Ruijin Massacre

The Ruijin Massacre (simplified Chinese: 瑞金大屠杀; traditional Chinese: 瑞金大屠殺) was a series of massacres that took place in Ruijin and nearby counties in Jiangxi Province during the Chinese Cultural Revolution.[1][2][3][4][5][6] From September 23 to early October, 1968, over 1,000 people were killed in the Ruijin Massacre; specifically, over 300 people were killed in Ruijin County, around 270 were killed in Xingguo County, and over 500 in Yudu County.[1][2][3][6][7] The massacres were conducted by local people's communes and the production brigades together with local militia, targeting members of the Five Black Categories as well as their relatives; the oldest victim was 80 years old, while the youngest was 11.[2][5][6] The method of slaughter included shooting with guns, stoning, beating with clubs, stabbing with knives, pushing over cliffs, and so on.[2][5][6]

Ruijin of Jiangxi Province in the People's Republic of China (this map does not show Taiwan, or Republic of China).

The Ruijin Massacre took place during the nationwide campaign of "Cleansing the Class Ranks".[3][7] In August 1968, Cheng Shiqing, then Committee Secretary of the Communist Party of China (CPC) and governor of Jiangxi Province, launched the movement of "Three Investigations Movement (三查运动)" throughout the province, attempting to find out traitors, spies and counter-revolutionaries.[2][3][8][9] The movement caused the deaths of over 10,000 people in total, including 5,000 who were forced to commit suicides.[2][3] On September 22, 1968, leaders of the local communes were called to a meeting in Ruijin, emphasizing the importance of carrying out the "Three Investigations Movement" and the need of making some "achievements" to celebrate the upcoming National Day of the China on October 1. After the meeting, officials in local communes and production brigades began to kill people at will, without any prior need to establish investigative cases, collect evidence, or receive approvals.[2][3][5] From late September to early October, the situation had grown out of control, forcing the local revolutionary committees to take multiple interventions which gradually ended the massacre.[2][3]