On May 16th, 50 years ago today, Mao Zedong's Chinese government directed its people to overthrow the " bourgeoisie threatening to seize political power from the proletariat.” This order marked the beginning of the 10-year-long violent class struggle known as The Cultural Revolution. The upheaval resulted in the torture, imprisonment, public humiliation, and displacement of those labeled part of the bourgeoisie. The persecuted included artists, professors, intellectuals, land-owners, political critics and everyday people caught in the fray — eventually leaving between 400,000 to several million dead.