破四旧

破四舊

pòsìjiù

phrase

Meanings

1 Destroy the Four Olds (campaign of the Cultural Revolution targeting old customs, culture, habits, and ideas)

Characters

to break / smash / destroy

Examples

HSK 4

破四旧运动对中国传统文化造成了巨大破坏。

Pòsìjiù yùndòng duì Zhōngguó chuántǒng wénhuà zàochéng le jùdà pòhuài.

The Destroy the Four Olds campaign caused enormous damage to traditional Chinese culture.

HSK 7-9

他祖父的古书在破四旧时被烧毁了。

Tā zǔfù de gǔshū zài pòsìjiù shí bèi shāohuǐ le.

His grandfather's antique books were burned during the Destroy the Four Olds period.

Tips

history

Launched in August 1966 at the start of the Cultural Revolution. The 'Four Olds' (四旧) were old customs, culture, habits, and ideas (旧风俗、旧文化、旧习惯、旧思想). Red Guards smashed temples, statues, and ancestral tablets, and burned classical books across China.

register

Historical and political vocabulary. In modern speech it is often used cynically when someone trashes anything traditional, e.g. 这不是又破四旧吗？ (Isn't this Destroy the Four Olds all over again?).

Stroke Order

破 pò

四 sì

旧 jiù