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UMI
SOCIAL SUFFERING AND POLITICAL CONFESSION:
SUKU IN MODERN CHINA
FEIYU SUN
A DISSERTATION SUBMITTED TO THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE
STUDIESIN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS
FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
GRADUATE PROGRAM IN SOCIAL AND POLITICAL THOUGHT
YORK UNIVERSITY
TORONTO, ONTARIO
JUNE 2010
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Social Suffering and Political Confession:
Suku in Modern China
by Feiyu Sun
a dissertation submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies of York
University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree
of
DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY
2010
Permission has been granted to the LIBRARY OF YORK
UNIVERSITY to lend or sell copies of this dissertation, to the
NATIONAL LIBRARY OF CANADA to microfilm this dissertation
and to lend or sell copies of the film, and to UNIVERSITY
MICROFILMS to publish an abstract of this dissertation.
The author reserves other publication rights, and neither the
dissertation nor extensive extracts from it may be printed or
otherwise reproduced without the author's written permission.
ABSTRACT
It is the aim of this dissertation to closely examine one relatively small but significant
political phenomenon, largely neglected in the Western world until now. This political
phenomenon is called Suku. It runs like a thread through the fabric of a series of
political movements and events in China, from the Land Reform Movement of the
1940's and 1950's to the Cultural Revolution of the 1960's and 70's.
Suku is the practice of confessing individual suffering in a political context
and in a collective public forum. In Chinese the term "Suku" means to tell of one's
suffering, or to pour out one's bitterness, in public. "Su" means to tell, to speak, to pour
out, or to confess, while the term "Ku" means bitterness, pain, and suffering. Suku was
invented and used as a political instrument by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) as a
component of the above mentioned and other socio-political campaigns direcdy
affecting the lives and identity of hundreds of millions of Chinese peasants.
This paper first provides the necessary descriptive outline of the social,
political and historical context of the Suku Movement. Following which, this
examination reflects on and interprets the Suku phenomenon through a matrix of
modern western social theory: Freud, Marcuse, Arendt, and Ricoeur. By interpreting
Suku from the joint perspectives of political identity and subjective psychological
identity, it is the aim of this paper to postulate a new paradigm for discussing social
iv
suffering, collective confession in a political context and the subjective individual
suffering in narrative. This is an analysis of the transformation of identity from the
traditional to the modern, both for the individual peasant and for the state of China.
It is argued then, that the use of Suku on the micro level, to forge a new identity
in the individual by weaving together the public-Freudian personal experiences of
confessional narrative with the ideological narrative of the state, also functioned on a
macro level for the masses and for Chinese society as a whole. It is possible, this paper
concludes, to synthesize a theory of China's modern identity through an understanding
of Suku. And the Suku phenomenon provides a historical and theoretical opportunity
for understanding the problems of identity which modern China is confronted with in
an increasingly globalized world.
V
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
This dissertation, as the product of a reflection on China's revolution and
modernization as well as my own identity, would not be possible without the help of
many people. I will firstly appreciate my family for helping me choose my own way
of my life, and for the love they give me. Since coming to Social and Political
Thought at York University in 2005, my professors, colleagues and friends have been
helping me on every aspect of my life and study.
It has been my great honor and pleasure for me in last five years to work
with my professors John O'Neill, Lesley Jacobs and Paul Antze. My supervisor, John
O'Neill, has been a marvelous inspiration throughout my course work and research.
John actually helped me on the very fundamental direction of my study and led me
into the world of socio-political thought. I cannot forget your parenthood, John and
Susan. I am also indebted to Lesley Jacobs on countless helps on both study and life
levels. It is great happiness for me to become a friend of your whole big
family—everybody is lovely. Special thanks are due to Paul Antze for giving me an
intellectual guides and valuable reviews on my dissertation. Your insightful comments
helped sharpen my analysis.
In all the five years of my study at York University, the program assistant of
SPTH, Judith Hawley, has provided kind and warm help on all kinds of information. I
also wish to thank Professor Jay Goulding for the help and inspiration along the way. I
also need to appreciate Leo Jacobs for help on my writing and revisions. All of my
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friends and colleagues in China, United States and Canada are all appreciated for
every kind of help. Special thanks are due to Feifei Gao, who helped me greatly on
both my work and life.
Last but also most important, I must show my appreciation and respect to all
of my professors in Peking University, especially professor Yang, Shanhua, to whom I
own greatly on almost everything. And it's my great honour as well to work with you
again in the future in Peking University.
Finally, my thanks also go to those who directly or indirectly helped me to
finish my dissertation.
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abstract iv
Acknowledgements vi
Table of Contents viii
Introduction 1
Chapter I When Revolution Met Rural China 16
1.1 Historical Background: Land Reform and Traditional Society 15
1.2 Historical Background: The Implementation of Land Reform 45
Chapter II Suku: Beyond a Political Technique 66
2.1 The Development of Suku 67
2.2 Suku: More Than a Political Technique 109
Chapter III On Social Neurosis 126
3.1 Freud's Human Disease 127
3.2 From Civilized Sexuality to Civilization Disease 136
3.3 Marcuse's Social Oedipus 151
3.4 Toward a Neurosis Analysis of Revolution: China's Suku 164
Chapter IV On Social Suffering 176
4.1 Radical Evil: Understanding Totalitarianism 177
4.2 From Radical Evil to the Banality of Evil 188
4.3 The Modern Age and the Holocaust 194
4.4 The Holocaust, Suku, and Modernity 208
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