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Denis VovchenkoThe lecture includes great details, nicely complementing the reading by Seth! In 1644, the Korean elites saw themselves as the last beacon of Chinese Ming civilization. Then, rather suddenly, we hear about Korea’s reforms shedding its tributary dependence on Qing China and Chinese culture including topknots in the 1890s. How long did it take for Korea to embrace the Qing as a legitimate Chinese dynasty? Were topknots considered part of Ming Chinese culture? Did the Manchu queue become popular at any point?
Denis VovchenkoSeth reading question – On p. 219, Seth mentioned that since 1860 Russia and Korea shared a border. Clay mentioned earlier that the Russians were perceived and treated by the Chinese differently than the Europeans who arrived by sea. Does the same apply for Koreans? On their diplomatic visits, they must have seen not just the Jesuit mission in Beijing but also the Russian Orthodox mission (est. 1685).
Denis VovchenkoTeaching Global 1968
I know that Clay had to squeeze a lot into the lecture. When I talk about the Cultural Revolution, I relate it to the 1968 youth protests elsewhere in the world (France, West Germany, USA, Mexico, etc). The famous Beatles song “Revolution” reacted negatively to that wave of youth radicalism and included this revealing line, “if you go carrying pictures of Chairman Mao, you ain’t going to make it with anyone anyhow.” That way China’s Cultural Revolution makes more sense as part of a global trend rather than a product of sinister manipulation by an exotic Oriental dictator.
Denis VovchenkoClay’s questions from the lecture. Part 2.
Based on the Red Guards cards or paper cuts, who is the target audience? What value and behavior are encouraged? What values and actions are condemned? Identify your card and describe it in the forum.
Page 3, 2 of Hearts – the target audience is the Turkic Muslim minority in Xinjiang (judging by the headgear and attire of the figures). The image is centered on a young party cadre (somewhat reminiscent of Mao in his youthful pictures). He appears to represent the more modernized Han population. The Eastern Turkestani folks around him are eager to be enlightened about progressive socialism. The image celebrates ethnic diversity literally under the red banner with hammer and sickle – a symbol of international working-class solidarity. While there is no clear antagonist, implicitly pre-socialist traditions are condemned (Islamic culture that separated the Uighurs from their Han Chinese comrades).
Denis VovchenkoI wonder if the PRC and Chiang Kai-Shek use the same word in Chinese when they address their rank and file as "comrades."
Denis VovchenkoClay’s questions from the lecture. Part 1.
What did two rivals (PRC & KMT) have in common?
Both were inspired by the Bolshevik success and sought training from Moscow to organize their parties on the Leninist model. One of its principles is “democratic centralism” discussed by Liu Shaoqi in 1937 – encouraging inner party discussions on the condition that once a majority decision is reached, the minority will not object to it and will help carry it out (p. 411). It seems that the Communists were able to implement this principle better than the Nationalists. They seem to have suffered less from factional divisions. They certainly did not have a large splinter group that chose to collaborate with the Japanese like Wang Jinwei, as Clay mentioned in the lecture.
What were the Communist priorities after coming to power in 1949?
At least since 1927, Mao talked about meeting the peasant demands for land redistribution, ending the rule of “petty tyrants” and landlords. Mao kept stressing that the Communist revolution would fail unless it supported “rural democracy” as had happened to the 1911 revolution (129).
Denis VovchenkoCrystal asked me to post the questions I asked in the Zoom chat last Saturday, October 15.
"Denis Vovchenko (You) 12:08 PM
How does Japan's commitment to free trade square with its long-standing protection of its agriculture (rice) and draconian immigration policies?
USC U.S. - China Institute would like to answer this question live.
Denis Vovchenko (You) 12:26 PM
Great talk! Does Japan's special relationship with the USA discourage Tokyo from developing closer relations with its neighbors? I am referring to the territorial disputes with S.Korea, China, and Russia as well as the issues of WWII memory.
This question has been answered live.
Denis Vovchenko (You) 01:59 PM
I enjoyed “Shogun” – both the mini-series and the novel by Clavell. It reminds of a more recent film “Silence” (2016) with Liam Neeson set in the same time period. In both “Shogun” and “Silence,” there are white protagonists that help the US audience identify with the exotic setting. It seems to be a common thread, right? As in the US release of the original Godzilla where there was a US journalist inserted into the Japanese film. “Sayonara” with Marlon Brando, “The Last Samurai” with Tom Cruise, and “Lost in Translation” with Scarlett Johansson. What do you think?
This question has been answered live."
Denis VovchenkoClay: Why did both the Nationalists and the Communists adopt the Leninist model?
This question seems connected to the May 4 question. From my limited knowledge of that context, the failure of the May 4 1919 to gain support from the cynical Entente Allies discredited the liberal Western model. The only successful alternative was the Bolshevik government that had just won a civil war against its domestic opponents and their Western sponsors. Marxism-Leninism had long denounced Western democracies as greedy imperialists. Plus, as Clay mentioned, Moscow generously trained and funded not just fledgling CPC but even the Nationalist cadres. What do you think?
Denis Vovchenko
Denis VovchenkoAs I understood from the video 2 segment, the New Culture Movement was similar to the folklore collection stage of many European ethnocentric nationalist movements (Germany, Russia, and smaller subject nationalities in Austria and Russia). They were largely apolitical, at least, outwardly. Typically, a small coterie of intellectuals shedding hegemonic religious and dynastic identities (from being a good Habsburg subject to discovering one’s roots and the soul of the “people.”
As for the May 4 movement, they can be compared to the next stage of nationalist evolution in European – politicization by a slightly larger group of intellectuals (students) inspired by the more innocuous folklore collectors. The international context was also key – the victorious Allies proclaimed throughout WWI that they were fighting against conservative monarchies (Germany and Austria-Hungary) for freedom, democracy, and, of course, “the war to end all wars.” So it made sense for nationalistic Chinese students to make use of the Allies’ rhetoric.
Denis VovchenkoClay's question - How do you help your students understand the psychological impact of 1895 defeat?
I would use an analogy from American history – the War of 1812. There was more interest for it in the aftermath of the January 6 takeover of the Congress (which reminded of the British counterattack and the burning of D.C. in August 1814). From my limited knowledge, the young American republic attacked British Canada to liberate Anglo-Canadians from the imperial yoke. After several humiliating setbacks, the US agreed to the status quo ante 3 years later. As Clay said in the video, the Japanese were seen as little brothers. Similarly, the Anglo-Canadians were also perceived as such in need of guidance and salvation. The Vietnam War may be another analogy to convey the Chinese experience of the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-5.
Denis Vovchenko“55 Days at Peking” (1963) on the siege of the Western quarter by the Boxers with Charlton Heston.
Add-on “55 Days at Peking” (1963) on the siege of the Western quarter by the Boxers with Charlton Heston.
Denis VovchenkoIn regards to the anti-Manchu sentiment of the Taiping Rebellion, how developed was the Han nationalist consciousness in the mid-1800s? Just intellectuals? The illiterate peasants couldn’t understand spoken dialects other than their own, right? I can understand the anti-Western sentiment of the Boxer Rebellion a little easier although it is a remarkable change from the Taiping rebels’ pro-Western stance.
Denis VovchenkoAs far as I know, opium sale and consumption were legal in the West at the time, right?
Denis VovchenkoIt is clearly an admission of defeat – the most humiliating part would be the privilege to set up extraterritorial settlements and neighborhoods. The compensation part is not unusual – the defeated European powers were also required to do the same (like France after the Franco-Prussian war of 1870-1871 or Germany after WWI). Another example of European usage is calling fellow monarchs as “my brother.”
