A third feature of Maoism is the idea that the bourgeois menace is ever-present, so party officials must always be vigilant to prevent the revolution's corruption. During Mao Zedong's reign, this meant constant violent purges and "re-education" of suspected counterrevolutionaries, culminating with the Cultural Revolution of 1967-1977, in which millions were harassed or killed for not being Maoist enough. (Mao died in 1976; the Cultural Revolution was declared over the following year.) Continuing Revolution, this was one of the reasons for the Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976. Different opinions on this one exists. However, I agree with Meisner view that the accounts of the Cultural Revolution that are in circulation today are of those people who were "victims" of the revolution. So these accounts cannot be trusted wholeheartedly. I have met many people, who do not even want to renmember it to people who will talk passionately for hrs. explaining how much they benifited from the revolution. But for the most part, people did suffer. The purging etc. were to ensure that noone violates the mass line or the party's line. Deng Xiaoping was purged and sent to countryside 3 times. This purging of the leaders is not a part of Mao Zedong thoughts but something that got institutionalized outside of the thoughts framework after the bureaucrtic reforms of the early 60s.