In the summer of 1966, a crucial turning point in China's history was marked by the rise of the Red Guards, a mass student-led campaign that sought to purge capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society. On August 5, 1966, at Experimental High School in Beijing, a tragic incident unfolded. A group of these Red Guards, including Deng Rong, daughter of Deng Xiaoping, and Liu Pingping, daughter of Liu Shaoqi, targeted Bian Zhongyun, the deputy vice principal. They accused her of being a counter-revolutionary and carrying out revisionist practices. Fueled by the rhetoric of Mao Zedong and the Cultural Revolution's call to rebellion against those deemed bourgeois or reactionary, the students unleashed their anger with vicious assaults.The violence culminated in a horrifying act as Bian Zhongyun was bludgeoned to death with sticks. This act of brutality was one of the first known fatalities associated with the Cultural Revolution, serving as a grim precursor to the widespread violence that would occur in the following years. The event underscored how the ideological fervor of the Cultural Revolution manifested in extreme behavior, deeply affecting educational institutions and communities throughout China. The psychological scars and societal turmoil resulting from this incident and others like it would last for generations, fundamentally altering China's trajectory.The incident's context lies in the broader landscape of the Cultural Revolution, initiated by Mao Zedong to solidify his control and eliminate perceived threats within the Communist Party and society at large. The ideologies that spurred this violent uprising created a wave of fear, mistrust, and hostility, sparking a series of persecutions across various tiers of the population, particularly targeting intellectuals, educators, and party officials who were often scapegoated for China’s issues.