Mao Cult: Rhetoric and Ritual in China’s Cultural Revolution

321 Pages·2011·2.53 MB·English

by  Daniel Leese

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).
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:52, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:52, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
Mao Cult
’
Rhetoric and Ritual in China s Cultural
Revolution
DANIEL LEESE
Ludwig-Maximilians-University
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:52, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
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.
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:52, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
For Lia Cara, Amelie, and Justus
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:52, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
Thislandsorichinbeauty
Hasmadecountlessheroesbowinhomage
Butalas!QinShihuangandHanWudi
Werelackinginliterarygrace,
AndTangTaizongandSongTaizu
Hadlittlepoetryintheirsouls;
AndGenghisKhan,
ProudSonofHeavenforaday,
Knewonlyshootingeagles,bowoutstretched.
Allarepastandgone!
Fortrulygreatmen
Looktothisagealone.
“Snow,”MaoZedong
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:52, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
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
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:53, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
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
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:52, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754
Preface
In1921,theChineseRepublicwasshakenbyaseeminglyobscurescandal,
theso-calledEight-ThousandHempSacksIncident(baqianmadaishijian).
The Historical Museum, an institution entrusted with archival duties
afterthefalloftheQingdynasty,haduponinstructionoftheMinistryof
Education sold some 75,000 kilograms of archival materials to a waste-
paper trader. The revenue of four thousand silver dollars was to help
ameliorate the ministry’s dire financial situation and simultaneously
relievethestaffoftheburdenofclassifyingandarrangingthehugeamount
of material. The documents had in 1909 already been singled out for
destruction, but upon intervention of an upright official, Luo Zhenyu,
had been retained and stored in thousands of hemp sacks. In 1921, it
wasagainLuoZhenyuwhodiscoveredpartsofthesematerialsonmarkets
in Beijing and decided to buy and preserve the documents. The scandal
drew wider circles and nationalist sentiments ran high when Luo a few
years later had to sell part of the stacks to other collectors, including a
formerJapaneseofficialinChina.ThefamouswriterLuXun,whointhe
early Republican era had worked in the Ministry of Education and was
wellinformedabouttheextentofprivateappropriationofarchivaldocu-
ments through the ministry’s staff, remarked sarcastically that “archaeo-
logicalendeavors”amongthestackshadbecomeafavoritepastimeamong
officials.1 The stacks that had finally been sold as wastepaper, in Lu’s
opinion,thereforehadfoundanadequatedestiny.
Today,scholarstryingtowriteasocialorculturalhistoryofthe1950s
and 1960s sometimes cannot help but feel reminded of the hemp sacks
1 SeeLuXun,“Tansuowei‘Daneidang’an’”[DiscussingtheSo-Called“PalaceArchives”],
inYusi4.7(28January1928),5.Foradetaileddiscussionofarchivalpoliticsandpracticein
RepublicanChina,seeVivianWagner,ErinnerungsverwaltunginChina.Staatsarchiveund
PolitikinderVolksrepublik[AdministratingMemoryinChina:StateArchivesandPolitics
inthePeople’sRepublic],Cologne:Böhlau,2006,PartI.
ix
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:51, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754.001
x Preface
incident when searching for sources. Although the possibility of archival
access has greatly improved during the past decade, the documents
allowed for public perusal have usually, but not always, been carefully
sortedandarrangedtosuittheChineseCommunistParty’s(CCP)official
interpretationofevents.Localarchivesordanweioffices,however,faced
financialpressuresthatresultedinthevendingofstacks ofdocuments to
wastepaper traders or collectors. Thus over the years, flea markets and
secondhand bookshops have occasionally become a welcome treasure
trove of local-level documents that allow for a partial reconstruction of
everydaylifeandadministrationotherwisenonexistentinofficialarchival
memory.
DuringanoccasionalvisittothefleamarketswhilestudyinginChina,
Iboughtastackofobscuredocumentsrelatedtothevenerationofacertain
Comrade Men He, who, I later learned, was one of the Cultural
Revolution’s foremost model heroes in 1968. Because I was unclear
aboutwhattomakeofthedocuments,whichmainlyconsistedofcongrat-
ulatory statements and “lively applications” of Mao Zedong Thought,
they gathered duston my bookshelves for severalyears. When searching
for a suitable topic for a doctoral dissertation, I reconsidered the stacks
again,andafteranexchangeofideaswiththedoyenofChinese“garbol-
ogy”(lajixue),SwedishhistorianMichaelSchoenhals,Idecidedtopursue
thetopicoftheMaoistpersonalitycultfurther.Asnopredefinedbodyof
texts existed or, to put it differently, not even the type of sources from
whichtodrawevidenceonthecultcouldbeclarifiedinthefirstplace,the
initial research consisted of literally digging through stacks of old docu-
ments,mimeographedpamphlets,andobscureobjectsfromfleamarkets,
privatecollections,andfinallyarchives.
Many people have contributed to this work by sharing their ideas,
comments, and criticism, though not of all them can be mentioned here.
I explicitly thank my former dissertation committee members Johannes
Paulmann, Nicola Spakowski, and Jürgen Osterhammel for making the
endeavor possible; their work continues to be a major source of inspira-
tion. I would further like to thank the people at the Universities Service
CentreinHongKong,whichhostedmeforseveralmonths,andRoderick
MacFarquhar and the participants of the Sixth Annual Conference on
InternationalHistoryatHarvardin2006.BarbaraMittler, JanPlamper,
RudolfWagner,andVivianWagnerofferedveryhelpfulcommentsduring
differentstagesoftheproject.TheHistoryDepartmentandInternational
Relations Department at Beijing University, especially professors Niu
DayongandYinHongbiao,providedmewithvaluablesupport,without
Downloaded from https://www.cambridge.org/core. IP address: 139.227.245.222, on 15 Sep 2017 at 10:54:51, subject to the Cambridge
Core terms of use, available at https://www.cambridge.org/core/terms. https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511984754.001