Intellectual," and "Capitalist Running Dog."

Each round of the game grows progressively more chaotic and more dangerous for both proletariat and bourgeois. In the first two rounds, the bourgeois escape lightly, but in subsequent rounds, students are "jailed" for a variety of reasons: if they are accused at all, if they falsely accuse someone, or if they shelter (knowingly or not) a member of the bourgeois. Finally, students can band together to make accusations against anyone in the class, mirroring how the Cultural Revolution became a way for people to punish one another for private vendettas.

Time allotment: I used about 60 minutes for this game, but students would have been happy to continue playing.

Supplies: enough small squares of paper for each student, about 3/4 marked "P" and 1/4 marked "B"

Procedures

The Game

1. Tell students that they will each receive a small square of paper. The majority of papers are marked P for Proletariat. Students who receive this papers should attempt to make a group consisting only of other proletariats, however, they may not show anyone their paper or ask to see anyone else's. The other papers are marked B for Bourgeois. Students who receive these papers should attempt to infiltrate the Proletariat groups, again without showing their own paper or seeing anyone else's.
2. Play round 1: give students 5 minutes to create their groups. Listen for who they are accusing of being a bourgeois. When the 5 minutes are over, check the papers of the accused. If they are bourgeois, tell them they are under arrest and congratulate the proletariat who identified them. If they are in fact proletariat, tell their accusers that they are now under suspicion because they have accused loyal Communists. At the end, have any remaining bourgeois identify themselves. Criticize the class for not catching all of them. Then have the class return their pieces of paper and sit down so they can draw again.
3. Play round 2 with the same rules as before, but tell students they must make groups of at least 3. Anyone left out of a group will automatically be labeled bourgeois because spending time alone is a bourgeois habit.
4. In round 3, have students draw strips of paper again. Tell them that this time, accusations will be more formal: each group of 3 or more students may accuse 1 person of being bourgeios. Play the game as before, but when groups make their accusations, take the accused directly to jail without checking their paper. Tell them they must be guilty if their classmates have accused them. Anyone in jail must remain there for the next round.
5. In round 4, warn students that if they accept a bourgeois group member, they will be jailed for sheltering spies. While students play, tell those in jail to consider whether they have a grudge against anyone -- for example, the people who falsely accused them of being bourgeois.
6. In round 5, let everyone out of jail. Do not distribute papers. Tell students that any group of 3 students may accuse any person, and if a person is accused, they are automatically found guilty.

Wrap-up Questions

1. How did people decide whom to accuse in the beginning of the game? What factors made people suspicious?
2. If you were bourgeois in the first round, how difficult was it for you to find a group who trusted you in the second round?
3. Who was accused in later rounds, particularly the last one? Was it because they did something suspicious or because of their behavior before? How could the Cultural Revolution become a tool for people to get revenge on one another?
4. Do you think the government created an official list of prohibited bourgeois behaviors or did people have to figure it out for themselves? What problems did this pose for innocent people? Why would Chairman Mao want to keep things vague?
5. How would living in this atmosphere change the way you interacted with people? List some social behaviors that are safe and normal now that would have been very dangerous during the Cultural Revolution.