Such campaigns have precedent in Chinese history – see the burning of books and burying of scholars.

The only Chinese name is "破四旧", but a number of different English translations have been used to describe the series of campaigns:

The Communist Party of China set very loose guidelines in terms of classifying what was actually "old". As a result, anything that existed before 1949 was subject to being destroyed, including examples of centuries-old traditional arts. Anyone caught being in possession of "old goods" would suffer serious consequences from the Red Guards.

Mao Zedong called for the Four Olds to be swept away at the very early stages of the Cultural Revolution in 1966. Red Guards listened attentively to Mao’s call. As a result, examples of Chinese architecture were ransacked, Chinese literature and classics were burned, Chinese paintings were torn apart, antiquities were shattered. Many families' long kept genealogy books were burned to ashes. During that time, many ancient Chinese cultural artifacts were destroyed forever. People in possession of these goods were punished. Intellectuals were targeted as personifications of the Four Olds, and sometimes they were mocked, harassed, imprisoned, tortured, or killed.

Upon learning that Red Guards were approaching the Forbidden City, Premier Zhou Enlai ordered the gates shut and troops posted, knowing of the Red Guard's reputation for destroying cultural objects.

No official statistics have ever been produced by the Communist party in terms of reporting the actual cost of damage. By 1978, many stories of death and destruction caused by the Cultural Revolution had leaked out of China and became known worldwide.

Starting in the 1990s and continuing into the 21st century, there has been a massive rebuilding effort underway to restore and rebuild cultural sites that were destroyed or damaged during the Cultural Revolution. This has coincided with a resurgence in interest in, and demand for, Chinese cultural artifacts. Some have exploited this increased demand, producing counterfeit artifacts.

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