Mao cult: rhetoric and ritual in China's Cultural Revolution

324 Pages·2013·3.521 MB·English

by  Leese, Daniel;Cambridge University Press.;Mao, Zedong

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MaoCult
RhetoricandRitualinChina’sCulturalRevolution
Mao Zedong’s political and cultural legacy remains potent even in
today’sChina.Manybookshaveexploredhisposthumouslegacy,but
nonehasscrutinizedthecultofMaoandthemassiveworshipthatwas
fostered around him at the height of his powers during the Cultural
Revolution. This riveting book is the first to do so. By analyzing pre-
viously secret archival documents, obscure objects, and political pam-
phlets,DanielLeesetracesthetumultuoushistoryofthecultwithinthe
Communist Party and at the grassroots level. The party leadership’s
original intention was to develop a prominent brand symbol that
would compete with the Nationalists’ elevation of Chiang Kai-shek.
They did not, however, anticipate that Mao would use this symbolic
powertomobilizeChineseyouthtorebelagainstthepartybureaucracy
itself.Theresultwasanarchy,andwhenthearmywascalledin,itrelied
onmandatoryritualsofworship,suchasdailyreadingoftheLittleRed
Book or performances of the “loyalty dance” to restore order. Such
fascinating detail sheds light not only on the personality cult of Mao,
butalsoonheroworshipinothertraditions.
DanielLeeseisAssistantProfessorattheInstituteofChineseStudiesat
Ludwig-Maximilians-University in Munich. He is the editor of Brill’s
EncyclopediaofChina(2009).

Mao Cult
’
Rhetoric and Ritual in China s Cultural
Revolution
DANIEL LEESE
Ludwig-Maximilians-University
cambridge university press
Cambridge,NewYork,Melbourne,Madrid,CapeTown,
Singapore,SãoPaulo,Delhi,Tokyo,MexicoCity
CambridgeUniversityPress
32AvenueoftheAmericas,NewYork,NY10013-2473,USA
www.cambridge.org
Informationonthistitle:www.cambridge.org/9780521193672
©DanielLeese2011
Thispublicationisincopyright.Subjecttostatutoryexception
andtotheprovisionsofrelevantcollectivelicensingagreements,
noreproductionofanypartmaytakeplacewithoutthewritten
permissionofCambridgeUniversityPress.
Firstpublished2011
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
AcatalogrecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary.
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Leese,Daniel.
Maocult:rhetoricandritualinChina’sCulturalRevolution/DanielLeese.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-521-19367-2(hardback)
1. China–History–CulturalRevolution,1966–1976–Sources.
2. China–Politicsandgovernment–1949–1976–Sources.
3. China–History–20thcentury–Sources. I. Title.
DS778.7L44 2011
951.0506–dc22 2010054238
ISBN978-0-521-19367-2Hardback
CambridgeUniversityPresshasnoresponsibilityforthepersistenceor
accuracyofURLsforexternalorthird-partyInternetWebsitesreferredto
inthispublicationanddoesnotguaranteethatanycontentonsuch
Websitesis,orwillremain,accurateorappropriate.
For Lia Cara, Amelie, and Justus
Thislandsorichinbeauty
Hasmadecountlessheroesbowinhomage
Butalas!QinShihuangandHanWudi
Werelackinginliterarygrace,
AndTangTaizongandSongTaizu
Hadlittlepoetryintheirsouls;
AndGenghisKhan,
ProudSonofHeavenforaday,
Knewonlyshootingeagles,bowoutstretched.
Allarepastandgone!
Fortrulygreatmen
Looktothisagealone.
“Snow,”MaoZedong
Contents
ListofIllustrations,Figures,Maps,andTable pageviii
Preface ix
ChronologyofMajorEvents xiii
ListofAbbreviations xvii
Introduction 1
part i. coming to terms with the “cult of the
individual” 25
1 TheSecretSpeechandItsImpact 27
2 TheDualNatureofCommodities 47
3 RedefiningtheCult 67
part ii. charismatic mobilization 87
4 LivelyStudyandApplication 89
5 TheLittleRedBook 108
6 SpectaclesofWorship 128
part iii. cult and compliance 149
7 AmbiguousSymbols 151
8 TheLanguageofLoyalty 174
9 RitualsandCommodities 195
10 CurbingtheCult 226
Conclusion 253
Bibliography 265
Glossary 285
Index 291
vii
Illustrations, Figures, Maps, and Table
Illustrations
1 Maowoodcut,LiberationWeekly,1937 page9
2 ZhuDewoodcut,LiberationWeekly,1937 10
3 “Everydaylife”picturesofMao,1958 163
4 ModelSoldierWangGuoxiang,1968 191
5 “AskingforInstructionsintheMorning,”1968 199
6 “ChairmanMaoQuotationGymnastics,”ShanghaiSports
Battleline,1967 203
7 PerformingtheLoyaltyDance,1968 206
8 CreatingMaoicons,1968 212
9 ThreeLoyaltiescampaigninHarbin,1968 214
10 ArrivalofthemangoreplicasinHarbin,1968 222
Figures
1 Translationsofthe“cultoftheindividual”inthePeople’s
Daily,1949–72 84
2 ReferencestoMaoZedongThoughtinthePeople’sDaily,
1946–81 130
3 Appearancesofthephrase“LoyaltoChairmanMao”inthe
People’sDaily,1960–80 186
Maps
1 AdministrativedivisionsofChina xviii
2 “SacredPlaces”oftheChineseRevolution 140
3 GuizhouprovinceandthesiteoftheDafangIncident 167
Table
1 NumberofstudentstravelingtoandfromShanghai,1966 143
viii