Original Vietnam War USGI Captured 1967 “Red August” Mao Zedong Chinese Cultural Revolution Banner.
Very Scarce piece; Vietnamese made, chain stitched “carpet” fabric on a cotton backdrop. Depiction of Chairman Mao Zedong at the top and Tiananmen Square emanating an array of red light with the date “1967.8” in the lower right corner commemorating “Red August.”
In August 1966, Chairman Mao Zedong held a meeting with Song Binbin, a prominent leader of the Red Guards, atop Tiananmen. This encounter sparked a series of violent acts and mass killings in the city, as the Red Guards launched a campaign to eliminate the "Four Olds". The bloodshed also spread to rural districts in Beijing, including the Daxing Massacre, where 325 lives were taken from August 27 to September 1 in Daxing District. Tragically, many individuals, including renowned writer Lao She, took their own lives or attempted to do so as a result of persecution. Throughout these massacres, Mao Zedong openly denounced any governmental intervention in the student movement, while Xie Fuzhi, the Minister of Ministry of Public Security, instructed the police and public security organs to protect the Red Guards instead of arresting them.
By the end of August 1966, the situation had become uncontrollable. As a result, the Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and Chinese government had to intervene multiple times in order to finally put an end to the massacres.
Red August is considered the origin of the Red Terror in the Chinese Cultural Revolution.
Measuring 44” by 22”.
Part of our exquisite “Captured Collection” of captured flags.
