Why did the Cultural Revolution begin?

Mao Zedong began the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (its official name) in 1966. A big part of the program was the closing of China's schools, because Mao saw the majority of educators as bourgeois types who were failing to support the communist revolution. The Cultural Revolution was an insistence on loyalty to communist party ideology.

The Red Guard was formed, which was made up of high school and college students (no longer attending school, since schools were shut down). These radicalized students became militants for Mao over against those whom he considered not revolutionary enough. The Red Guard destroyed historical artifacts and writings of the of China's former culture. They also attacked persons who were seen to be resisting Chairman Mao's permanent revolution.

The Cultural Revolution was a great political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China in 1966. Mao Zedong was the in charge of starting this movement as he wanted to enforce communism more on the country by trying to remove capitalist and certain elements from the current Chinese society that were affecting his party negatively.