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AnonymousWhen Mao dies, September 1976, Mao’s widow (who was also appointed to be the cultural Czar) was arrested a few months later. As a result of her arrest, she was airbrushed out of the funeral photo of her own husband’s funeral. By 1980 she is still awaiting a trial, while China and U.S. begin to establish formal diplomatic relations. Eventually, she and another member of the gang of four are sentenced to death, but with a two-year reprieve that states if she straightens herself out in two years she would not be executed. She goes to jail to live out the rest of her natural life but by 1991 she died under house arrest.
With the Cultural Revolution over, and his wife locked away, the goal was to “bury” Mao. Teng Hsiao-ping (Deng Xiaoping) positions himself in a “posh” position in the government and puts into place individuals to take over the party. Deng was emphasizing development and the rise of industrialization improved living standards in China with factories. The emphasis was to leave the land and become entrepreneurs.
Although femininity was banned during the Cultural Revolution, women are back to being sex symbols by the 1980s and there were several new laws that impacted and regulated the lives of women. The marriage law brought the state into the household and with the family planning policy, the state was brought into the womb. With the only one child per household policy (ethnic minorities could have more than one child) forced abortions and forced sterilization further controlled the bodies of women.
Talking with Andre Malraux in 1964, Mao related: "You must realize that before us, among the masses, no one had addressed themselves to women or to the young.” Although, Mao is remembered for negativities, at the very least he recognize the value of at least recognizing the equality of women – albeit criticized by Ding Ling to be only lip service.
edited by rcharles on 1/21/2017
AnonymousMao, as Stalin and other communists I have read, clearly believe that all art must and should serve a function. This week's reading would be a great start to a socratic seminar, especially when you keep in mind that Plato, removes artists from his society. Readings about "art for art's sake" and the role of art in religion would help students discuss a highly debatable philosophical question.
On a separate note, Mao clearly sees art as a weapon. Many of his quotes are the sort of stuff one would expect in a dystopian novel.
Here is a link about "art for Art's sake" for the University of Virginia Library's History of Ideas site:
http://xtf.lib.virginia.edu/xtf/view?docId=DicHist/uvaBook/tei/DicHist1.xml;chunk.id=dv1-18;toc.depth=1;toc.id=dv1-18;brand=default;query=%22art%20for%20art%27s%20sake%22#1
clay dubePlease draw upon the literature choices for 11/7.
For Ding Ling, there are many studies. I appreciate how Jonathan Spence includes Ding Ling, along with other writers and rebels such as Kang Youwei, Qiu Jin and Lu Xun. Her story is a complelling one. The text for The Diary of Miss Sophia is at the earlier session. It's also here: https://www.scribd.com/doc/232416344/Miss-Sophie-s-Diary-Ding-Ling
Spence, The Gate of Heavenly Peace, 1982.
AnonymousWith the exception of Mr. More or Less, this was one of the few literary stories that I enjoyed. I'm not sure why exactly, but I believe it is because it had such great ideas about Chinese culture, Revolutionary culture, American culture. All of them were mocked for their foibles. Moreover, there is this societal pride that runs throughout the story that is humorous. And like most stories of pride, the ending reveals it to be a folly.