Who were the red guards and why were they referred to as the lost generation?

The Red Guards were radical youth groups formed during China's Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) under Mao Zedong's leadership. They aimed to uphold communist ideology by attacking perceived bourgeois elements, intellectuals, and traditional culture. Referred to as the "lost generation," many of these young people faced severe societal disruptions, violence, and the abandonment of their education, leaving them with a sense of disillusionment and loss of identity in the aftermath of the movement.