Which youth-led group became a symbol of cultural upheaval during China's Cultural Revolution and organized youth militancy?

• A. The Young Pioneers
• B. The White Lotus Society
• C. The Red Guards
• D. Black Panthers

Answer: (C)

During the Cultural Revolution, youth were mobilized to spearhead revolutionary fervor, making young people the driving force behind national upheaval. The Red Guards emerged as a student-led, youth militia that organized large-scale campaigns, denouncing and attacking perceived enemies of the revolution, enforcing Maoist ideas on campuses and in communities, and attacking Old Customs, Old Culture, Old Habits, and Old Ideas. Their actions—street rallies, public denunciations, and attempts to reshuffle social and cultural norms—made the movement visibly shocking and transformative, symbolizing the era’s intense cultural disruption driven by youth militancy. The other groups don’t fit this context: the Young Pioneers are a non-militant youth organization, the White Lotus Society is a historical secret society, and the Black Panthers are a U.S. civil rights movement.