(1966-1976) a massive social upheaval brought on by a struggle for power within the Communist Party of China, during which Mao and his supporters purged the country of those who opposed him, trained Chinese youths to worship Mao and his sayings, and then empowered those young people to rebel against their elders to defend Mao's revolution; at least half a million people died and the People's Republic of China was brought to the brink of civil war