Remembering the Glory Days

If China is known for one thing (other than pandas) it has to be for Communism and the way Chinese Communism has developed and evolved in a way that has allowed it to persevere when other communist nations succumbed to Western Democracy. Of course China isn't the only country that has kept a Communist government (Cuba, Laos, Vietnam, North Korea), but I think it is fair to say that China is the country that has done the best under Communism. China is quickly becoming a global force to be reckoned with and it is predicted that it could soon overtake the USA as the world’s biggest economy, and all of this done under a system of control and structure that many frown on.

Cultural Revolution Era memorabilia

But, mention Chinese communism and one of the first things that comes to mind for most people is Mao. Mao is probably the single biggest symbol of modern China and his legacy has shaped how we see China, and how China sees itself. He turned China on it's head and can be seen as the turning point between ancient China and the China that we know today. In China he is still a pretty big deal (putting it lightly), but isn't the ever present influence that I had imagined. Houses aren't all adorned with portraits of Mao and reference to him in public really is minimal, unless you are standing in Tian'anmen Square where an enormous portrait of Mao is hung from the Gate of Heavenly Peace in front of the Forbidden City to the North and his body lies in state in a huge white mausoleum to the South. 

"Chairman Mao says that eating is the top priority!" Encouraging words from the man himself.

When I think of Mao the first thing that springs to mind are the policies that came with his efforts to transform China into the ultimate proletarian state. Unfortunately, the policies that we in the West learn about the most are those that didn't have such a positive impact, namely the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution, and these are exactly the kinds of topics that Chinese students don't really learn about, or at least not in the same way that we do. 

The Cultural Revolution is something that people talk about, it would be hard to forget something that effected so many families so profoundly. But the emphasis is very much on the destruction of the landlord class (rather than the violence of the Red Guard and the condemnation of the highly educated), I guess is because that's the part which impacted most directly on families.

When I was in Sanya, Hainan province, recently I had the pleasure of going to a Cultural Revolution themed restaurant, and it was a slightly bizarre experience. From the outside it looked like a completely normal restaurant (except for the tractor outside) but inside it was turned into a sort of memorial shrine to everything Mao. The staff were in a strict hierarchy, demonstrated by their various costumes, at the bottom were the country girls with pink cheeks and braided pigtails, at the top were the staff that dealt with the bills in full military Red Guard apparel. It was slightly unnerving for me to see young people smiling and dressed as Red Guards, having spent the best part of my final year at school studying some of the terrible things that they did in the name of social equality. But the atmosphere in the restaurant was infectious and soon I was smiling and bobbing along to the communist anthems that made up the background music. My favourite thing about the restaurant was the décor, the walls were papered with old newspapers from the time (full of propaganda I'm sure) and everywhere you looked there was memorabilia from mid-1960’s China. The other thing that caught your eye wherever you looked was portraits for Mao Zedong, waving Mao, smiling Mao, smoking Mao, it didn't matter as long as it was Mao. I have to admit it was really fun, and the DongBei style food was undoubtedly delicious.  

So how do I feel about supporting a business that glorifies a period of China’s history that was so dark for so many people? Do I think it’s wrong to support it? In the end, no I don’t. The Cultural Revolution is a part of China’s long and rich history, and seeing such a famous historical event through the eyes of those who lived through it is a unique opportunity. I have learnt China’s history from one very specific and westernised perspective and I will never shy away from the opportunity to learn about it from another perspective – especially if good food is involved!