'Red Bean Army' tag derived from Mao's 'Red Guards'

The Red Guards of China during its Cultural Revolution from a cover of a Chinese school textbook.

THE tag “Red Bean Army” is said to be derived from Chairman Mao’s “Red Guards” during China’s Cultural Revolution.

The Red Guards are a group of students in their teens and 20s who banded together in 1966 to overturn the “old order” and fight to protect the revolution and preserve their Chairman’s Thoughts.

They were also encouraged to criticise Mao’s enemies: anyone who was against Mao’s vision for China, from writers, economists, artists to anyone associated with Mao’s political opponent Liu Shao-chi.

However, the zeal of their youth nearly pushed China into social turmoil as schools and colleges had to be closed and the economy started to suffer.

The Red Guards began to splinter as their beliefs started diverging. Eventually, they turned on each other. Due to the “disturbances” they caused, the Red Guards were exiled to the countryside for re-education.

> Source: History Learning site