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!
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