The
Guangxi Massacre (
simplified Chinese: 广西大屠杀;
traditional Chinese: 廣西大屠殺;
pinyin:
Guǎngxī Dàtúshā), or
Guangxi Cultural Revolution Massacre (广西文革大屠杀; 廣西文革大屠殺;
Guǎngxī Wéngé Dàtúshā), was a series of events involving
lynching and direct
massacre in
Guangxi during the
Cultural Revolution (1966–1976).
[1][2][3][4][5] The official record shows an estimated death toll from 100,000 to 150,000.
[1][4] Methods of slaughter included beheading, beating, live burial, stoning, drowning, boiling and disemboweling.
[1][6] In certain areas including
Wuxuan County and
Wuming District, massive
human cannibalism occurred even though no
famine existed; according to
public records available, at least 137 people—perhaps hundreds more—were eaten by others and at least thousands of people participated in the cannibalism.
[1][2][3][4][5][7][8] Other researchers have pointed out that 421 victims who could be identified by names were eaten, and there were reports of cannibalism across dozens of counties in Guangxi.
[4][7][9]
After the Cultural Revolution, people who were involved in the massacre or cannibalism received minor punishments during the "
Boluan Fanzheng" period; in Wuxuan County where at least 38 people were eaten, fifteen participants were prosecuted, receiving up to 14 years in prison, while ninety-one members of the
Chinese Communist Party (CCP) were expelled from the party and thirty-nine non-party officials were either demoted or had a salary cut.
[1][3][5][6][10] Although the cannibalism was sponsored by local offices of the Communist Party and
militia, no direct evidence suggests that anyone in the national Communist Party leadership including
Mao Zedong endorsed the cannibalism or even knew of it.
[5][7][10] However, some scholar has pointed out that Wuxuan County, through internal channel, had notified the central leadership about the cannibalism in 1968.
[9]