The concept of “洗脑” is deeply intertwined with 20th-century global and Chinese history. The English term “brainwashing” was actually coined in the 1950s by an American journalist to describe the methods of “thought reform” (思想改造 - sīxiǎng gǎizào) used on foreign prisoners during the Korean War by their Chinese captors. The Chinese term “洗脑 (xǐnǎo)” is a direct translation, or calque, of this new English word. So, in a fascinating linguistic loop, an English word was created to describe a Chinese phenomenon, and then that word was translated back into Chinese, becoming the standard term. Historically, “洗脑” is heavily associated with the political campaigns of the Mao Zedong era, especially the Cultural Revolution. During this time, the state used intense pressure, propaganda, public “struggle sessions,” and re-education to enforce ideological conformity. This history gives the term a weighty and serious political connotation that still resonates today when discussing state media, censorship (like the Great Firewall), and official narratives. In contrast to the Western emphasis on individualism and freedom of thought, “洗脑” taps into a cultural context where the collective (the state, the party, the family) can exert immense pressure on the individual's beliefs. While “persuasion” is valued in all cultures, “洗脑” represents its dark, coercive counterpart, where consent and critical thinking are removed from the equation.
In modern China, “洗脑” is used in two main ways:
In these informal cases, the term loses its sinister political weight and simply means “to be powerfully and repeatedly influenced.”