Reform and Closing Up: Thought Reform and the Institutional Reorganization of Shanghai's Universities

This article traces the history of Shanghai's higher education institutions during the early People's Republic. Initially, the Communists had many advantages in Shanghai's universities, but the early political campaigns of the new regime led to a radicalization of domestic politics that placed intellectuals and their past activities under greater scrutiny. After encountering difficulties and confusion in implementing the Thought Reform campaign, the Communist Party emphasized the Three Antis campaign against corruption to buttress the goals of self-criticism and ideological transformation. Afterward, institutional reorganization of universities along Soviet lines proceeded as planned, with the outward support of students and staff, but, recognizing this as feigned transformation, the party remained wary of and frustrated by Shanghai's intellectuals in subsequent years. Therefore, rather than representing the successful transition away from bourgeois ideology, the Thought Reform campaign instead signaled a new dynamic of mutual distrust between the party and intellectuals in Shanghai.